OUR BLOG
Putting American Recovery Act Funds to the Best Use
The moment we’ve all been waiting for is here! The Department of the Treasury released guidance for how communities can leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Tucked away in the document is a key directive: “state, local, and tribal governments may use...
As I See It I Resiliency Is More Than a Buzzword
A familiar, but often forgotten or misunderstood term is on the minds and tongues of many economic developers in the wake of the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (aka, the “Son of CARES” Act) and the next round of major COVID-related stimulus soon to be...
As I See It I New Employment Projections Important for Every EDO
Underpinning many of the assumptions we use every day in our work as economic developers is foundational work from government agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Among their standard reports is one that forecasts employment projections looking out...
As I See It | Eight Ways to Improve Your Talent Attraction Activities in 2021
In recent years, access to talent eclipsed all other site location drivers to become the single most important factor. As a result, the world of economic development is changing. Economic developers can no longer attract a company and expect talent to organically...
Top 10 Economic Development Headlines for 2021
Last March, I wrote a blog predicting how Covid-19 would impact economic development. It’s been quite a ride since then, but my predictions were pretty darn close. At least enough to embolden me to make some predictions for 2021. Here we go! Top 10 Economic...
Site Selectors and Economic Development Organizations Not Always on the Same Page
At Ady Advantage embracing data is built into our mission. As such, we conduct industry-wide research to help inform our site selection clients and the economic developers who serve them. One key finding of our research was a distinct mismatch, or gap, in the...
BRE Takes a Front Seat
Business retention and expansion (BRE) has never been more critical. One of the first things economic development organizations (EDO) did when COVID-19 hit was reach out to their existing businesses. This was the most direct and efficient way to understand the...
As I See It | Housing in a Time of COVID-19
Every industry and market has been impacted by COVID-19 in some way, often negatively. The pandemic disrupted supply chains and drastically altered consumer behavior. Industries like hospitality and travel have been decimated. While transportation, warehousing and the...
As I See It | To Plan or Not to Plan, Virtually
One of the silver linings of COVID-19 is that it has given a big push to certain trends that were in play but not yet widely adopted. Look for a more detailed assessment of that broader topic in a future blog, while today we’ll focus on what you can expect when...