OUR BLOG
The Pulse of ED among Rural Electric Co-Op Leaders
I recently had the pleasure to teach a group of new and emerging senior rural electrical cooperative leaders. The session for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is part of their Management Internship Program (MIP). We asked the co-op leaders...
As I See It: A Comparison: Business vs. Individual Location Decision Making
We live in a world where Economic Development Organizations (EDO) must operate on two parallel paths: business development (business retention, expansion, recruitment, and start-up) and talent development (talent retention, development, and recruitment). In short,...
Black Hills State University Invests in Community Training and Engagement
At Ady Advantage, we understand the value of engaging with employers to understand the talent base of a region. This is a crucial part of the process when our team leads talent assessments for communities. And as workforce challenges speed up in the wake of the...
Creative Educational Solutions Address Workforce Challenges
We have back-to-school on the brain. Our focus hasn’t been on where to get school supply deals or classroom prep, though. As we conduct regional talent assessments, we are admiring the efforts of educational institutions stepping up to help address workforce...
Talent Recruitment Is More than a Tagline
Remember the good old days? When recruiting talent meant a nice tagline and a flashy campaign showing lots of smiling people at the local fair? When simply having head of household jobs was enough? The “build it and they will come” days are long gone in this...
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...