Recent News

Making talent attraction easier, and more effective is top of mind for many economic developers and the businesses they support. Talent attraction has been a challenge post-pandemic, whether that means getting people already in the community to work at their highest potential or attracting talent from outside of the area...Continue Reading

The challenges faced in 2020 were unlike any other confronted in our lifetime. The global pandemic wreaked havoc on our personal and professional lives and the U.S. and global economies. The Commerce Department reports that U.S. GDP declined 3.5 percent in 2020, with the economy falling into recession in February 202...Continue Reading

Profile of the Consultants Survey Respondents At least 80 percent of those responding to our 17th annual Consultants Survey work with manufacturers of durable goods, with some of these consultants also working with other manufacturers, and three quarters are working on distribution/logistics projects. Nearly half represent clients in data processing/computer-related sector...Continue Reading

When we last took stock of Area Development’s Top States for Doing Business, it was a bit hard to gauge what “doing business” was even supposed to look like. In 2020, the country was riding one wave of COVID-19 after another, mixing times of turmoil and concern with ripples o...Continue Reading

It’s no secret that the recipe for economic success usually includes generous portions of innovation and technology. That has been part of the economic development story for many years in such places as Boston, Seattle, the Research Triangle, and Silicon Valley. But just as you can find more and more cutting-edg...Continue Reading

It seems like the ultimate good-news story. The shift toward electric vehicles will greatly improve the long-term climate health of the planet. It’ll improve human health, too, by reducing pollution. It’ll create thousands of jobs in new industries, with new manufacturing operations lifting local economies. What’s not to like? Don’t forge...Continue Reading

The digitizing of the economy is pervasive, whether you’re performing quality control in an automated manufacturing plant; undergoing a medical procedure; operating a container crane at a backed-up West Coast port; launching fabrication of a 3D-printed prototype; or putting the finishing touches on a breakthrough architectural design. Could using our ow...Continue Reading

Chances are high that if you’ve been traveling around various regions of the United States in the past few years, you have noticed a solar array where one was not previously. I have had a similar “ah-ha” moment. You may have been struck by the fact that there are vast sola...Continue Reading

The ink on Intel’s $20 billion investment deal in Ohio was barely dry in January when experts started weighing in on the long-term impact of the deal. Much of the analysis in the press centered on Ohio’s $2 billion incentives package for the $200 billion California-based company, but the ramifications o...Continue Reading

The 2022 MEP Workforce Survey conducted by America Works asked for just one response from each MEP Center and their subrecipients. I’m excited to tell you that we had 100% participation, receiving 76 responses from 51 Centers nationally. MEP Centers represent a diverse group, with 58% incorporated as independent nonprofits...Continue Reading

Nearly two years into the remote work revolution, it’s easy to feel that a lifetime has passed. However, the reality is we are just at the beginning of seeing the impacts of remote work. From working habits to commuting patterns, there is an undercurrent of change. This is especially tru...Continue Reading