Plan Your Economic Future

CREC facilitates meaningful conversations between public and private sector leaders to identify and evaluate chronic or emerging economic and workforce challenges.
Addressing those challenges involves:

• Collaborative strategies that generate stakeholder consensus
• Customized, growth-oriented solutions
• Developing and implementing plans

Customized Planning

Sustainable, effective plans require thought, energy, and crucial stakeholder buy-in. CREC’s planning process evolves based on each project, and we recognize that planning builds on past efforts. For every project, CREC facilitates your efforts by helping you:

  • Create jobs
  • Generate economic prosperity
  • Ensure that you can successfully manage the ongoing implementation process

Guiding Your Region for Decades to Come

Beyond leading the economic planning process, our staff is also trained to help regional leaders:

  • Facilitate stakeholder meetings with the goals of achieving issue consensus and/or plan buy-in
  • Bring private and public sector leaders together to have effective conversations and develop consensus around important issues
  • Develop tailored case examples that highlight best practices from regions with similar challenges
  • Establish benchmarks for success and processes for measuring them

For more information about past experiences putting together economic or workforce development strategies and implementation plans, please feel free to reach out to our CEO, Ken Poole, directly at kpoole@crec.net.

Related Projects

APEX – Workforce Skills Assessment and Plan
APEX
Start Date: Aug 2018 — End Date: Apr 2019

The CREC/IDM Project Team will complete a six-step process that results in the development of a Workforce Assessment Report and Workforce Strategies applicable to both the urban core and rural areas of the 10-county region. The process will encompass a dual focus to address challenges associated with the region’s (1) general talent availability and (2) […]

Evaluating the Michigan Business Development Program
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Start Date: Apr 2018 — End Date: Mar 2019

CREC led a team that includes the W. E. Upjohn Institute and Business Development Advisors to Determine the return on investment (ROI) for the Michigan Business Development Program based on verified disbursements to companies and job creation activity.  The study also examined the ROI projected with that estimated from actual results, assessing the validity of […]

The 7 Rivers Alliance Regional Wise Talent Strategy
The 7 Rivers Alliance
Start Date: Feb 2017 — End Date: Dec 2017

CREC is collaborating with the Institute for Decision Making (IDM) at the University of Northern Iowa, Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission, and First Children’s Finance on this effort. CREC and its partners is developing a Regional Talent Plan comprised of workforce preparation, attraction and retention strategies, a roadmap for implementing key initiatives, and an asset […]

Supporting the State Small Business Credit Initiative Lending Programs
U.S. Department of Treasury, State Small Business Credit Initiative
Start Date: Nov 2013 — End Date: Sep 2017

Working collaboratively with commercial lending and community development finance subject matter experts (George Surgeon, David McGrady and Donna Nails), CREC provided technical assistance and support services for U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

North Carolina Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Government
Start Date: Oct 2016 — End Date: Apr 2017

CREC assisted Ridgetop Associates in updating North Carolina’s Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) as part of the North Carolina Tomorrow Initiative. CREC conducted economic research into building upon the recent successes on the 16 regional councils including: exploring opportunities for leveraging the marketplace; establishing and maintaining regional infrastructure; creating and revitalizing healthy and vibrant […]
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