Recent News

Throughout the pandemic consumers were desperately searching for new market solutions—from online tutors for their children, to in-home fitness solutions, restaurant delivery services and eco-friendly cleaning products. Entrepreneurs around the U.S.—who had the opportunities and resources to do so—sprung to life in meeting the demands of consumers in this ‘ne...Continue Reading

Seeking to create jobs and help their local economies climb out of the pandemic recession, state and local officials are raising the ante on subsidies to big corporations. But if history is any guide, ever-increasing tax breaks and other economic development incentives will likely lead to slower — not faste...Continue Reading

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has launched the FY 2021 $2 million STEM Talent Challenge to support programs to train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent and fuel regional innovation economies across the nation. The challenge will provide funding for work-and-learn programs to increase America’s workforce in emerging and transformativ...Continue Reading

Wells Fargo announced $3 million in grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to help underserved small businesses in rural and Southern Appalachian communities manage the economic effects of COVID-19. Wells Fargo has selected Appalachian Community Capital Development (ACC), Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) and Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIFund...Continue Reading

Governor Brian P. Kemp announced a statewide initiative to strengthen Georgia's position as a national leader in the electric mobility industry. Driven by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), the Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance (EMIA) includes partners from the private and public sectors ranging from government, industry, electri...Continue Reading

If there’s one thing that sets a successful organization apart, it’s the ability to stay on the cusp of innovation and technology.  Creating an innovation-friendly work environment was one of the top priorities on my entrepreneurial journey. With that realization came the understanding that I would need to face the challenges, a...Continue Reading

Thankfully, the “New Normal” I wrote about here in the May 2020 issue did have an expiration date after all. There may not be a specific calendar date to point to. But rush hour traffic resembles pre-pandemic volumes, people are traveling in droves — even if masks are still require...Continue Reading

The sixth annual State of Manufacturing Report released by Fictiv in late April found that 95% of industry leaders see digital transformation as essential to their company’s success, and 62% see re-shoring as one part of future-proofing their manufacturing. Apple on that same day in late April backed up those findings. Th...Continue Reading

This is not your father’s veggie burger — if he was ever near one. Today’s meat-alternative burgers and other foods are based on plant- or cell-based alternative proteins, and the global market for such products is exploding. According to analysis from Meticulous Research released in March, the alternative proteins marke...Continue Reading

The challenges facing rural America are well-known and exhaustively documented. Chronically shrinking populations beget shrinking tax bases and shriveling public services. Town squares board up. Hospitals close. The most promising youth light out for elsewhere, just as lack of reliable internet now helps to quash most any notion of winnin...Continue Reading

The past year has taught companies and employees alike that people in many occupations can work from anywhere. So, does the location where a company decides to set up shop really matter anymore? In a word, yes. And in many ways, it matters more than ever as the economy starts bac...Continue Reading

In a time of widespread economic upheaval, the life sciences industry is one of the few whose prospects have changed for the better. Called upon to rapidly develop and distribute an all-important COVID-19 vaccine without sacrificing the research and production of existing drugs, the biotech industry is expanding at breaknec...Continue Reading

The pandemic wreaked havoc across every industry, and companies in the manufacturing and mobility/transportation sectors were not spared. The result? Companies are re-evaluating their supply chains and operations in a post-COVID environment. Realigning the Supply Chain For the past 20 years, manufacturing moved operations from the U.S. to East Asia to tak...Continue Reading

When scouting locations for a retailer, an experienced real estate team knows precisely what to look for: sites that have high visibility, easy accessibility, and close proximity to a population base and competing stores. By comparing options that meet this small handful of criteria, the final selection can be relativel...Continue Reading

If you are an economic development professional, we want to know what you think about place marketing - whether you're a marketer yourself or not.  This survey is being shared with economic development and investment attraction professionals all over the world. Your contribution to this project benefits the industry as a whole; b...Continue Reading

It’s been incredibly interesting to watch just how the world has responded to the Covid-19 crisis. Some businesses and individuals didn’t seem to respond or pivot at all, but a select group of companies figured out how to not only stay afloat, but also thrive in the midst of this pandemic.  These companies, the successfu...Continue Reading

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every facet of our economy, increasing a cultural reliance on e-commerce that is here to stay. Retailers have responded by minimizing square footage of brick-and-mortar store fronts, keeping less inventory on site, and focusing more on entertainment and experiential retail to keep shoppers engaged. A...Continue Reading

Agile work is increasing due to the pandemic. Having experienced some of the benefits of working from home — such as reduced commutes, increased ability to balance work and life, preferred space to execute individualized focus work, etc. — more office workers are going to expect flexibility in where the...Continue Reading

While 2020 will certainly be remembered for the COVID-19 pandemic, the year also turned out to be transformative on the diversity and inclusion front (D&I). While much of the world sat socially distanced in their homes, we watched as our fellow Americans expressed outrage and grief over the gaps i...Continue Reading

WATERTOWN, S.D. — The lack of housing in Watertown has been well-documented as the area continues to grow. But developers say building workforce housing is not easy without some help in reducing the costs of construction. State, city, and economic development leaders say they are aware of the problem and ar...Continue Reading

Summer camp, without the bugs! TekStarz, Jonesboro's summer manufacturing camp, finished an exciting week on June 11th. Thirteen Jonesboro-area 7th and 8th graders spent three days with Jonesboro Unlimited and Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce staff getting a behind-the-scenes look at the world of manufacturing and technology. "TekStarz helps these students ge...Continue Reading

The Clarksville-Montgomery County Industrial Development Board (IDB) hosted its annual “Red Carpet Community Tour” for site selectors, economic development consultants and developers. The Red Carpet Tour event, hosted annually by the Clarksville-Montgomery County IDB, showcases the community, its wonderful amenities and talent to site selectors and potential developers.  The theme this yea...Continue Reading

As a part of the Digital Business Association out of Berlin, SIBB’s “Berlin Meets the USA” event series, the Georgia Department of Economic Development hosted a cybersecurity-focused webinar in January. The department and SIBB brought together experts and companies from both sides of the Atlantic to highlight the current cybe...Continue Reading

Renewed site selection activity, cautious optimism on foreign direct investment (FDI), continued skilled labor shortages and a shakeup of the global supply chain are among key findings of a 2021 outlook survey on corporate location trends. The findings were released today by the Site Selectors Guild, the only association o...Continue Reading