Technical Assistance

Our technical assistance aids policymakers and workforce development staff to better implement innovation and job-creation strategies by:

• Understanding the economic forces affecting regions and states
• Helping local leaders formulate knowledge-based strategies
• Developing transformational models that support knowledge-driven economic prosperity

Building On the Knowledge Economy

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) uses information and data to create resources and toolkits so that state and national policymakers can evaluate, shape, and implement effective and state- and region-specific programs that promote economic development efforts.

Many of our technical-assistance efforts are aimed at: federal agencies, regional and state offices, private nonprofits, educational institutions, and sub-state regional coalitions.

While our primary area of policy expertise relates to economic development, workforce development, and education, our network extends beyond these policy areas through the Association of Public Data Users (APDU) into a variety of fields ranging from health care, criminal justice and housing, and demographics to transportation.

Related Projects

Grant Proposal Management, Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator
Arizona Commerce Authority
Start Date: Jun 2012 — End Date: Jul 2012

C2ER collaborated closely with ACA Business Development staff to develop the concept and win themes for a successful $1.7 million grant to support the state’s aerospace and defense industries. The proposal involved preparing scopes of work for five different Federal agencies (e.g., Employment and Training Administration, Small Business Administration, Economic Development Administration, Department of Energy, and NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership) designed to meet their individual needs as well as drafting a cohesive project narrative to engage the cross-agency collaborative.

Conducting an assessment of Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Evaluation
Maine Department of Economic and Community Development
Start Date: Jan 2008 — End Date: Oct 2009

Working in partnership with EntreWorks, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and PolicyOne Research, the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) provided analytic support for the state’s on-going comprehensive economic development evaluation. The research project focused on examining a wide array of Maine’s policies and programs in economic […]

Benchmarking the Arizona Commerce and Economic Development Commission
Arizona Commerce Authority
Start Date: Feb 2004 — End Date: Oct 2004

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) conducted a survey of the budget, governance structure, and incentive policies in all 50 states. C2ER staff compared how Arizona’s economic, workforce, tourism, and community development efforts are structured as compared with other states. C2ER proposed a significant expansion in the state’s investment in economic development based on a […]