2025 C2ER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Membership
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2025 C2ER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Overview

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!

Accomplishments

Newsletters – Bi-Weekly Updates, Quarterly
  • To date we have distributed 22 Bi-Weekly Updates and 4 C2ER Quarterly issues to more than 4,800 members and targeted partners
  • Delivered high-impact marketing emails, leading to a near-record breaking number of attendees to the Sacramento Conference
Annual Conference
  • Launched the 66th Annual Conference June 17 – 19, 2026 in Memphis, TN
  • Conducted the 65th Annual Conference May 28 – 30, with two optional pre-conference training courses on May 27, 2025, in Sacramento CA
  • Attracted more than 290 paid and sponsored attendees, an increase of more than 10% compared to 2024 and reflecting continued growth since the pandemic
Training and Certification
  • Organized and conducted three instructor-led training courses:
    • Power BI for Beginners
    • Enhancing Your Impact and Advancing Your Career in Workforce and Economic Research (Leadership Training)
    • From Raw Data to Regional Insights: Intermediate R Tools for Workforce & Economic Development
  • Attracted more than 50 training attendees to C2ER conference training
  • Awarded the Certified Economic Research Professional (CERP) designation to seven more individuals.
Cost of Living Index
  • Produced quarterly Cost of Living Index publication for the 56th year
  • Improved data quality and accelerated processing time for utilities data by partnering with a third-party utility rates collector and streamlining data review through Python integration
  • Expanded COLI access through 13 new licensees
  • Refreshed COLI website to increase engagement and ease of use
  • Quoted in dozens of nationally respected publications
Economic Research, Technical Assistance, and Advocacy
  • 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
  • Assessed network capabilities and needs regarding labor market data usage and access to inform programming for the Mobilizing Data for Talent Development initiative in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Identified workforce network partners committed to building manufacturing talent pipeline for DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Education and Workforce Development program
  • Facilitated 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 2,588 incentives state programs
  • Continued our multi-year partnership with SelectUSA (the 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 1929 followers (up 243 since last year), keeping members informed and engaged
  • Webinar registration and attendance has jumped 5-10x year over year due to enhanced marketing efforts

Maximize Your Membership

Visit us when you are in the area:
1700 N. Moore Street, Suite 1500, Arlington, VA 22209

Contact staff anytime at info@c2er.org or 703.522.4980