Recent News
Tackling the Brain Drain
Sep 28 2020What is the brain drain? The brain drain is loosely defined as higher educated and more talented residents leaving an area after high school or college and taking their knowledge and skills elsewhere. In economic development, the brain drain usually refers to talented youth leaving their rural roots and startin...
Governor Brian P. Kemp announced that Zillow Group, the largest portfolio of real estate brands on the web, has named the metro Atlanta area its Southeastern hub, bringing nearly 200 jobs to the area.
“Our state’s skilled workforce continues to attract game-changing companies like Zillow,” said Governor Kemp. “Innovative, industry-leading tech companies hav...
As the U.S. economy begins to dig itself out of a deep hole caused by the COVID-19 crisis, many businesses now face the stark reality of a substantially reduced pool of working capital along with credit lines that will likely not thaw out anytime soon. Yet despite those challenges, retailers...
A Heightened Focus on Reshoring
Sep 21 2020The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the risks inherent in the global supply chain, particularly the worldwide reliance on China for medical supplies. The supply chain turbulence experienced during the pandemic undoubtedly will impact future business decisions, extending beyond medicine to other industries, including electronics, aerospace, automobiles, defense, consumer products, and technology.
Incentivizin...
As more jobs shifted to remote work during the Covid-19 crisis, many Millennial and Gen Z employees experienced “flex work” for the first time in their careers. According to the Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2020, 45% of these younger employees had never worked remotely before the pandemic, compared with just ...
The New Normal Is The Distributed Company
Sep 16 2020There has been a sharp increase in demand for property in upscale vacation areas, such as Lake Tahoe, about 200 miles from San Francisco, or The Hamptons, 100 miles from New York, from well-paid people fleeing the city and looking for properties with more space, as distributed work environments become the new norm an...
The last several years of corporate site selection have been influenced by many trends. Among these are corporate tax cuts, a red-hot industrial real estate market, the explosion of e-commerce, increasing trade protectionism, record economic growth and, in a stunning reversal, a global health pandemic and recession. It seems th...
The global pandemic has upended the labor market and dramatically and suddenly reversed U.S. economic expansion. COVID-19, especially, has caused U.S. manufactures to face unprecedented labor challenges.
With COVID-19 and the need for social distancing, these shortages are escalating. Many factories have shuttered to protect workers and prevent COVID-19’s spread. Eve...
Back in 2017, I posted about my observations regarding four common skills that Civic Leaders exhibit. After 5-months of a global pandemic, I thought it was a good time to return to and expand upon the list of skills that I see differentiating leaders making an impact. Those 4 skill...
Like so many others around the country, the South Bend Regional Chamber has stepped up in response to the pandemic to become the community’s go-to resource for business owners, elected officials, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations. Jeff Rea – the Chamber’s President and CEO – has even earned the monike...
As part of the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s (GDA) “Buy Georgia Grown, Now More Than Ever” campaign, Georgia Grown is partnering with local governments to connect produce farmers directly to consumers in highly populated areas. Georgia Grown To-Go is a series of pop-up markets, primarily in metro Atlanta that wil...
National surveys show that nearly one in four small businesses owners say that within two months they may need to close their doors permanently.
With consumers sheltering in place and supply chains hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the entrepreneurs who create the majority of all new American jobs are running ou...
While the decennial census is always important for its allocation of over $1.5 trillion (with a ‘T’!) in federal funding across 316 federal programs, the 2020 census is perhaps the most consequential in generations. Getting the count wrong right now will have impacts for the next 10 years on how well-resource...
Finding Talent in a Time of Economic Change
Jul 13 2020The coronavirus pandemic has caused more economic disruption than the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression. No one can say for sure what the landscape will look like as the economy recovers, but it’s clear that a lot of puzzle pieces won’t snap back into the same places a...
Innovation in America Reaches New Heights
Jul 10 2020The concept of an “innovation center” is certainly not new. However, without much fanfare, over time, some operations have reinvented the traditional center model, changing how and where they operate, leaning upon new partners and resources, and switching out the types of clients or markets served.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-1...
Arecent Brookings article touched on trends that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely accelerate. Many of them were already familiar to communities and economic developers: automation, the housing crisis, the necessity of ubiquitous broadband, and the struggles of microbusinesses. And businesses are also keenly aware of shifts in the economy that wer...
While it had been building for a few years, in the months leading up to the economic shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 crisis, economic development around the country was on the ropes. Certain cities — including Austin and Nashville — had made the decision to no longer offer incentives. Governin...
INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures is providing additional details around a new fund to support Hoosier manufacturing. The $3 million Smart & Advanced Manufacturing Focus Fund was first announced last week by Governor Eric Holcomb as part of his COVID-19 relief efforts.
The fund, which is being managed by Elevate Ventures, aims to "provide investment...
Manufacturers key to economic recovery
Jul 1 2020With the nation in the midst of a recession following 128 months of economic expansion, many are asking how we will find our way out. Turning to a long-time strength for the nation and relying on our manufacturing industry is one way. Manufacturing leaders presented some policy solutions and historical context fo...
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2020—The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau today approved an additional 62 funding applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. Health care providers in both urban and rural areas of the country will use this $23.25 million in funding to provide telehealth services during the coronavirus pandemic.
To date...
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement that some businesses closed because of COVID-19 would be allowed to begin reopening on Friday, April 24, with appropriate precautions, was welcomed as a timely first step for those financially impacted by the pause in Georgia’s economy. The broader public health state of emergency Kem...
Innovation in Response to Crisis
Jun 24 2020Innovation is situational; sometimes we choose to innovate proactively, and sometimes a crisis or situation catalyzes us to react with creative solutions never before imagined.
Over the past few weeks, most businesses have operated in the latter mode as the nation faces COVID-19. During this time, the Georgia Department of Economi...
Looking to have a little fun while sticking close to home? Why not recreate a scene from your favorite Georgia-filmed movie or television show? To join the fun, share your Georgia film scene on your Facebook or Twitter page and tag us: @GAFMDE.
With so many great choices, the possibilities are endless...
This year's public health crisis has reoriented our relationships with each other, the media, technology and the work we do. Humanity has never experienced such a swift and universal shift.
Friends are hosting live parties on Instagram.
Teachers are uploading lessons to YouTube for the first time.
Doctors are utilizing FaceTime or Google Duo for telemedicine services with patients.
Rea...
