C2ER Quarterly – 2025 Fall Edition 🍂

Research Matters - Bi-Weekly Update
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2025 – Fall Edition
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In This Issue:
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  • Join us in Memphis!
  • Take Your Region to the Next Level with C2ER’s Data Products
  • Research and News from our Members 
  • C2ER Welcomes New and Renewed Members 
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LEARN
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Join Us in Memphis!
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The 66th C2ER + LMI Institute Annual Conference is going to be held in Memphis, TN from June 17-19, 2026 (with optional training on June 16) at the world-famous Peabody Hotel.

How do you make sense of all the changes happening in your region? By meeting your peers, learning best practices, and connecting directly with the leaders who are proactively finding solutions for their regions.

All of this, and much more, is happening in Memphis in 2026. Won’t you join us?
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Elevate Your Region’s Impact with

C2ER’s Data Products
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Did you know? As a C2ER member, you have access to a wide range of powerful data products which can take your region’s prosperity to the next level.

The products you have access to depends on your membership level. Such products include:

Cost of Living Index (COLI)

Our most popular data product, the quarterly Cost of Living Index provides a useful and reasonably accurate way to compare cost of living differences between urban areas weighted by different categories of consumer expenditures for mid-management households.

Talent and Industry Mix Index

The Talent and Industry Mix Index helps practitioners and policy makers understand and explore key concepts related to the economic mix of all U.S. counties, states, metropolitan, and micropolitan areas. The entropy measure of the mix was used to calculate industry-, function-, occupation-, and knowledge-based measures of economic mix.

State Business Incentives Database

The State Business Incentives Database is a searchable database of incentive programs used by states for strategic business attraction. The Business Incentives Database includes more than 1,600 incentive programs across the country categorized according to: Program Category, Program Type, Geographic Focus, and Business Need.

State Economic Development Expenditures Database

Collected by aggregating state budget data, the Expenditures Database assesses total resources available for economic development activity across more than 15 functional areas and multiple funding sources using consistent funding categorizations. The data is valid through 2023.
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Events
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CERP Presentation: Building Tomorrow’s Tech Workforce in Northern Virginia

 

November 19, 2025

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
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2026 C2ER + LMI Institute Conference

June 17 – 19, 2026

Memphis, TN
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eLearning Courses
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Foundations of Economic Development Research I:

Introduction to Data Sources

This three-hour self-paced eLearning course prepares novice economic development researchers to successfully guide regional development decisions through high-quality data. Completing this course will lay the groundwork for developing a regional economic profile, performing labor market analysis, conducting competitive market intelligence research, applying Census data to researching local employment, and presenting research findings.

More Information
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Foundations of Economic Development Research II:

Introduction to Regional Analysis Methods

This three-hour, video-based course, the second of the Foundations of Economic Development Research eLearning program, provides novice economic developers and researchers with a practical introduction to research methods, models, and tools to support state and regional economic development strategies. Course exercises demonstrate and reinforce the basic analytical skills needed to address real-world questions that policymakers and practitioners encounter.

More Information
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RESEARCH
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Research/News From Our Members
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Arizona Commerce Authority: Manufacturing Momentum: Arizona’s Historic October

California Center of Excellence For Labor Market Research: San Diego & Imperial Community Colleges’ Adult Learner Study: Insights to Strengthen Practices and Policies

Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness: Activities Checklist for Community Colleges in Economic Development

Greater Wichita Partnership: Wichita-Based and Austrian Companies Partner to Advance U.S. Aerospace Manufacturing

Michigan Workforce Development Agency: $8M Federal Grant Supports Training for Michiganders in Shipbuilding and Maritime Manufacturing

North Carolina Department of Commerce: Marking One Year Since Hurricane Helene, N.C. Commerce Highlights Recovery Milestones in Western North Carolina

SmartIncentives: Veteran Hiring Tax Credits: High Hopes, Low Impact

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development: TDLWD Partners with Lipscomb University for a First-of-Its-Kind Program

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation: Deep Tech, Big Impact: How Wisconsin’s Ecosystem is Fueling Scientific Innovation
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CONNECT
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New C2ER Members
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C2ER would like to thank and welcome our new and renewed members from the past quarter! We look forward to bringing you the tools, data, and training you need to make your job easier, help you develop professionally, and empower your region’s prosperity. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any suggestions or feedback.
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New Members
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  • Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
  • Kenstone Group
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  • Manatee County Government
  • Olon USA
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Renewing Members
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  • Central SC Alliance
  • City of Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department
  • Community Development Foundation Tupelo/Lee County
  • Danville Office of Economic Development
  • Deloitte Tax LLP
  • Development Counsellors International
  • ECONorthwest
  • EntreWorks
  • Florida Power & Light Company
  • Frederick County Economic Development Corp
  • Greater Memphis Chamber
  • Greater Phoenix Economic Council
  • Hawaii Dept of Business, Economic Dev & Tourism
  • Hays Caldwell Economic Development Partnership
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  • Incentilock
  • Kansas City Area Development Council
  • Knoxville Chamber
  • Lafayette Economic Development Authority
  • Leyton USA
  • Maryland Dept of Commerce
  • McGrath North Mullin & Kratz PC LLO
  • Minnesota Dept of Employment and Economic Development
  • Mississippi Development Authority
  • Nederveld, Inc.
  • Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development
  • Northwest Arkansas Council
  • Shaw Industries
  • Texas Economic Development & Tourism
  • University of Virginia
  • Wake County Economic Development
  • Wathen & Associates Limited
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Not a C2ER member? Become one today. With customizable benefits to meet your research needs C2ER is THE organization for economic and workforce development researchers!
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