Helping Communities Shine

Whether researching and implementing ways to shape a community's economic development plan or partnering to create ways to put people to work, CREC connects researchers and policymakers with:

• Data training
• Custom portfolios that aid regional competitiveness

Project Profile

A Finance Roadmap for Moving Arizona Forward: Financing Needs and Resources

Arizona Commerce Authority
Start Date: Oct 2005 — End Date: Oct 2006

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) staff in collaboration with the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and Practical Solutions conducted a study of economic development finance needs and options to help Arizona implement its 10-year economic strategy. In developing findings and conclusions for this report, the team analyzed existing federal, state, local, international, and private economic development financing programs. The team also interviewed a number of economic development financing experts to gain their insights into the shortcomings of existing initiatives as well as the advantages of initiatives elsewhere that offer model approaches to addressing community and business development financing needs.

About the Client

Arizona Commerce Authority

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is an aggressive new organization that has a laser focus on recruitment of quality companies and jobs for Arizona as well as the expansion of companies already here. The ACA, formerly the Arizona Department of Commerce, has been re-created as a streamlined, business-savvy organization focused on producing results that benefit businesses and the Arizona economy.