Project Updates

Small Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs) fuel the U.S. economy. They compete through innovation, energy, and agility in response to rapidly changing global supply chain requirements and they take risks by introducing new processes and products. The vital role of SMEs, however, depends on a strong manufacturing workforce, and the challenges that SMEs face are particularly acute […]

We heard you… Summer is not the time for the BR|E Benchmarking. Many of you focus on a spring visit schedule. Therefore, the 2022 National BR|E Benchmarking Challenge will be held March 1 – May 15, covering 60 business days. The goal of the Benchmarking Challenge is to set national and hopefully regional benchmarks for […]

Synchronist joins the CREC network! CREC CEO Ken Poole on the strategic alliance with Blane, Canada Blane, Canada CEO Eric Canada on the strategic alliance with CREC Join the 2022 National BR|E Benchmarking Challenge! Data to Drive Our Economic Future Today we are announcing a strategic alliance between Blane, Canada Ltd. and the Center for […]

Incentives Roundtable: Remote Workers Impact on Compliance Tuesday, March 16, 2021 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET Remote work became a more important part of the economic landscape in 2020. In response, many state economic development organizations are considering the impact of remote work on existing incentive performance agreements as companies endeavor to remain compliant […]

This workshop provides state agency staff with the skills and insights to implement best practices in incentives monitoring and management. The workshop reviews common operating procedures, identifies critical issues, and explores options and tradeoffs to help staff make intentional choices to protect taxpayer investments in business incentives. Agency staff will be able to review and redesign operating procedures, confident their approach will be effective, but not overly burdensome, in leveraging reliable data for monitoring business compliance and program performance.

The scale of the current pandemic‐driven economic crisis is unprecedented. What does the future hold for businesses, workers, and jobseekers as states move forward with reopening the economy? Can we expect a speedy recovery? During this digital town hall, President Barkin will share his perspectives on the economy and prospects for recovery, followed by an opportunity for participants to ask questions and share assessments about their own regional challenges.

CREC hosted the second webinar in its cybersecurity series to discuss the DoD’s effort to leverage the network of Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers to build awareness among defense suppliers about cybersecurity requirements and compliance. Through an inter-agency agreement (between NIST and DoD), the DoD’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSDR&E) […]

OEA engaged the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) and Entreworks Consulting to review various efforts funded by the OEA Industry Resilience program to strengthen the manufacturing supply chains and strengthen the defense industrial base in your regions and states. This webinar included a briefing on the paper developed outlining these activities, OEA Support for Defense Supply Chains: Many Successes and Lessons Learned, followed by an opportunity for discussion and comments. 

CREC hosted a webinar to discuss the National Defense Industry Association’s recent paper “Beyond Obfuscation: The Defense Industry’s Position within Federal Cybersecurity Policy” (https://www.ndia.org/policy/cyber/2019-cybersecurity-report). This report examines recent cyberbreaches, the evolving regulatory environment governing cybersecurity, and analyzes a survey of 300 defense suppliers and their experiences with cybersecurity. Furthermore, the report provides recommendations for government and industry based on their findings.

This report describes veterans’ attainment of certifications and licenses, with an emphasis on post-9/11 veterans. Utilizing a new data set derived from the 2016-2018 Current Population Survey (CPS), the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) examined veterans’ attainment of certifications and licenses and associated earnings. CREC SOLID Veterans Certifications and License Report 09042019