NCDS Recent News

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

We know these are challenging, scary and even puzzling times for you. To help you navigate the ever-changing landscape, we’ve gathered resources to help guide you in your fundraising, donor communications and more, and what it means to engage with donors during a time in which in-person interaction is likely non-existent. Read full article.

Useful Stats: GDP by County and Industry Contribution

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

This edition of Useful Stats examines the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ first full release of county-level gross domestic product (GDP) data. Specifically, this analysis considers total county GDP in 2018 and the contributions to each county’s GDP by industry. While finance and insurance in New York ($222.5 billion) accounted for the single largest contribution to both total county GDP and total U.S. GDP in 2018 — followed by real estate and rental and leasing in Los Angeles ($150.2 billion) — the manufacturing sector was the highest contributor to county GDP in the greatest number of counties. Manufacturing was the primary source for count...

Is every job a STEM job?

Thursday, March 05, 2020

STEM and the American Workforce, a new report backed mostly by science associations, points to STEM jobs as one-third of direct employment, two-thirds of total employment, and 69 percent of America’s GDP. The authors highlight that 60 percent of STEM jobs are filled by people without bachelor’s degrees. Those are eye-popping numbers until one starts to dig into what the report considers a STEM job, which were decided on a case-by-case basis according to the occupation’s sector and educational requirements. This is not the only recent STEM employment study to take an expansive view of the field. Earlier this year...

‘Economic mapping’ can help cities target the best places for density and growth

Thursday, February 27, 2020

During his state-of-the-state speech last year, Maryland governor Larry Hogan announced that his administration’s construction of new toll lanes in interstates around the Washington, D.C. suburbs would be part of the world’s largest public-private infrastructure partnership, with an estimated cost between $9 and $11 billion. The premise for this “monumental and historic” project, according to a press release, will be to solve “limits” on “the economic growth and competitiveness of the region” by widening highways. Read full article.

CHAMBER/EDO MERGERS PROS, CONS, AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Golden Shovel and National Community Development Services released a white paper exploring many of the issues related to the ongoing trend of organizational mergers / consolidation in the Chamber and economic development world. Tom DiFiore, President of National Community Development Services (NCDS), highlighted in this webinar the findings and recommendations from leaders who have been through the merger process. If you – or your community’s leaders – have thought about a possible merger, tune in to learn the potential benefits, negative impacts, and what to know about the process. You can view the video by clicking here.

How talent attraction strategies are shaping the future of cities

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Two weeks ago, the Global Talent Competitiveness Index for 2020 was released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, ranking 132 countries and 155 cities for their ability to attract, grow and retain talent. There was one finding in particular that stood out to us: “The gap between talent champions (almost all of them high income countries) and the rest of the world is widening.” If the bar is being moved ever higher, how can smaller destinations improve their offering to compete against New York, London, Tokyo and the other ‘talent champions’ of the world? And what can we learn from cities wh...

Fargo, West Fargo together pledge $800,000 toward $5 million 'Fueling Our Future' workforce drive

Sunday, January 26, 2020

FARGO — Bernie Dardis remembers a time when his sign company was looking to hire a lead graphic artist and got 63 applications from four states. That was back in the 1990s, when the Fargo-Moorhead job market was much less competitive than it is today. Now, he said, a similar job posting is likely to draw just one or two applicants. Dardis, now the mayor of West Fargo, is an enthusiastic backer of a $5 million initiative called Fueling Our Future, a partnership between The Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp. Read full article.

STATE OFFICIALS DESIGNATE SOUTH BEND - ELKHART REGION YEAR’S FIRST 21ST CENTURY TALENT REGION

Friday, January 17, 2020

Indiana Secretary of Career Connections and Talent Blair Milo joined state and local officials to announce the South Bend - Elkhart Region as the year’s first 21st Century Talent Region, a statewide designation awarded to Indiana communities focused on working collaboratively to attract, develop and connect talent. “The South Bend - Elkhart Regional Partnership has been instrumental in driving innovation across northern Indiana, partnering with local, regional and state leaders through various talent, education and workforce development opportunities such as the Regional Cities initiative,” said Secretary Milo. “As a 21st Century Talent Region, the South Bend - Elkhart Region continues to buil...

RISEVER CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING!

Thursday, January 02, 2020

Almost exactly two years after making the announcement that Risever was going to build a new steel fabrication facility in Jonesboro, the company celebrated its Grand Opening in style on October 23. “This is a day of celebration and a remarkable occasion for Risever,” said Risever General Manager Yonggang Lai, “It also marks our start of trial production. We will remain consistent with our business plan, ensuring that 20.5 million dollars of investment are in place.” Risever is a family-owned company based in Hefei, China. Risever has three additional plants in China that employs over 1,000 people. Read full article.

What jobs are affected by AI? Better-paid, better-educated workers face the most exposure

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

Artificial intelligence (AI) has generated increasing interest in “future of work” discussions in recent years as the technology has achieved superhuman performance in a range of valuable tasks, ranging from manufacturing to radiology to legal contracts. With that said, though, it has been difficult to get a specific read on AI’s implications on the labor market. In part because the technologies have not yet been widely adopted, previous analyses have had to rely either on case studies or subjective assessments by experts to determine which occupations might be susceptible to a takeover by AI algorithms. What’s more, most research has concentrate...

Small and midsized legacy communities: Trends, assets, and principles for action

Monday, December 23, 2019

For more than a decade, Brookings and other experts have recommended increased policy focus on older industrial cities. With their substantial populations (especially in the Midwest), significant clusters of jobs, sustainable infrastructure, and high degree of racial/ethnic diversity, these cities represent important focal points for efforts to close widening gaps in America’s economy and society. Read full article.

Demographer Unpacks Why Fewer Americans Are Moving

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Americans are moving and relocating less than any time on record. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with demographer William Frey about the trend and what it says about the economy. Read full article.

Five Organizations Tackling Affordable Housing

Monday, December 16, 2019

The lack of affordable housing across the U.S. has reached crisis proportions. At the “Unlocking the Market: Big Ideas for Local Housing Challenges” conference, hosted by the Urban Institute and Fannie Mae, five diverse organizations shared their innovative solutions for affordable housing that can contribute to creating stable and vital communities across the nation. Read full article.

How Apprenticeships Can Benefit Your Company's Bottom Line

Friday, December 13, 2019

Training entry-level workers is a rare win-win for workers and their employers. A recent report by McKinsey found that approximately 14.7 million U.S. workers under may face job displacement due to automation by 2030. Younger folks entering the workforce have traditionally turned to jobs in retail and food service, and both of these sectors are due to turn toward automation to replace human employees. That means a significant portion of the population will be out of a job. Read full article.

The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

MIT TASK FORCE ON THE WORK OF THE FUTURE Read full report here.

Building the tech talent pipeline

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

By taking a data-driven approach, regions can pinpoint the strengths and gaps in their pool of tech talent and prioritize investments to boost competitiveness and collaboration. Amazon’s search for its HQ2 location sparked fierce competition among US metropolitan areas, as their leaders viewed the headquarters as a game changer for economic development. However, the bidding process also shone a spotlight on the issues of talent development and retention—common challenges for metropolitan areas around the world. While low interest rates have given companies easy access to money, a reliable pool of qualified workers has become the scarcer capital. And if technology is no...

New Report on The Role of Data and Accountability in Growing Youth Apprenticeship Programs

Monday, December 09, 2019

Youth apprenticeship programs can give students access to valuable work-based learning experiences that provide insights into how their interest can connect to education and the workforce. Although these programs are often beneficial for participants, there is little data to show the programmatic landscape and impact. A lack of data inhibits the development and expansion of youth apprenticeship programs. Read full article.

New book finds job-creation tax incentives mostly fail, improvements recommended

Friday, December 06, 2019

Tax incentives don’t affect a company’s decision on where to locate in a majority of cases, according to a new book. Making Sense of Incentives: Taming Business Incentives to Promote Prosperity by Timothy J. Bartik of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research does conclude that better-designed tax-incentive programs “when combined with business services and other smart policies … can be a cost-effective way to promote inclusive local economic growth.” Read full article.

Study on Overhead and Donors Suggests “Mum’s the Word”

Wednesday, December 04, 2019

Joseph Stinn, an assistant professor of Economics at Miami University, performed a study last year to examine whether individual donors cared about overhead. What Stinn found was that they do, but essentially only if and when it is brought up while they’re mulling their decisions. Read full article.

For First Time in Seven Years, Cities Anticipate Revenue Decline

Sunday, December 01, 2019

In the Los Angeles suburb of Bellflower, California, officials are getting the city budget ready for a slowdown by tightening spending and beefing up reserves. For the past five months, the state’s fiscal health index has been trending downward, a shift that Mayor Pro Tem Juan Garza said weighs heavily on the city’s own forecasting. “For California to be experiencing that,” he said, “it’s an indicator of not only what California is going to experience, but also the rest of the country.” In fact, for the first time in seven years, cities across the country are collectively anticipating a decline i...

Three Things Small Cities Teach Us About Civic Engagement

Saturday, November 09, 2019

Big cities and big data tend to get most of the attention in publications and on industry panels. Rapid urbanization and the explosion of data are headlining trends. In reality, however, the United States is a nation of small towns. According to Census Bureau information, the median American lives in a city with a population around 17,500. Half of Americans live in communities that are even smaller. In order to ground our conversations about technology, data, and urbanization in the reality of cities where the typical American lives, it’s useful to talk about how smaller-sized communities are benefitting from data an...

What Ethics in Local Leadership Looks Like

Friday, November 08, 2019

Whenever I talk about organizational plans, I ask the audience to quote, verbatim (and without looking at their city’s website or their business card) their city’s vision statement, or mission, or set of core values. This evokes bemused laughter. I’ll often get partial answers: “There’s something about service.” “Quality . . . I think.” “Umm . . . be ethical?” Rarely do I get anything close to a complete answer. Read full article.

Automation could increase economic divide between urban areas & rural communities

Thursday, November 07, 2019

The continuing trend toward automation could widen the disparities between high-growth urban areas and rural counties at a time when workforce mobility is at historic lows, and the current economic health of urban, suburban and rural economies will impact their ability to adapt, according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute: The Future of Work In America. Read full article.

Ten states selected for manufacturing-focused Policy Academy

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Ten states from across the country have been selected as part of a unique program designed to grow and strengthen their manufacturers. Over the course of the next year, interdisciplinary state teams will meet together in Washington, D.C., and separately in their home states, to develop and refine strategies impacting manufacturing industries. Read full article.

EDA announces $23 million for 2019 Regional Innovation Strategies cohort

Tuesday, November 05, 2019

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced Regional Innovation Strategies awards — i6 Challenge and Seed Fund Support — to 44 organizations. Those awards are worth $23.5 million in federal funding matched by $26 million from a variety of private and public sector sources for nearly $50 million for projects to support entrepreneurship and innovation in 28 states and two territories. SSTI members receiving awards include BioSTL, Launch Tennessee, Epicenter Memphis, Research Foundation of SUNY, and VertueLab. Read full article.

Aerospace and Defense Investment Projects Take the Long View

Monday, November 04, 2019

Understanding and reducing the potential risks of a generational location project involving very large land parcels and investment. If your industry is aerospace or defense, finding locations for new or expanded facilities is becoming an ever-critical aspect of your business. Not surprisingly, economic development organizations (EDOs) are eager to do business with the aerospace and defense companies—but not all are equipped to respond to the distinct requirements of these sectors. Read full article.

Opportunity Zones Can Uplift Communities and Investors Alike

Sunday, November 03, 2019

The program enables institutional and private investors to reduce taxes on current capital gains and avoid taxes on future capital gains—if they invest in low-income and rural communities. While still very much in their infancy, opportunity zones are giving investors, commercial real estate professionals, economic developers and the distressed communities they aim to elevate all reasons for cautious hope, excitement and optimism. It’s not hard to see why. While this still-new program has caused some investor uncertainty in the market, the potential to revitalize communities and reduce tax liabilities are attractive to economic developers and investors alike. Read full article.

How to Engage Women Donors

Saturday, November 02, 2019

To unlock the full potential of women’s philanthropy, fundraisers must understand how gender shapes giving behavior. Women and men give differently, and the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) has developed research that explores unique questions about the factors that shape gender-based giving patterns – including age, religion, income, marital status, and more. Read full article.

EXPANDING OUR ENTREPRENEURIAL IMAGINATION IN INDIANAPOLIS

Friday, November 01, 2019

Who do you picture when you hear the word “entrepreneur?” Do you imagine a 20 something plugging away on their computer coding for an app? Maybe you envision your local coffee shop owner who wants to create space for community members to connect over a good cup of joe. As Forward Cities journeys with communities to develop equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, one thing we are learning is that our collective imagination around entrepreneurship will have to expand. Read full article.

NCDS Client, Watertown Development Company, Receives IEDC Award

Friday, November 01, 2019

The Watertown Development Company (WDC) has won an Excellence in Economic Development Award for a project they completed with the help of National Community Development Services, Inc. (NCDS). The award was given by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) at their annual conference in October. WDC was given an award for a print brochure that was created as part of a capital campaign facilitated by NCDS. As an organization, NCDS works with communities across the country to help them successfully raise funds for capital campaigns, new initiatives, economic development and quality of life programs. In Watertown, South Dakota, the campaign raise...

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Building Great Communities One Campaign at a Time.

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