The Council Training

The Council for Community and Economic Research (formerly known as ACCRA) is dedicated to helping to improve the skills of community and economic development researchers. The Council provides an opportunity for researchers to earn professional recognition as a "Certified Community Researcher" (CCR).

 

UPCOMING TRAINING CLASSES:
Data-Driven Economic Development Techniques
September 13-17 , 2010 | C2ER Offices | Arlington, VA

 

 

Monday, September 13
An Overview of Data Needs for Community Economic Researchers

Instructors:
Terry L. Clower, Ph.D., Director, Center for Economic Development and Research, University of North Texas
Edward Feser, Ph.D., Professor & Head of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Illinois

This session provides the basics about the critical data sources used to describe regional economies. Learn more about how to manage your community’s data and be prepared with the data that businesses need most in making economic and workforce investments.

• Overview of relevant data products
• Key data elements
• Understanding data taxonomies
• Preparing for trouble spots
• Building blocks for regional analysis
• Expanding data horizons

Tuesday, September 14
The Basics of Economic Impact Analysis

Instructors:
Terry L. Clower, Ph.D., Director, Center for Economic Development and Research, University of North Texas
Mark C. White, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness/C2ER

This session introduces key concepts related to regional economic input-output framework. Participants learn about relevant commercially available software and how to apply them in conducting economic impact studies.

• Overview and rationale for conducting impact studies
• Data requirements for a study
• Using available impact analysis software models (e.g., RIMS II, IMPLAN, EMSI, etc.)
• Other types of impacts
• Review and wrap-up

Wednesday, September 15
Fiscal Impact Analysis

Instructors:
George Erickcek, Senior Regional Analyst, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Daniel R. Gorin, Senior Community Affairs Analyst, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

This course provides the basics of conducting cost-benefit analysis. Participants learn how to structure and undertake cost-benefit studies to better understand the fiscal consequences of a proposed project or policy.

• Introduction to the preparation of a fiscal impact study
• Review of key economic impact analysis techniques
• Estimating costs and impact of incentives
• Estimating benefits
• Setting the analysis time frame
• Case studies of fiscal impact situations in the real world
• Introduction to the Fiscal Impact Tool
• Presenting fiscal impact analyses
• Avoiding pitfalls of fiscal impact studies
• Wrap-up

Thursday, September 16
Conducting Competitive Market Intelligence

Instructors:
George Harben, CCR, CEcD, Vice President, Greater Paducah Economic Development Council
Larry Henson (invited), CCR, Director of Business Intelligence, Louisiana Dept. of Economic Development

This session provides participants with the tools necessary to collect information about prospects and client companies. The session will prepare participants to better pre-qualify leads to make their economic development efforts more efficient and effective.

• Overview of market and business intelligence gathering
• Identifying factors influence corporate location and investment decision making
• Selecting companies and markets for targeted intelligence gathering
• Secondary resources for gathering in-depth information about companies and markets
• Case studies of intelligence research questions and responses
• Primary data collection tools and techniques
• Organizing the intelligence gathering process
• Managing the intelligence gathering process – from staff requirements to prospect tracking systems
• Summary and wrap-up

Friday, September 17
Managing Relational Databases for the Web

Instructor:
Erol Yildirim, Senior Vice President, New Product Development, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness/C2ER

Make your economic or workforce development website more powerful by using relational databases to organize information in more dynamic ways. This course will help you to understand how to manage your data efficiently using MS Access and MS SQL Server and publish your database on the web using Macromedia Dreamweaver without having to become a programmer.

• Moving beyond Excel – creating efficiencies in responding to client needs through relational data structures
• Creating a relational database
• Preparing data for using in a database
• Migrating available data to a relational database
• Moving data to the web for easy access and management

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