Overview
The future of economic development is uncertain. Let C2ER be your North Star. For more than six decades, C2ER has been at the forefront of economic development research. In recent years, our association has endeavored to be at the forefront of leveraging data to make evidence-based decisions for communities, businesses, and people. C2ER also connects members with their peers to share best practices on how data can be used as a strategic tool, improve public access to information, and develop new ways to tell powerful and compelling stories with those data. Additionally, C2ER seeks to provide members with updated public databases, innovative proprietary tools, new data visualization techniques, and advanced analytic methods to further improve outcomes in their regions.
C2ER remains steadfast in our commitment to providing all our members with opportunities to learn, advance their careers, and grow their regions with key insights, events, and products. Below are some of ways C2ER has benefited its members during the past year. Thank you for your continued participation!
See the printable version here.
Newsletters – Bi-Weekly Updates, Quarterly
- To date we have distributed 22 Bi-Weekly Updates and 4 C2ER Quarterly issues to more than 5,500 members and targeted partners
- Delivered high-impact weekly marketing emails, leading to significant increase in paid registration for conference and trainings compared to 2023
Annual Conference
- Conducted the Annual Conference June 12–14, with three optional pre-conference training courses on June 11, 2024, in Norfolk, VA
- Attracted more than 250 paid and sponsored attendees, an increase of 20% compared to 2023 and reflecting continued growth since the pandemic
- Announced 65th annual conference in Sacramento, CA from May 28-30
Training and Certification
- Organized and conducted five instructor-led training courses:
- Addressing Workforce Skill Gaps in Your Region
- Foundations of Economic Development Research
- Beginner R Training
- Intermediate R Training: Data Science for Workforce and Economic Development Research
- Applied Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis
- Attracted more than 60 training attendees to C2ER conference training
Cost of Living Index
- Team member Tyler Baines was interviewed on NPR’s Marketplace on May 28 to discuss COLI
- Produced quarterly Cost of Living Index publication for the 55th year
- Alleviated data collector workload by integrating web-sourced grocery data and incorporating alternative methods for gas price and mortgage rate data collection
- Identified new tool for acquiring and integrating utility rates in Q1 2024
- Expanded COLI access through 26 new licensees
- Published 20+ blog posts about COLI
- Refreshed COLI website to increase engagement and ease of use (ongoing)
- Increased referrals for new bundled database created for colleges and libraries
Economic Research and Technical Assistance
- Updated the C2ER/LMI Institute dataset summarizing the availability of Certifications and Licenses by state with latest 2019-2023 averages
- Conducted preliminary research on automation exposure in different occupations to inform state and regional employment projections
- Explored use of administrative data from NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics to analyze training and education of the nation’s skilled technical workforce in collaboration with George Washington University
- Conducted research on the challenges facing states in providing substate and skills projections data with support from the Lumina Foundation
- Provided research and facilitation support to increase labor market data use for selected intermediaries serving low-income youth and adults in collaboration with Jobs for the Future and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Identified workforce network partners committed to building manufacturing talent pipeline for DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Education and Workforce Development program
- Launched the Data User Insights Academy through the LMI Institute and funded by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). This initiative brings together data producers (state LMI shops) and data users to learn how state LMI data can be more accessible and user friendly
State Business Incentives
- Continued to update a database with 2,426 incentives state programs
- Continued our multi-year partnership with SelectUSA (the U.S. Department of Commerce) to provide content to international companies seeking U.S. facility locations
Membership/Marketing Services and Support
- Continued to maintain an updated member area directory to make finding colleagues with common interests easy
- Expanded our network with 36 new member organizations
- Expanded LinkedIn presence to keep members better informed and engaged
- Expanded marketing reach by adding 200+ followers to C2ER LinkedIn page
Maximize Your Membership
- Join a committee
- Leverage staff as a resource
- Tap the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) as a resource