Years of first-hand experience managing local, regional and statewide economic development organizations makes SHEDC partners highly qualified to develop strategic action plans, create effective organization structures, evaluate and develop strategies for product development, and so much more.
Strategic E.D. Action Planning
SHEDC firmly believes that a Strategic Economic Development Action Plan (SEDAP) is a living document that establishes a unified direction for a community’s short and long-term economic development. Our plans identify goals and prioritize action steps for communities to undertake in their business retention, expansion, and recruitment efforts, to ensure that the collaborative economic development efforts of your organization and your allies are “operating at optimum.”
Organization Review and Enhancements
Is your economic development organization as effective as it should be? Do you have the resources and strategies necessary to successfully achieve your goals and the expectations of management? Highly effective organizations are continually self-evaluating. SHEDC provides a set of evaluations that can comprehensively assess each aspect of an economic development organization or can be individually employed to evaluate specific components or needs.
Product Development Strategies
Economic development is a hyper-competitive arena with states, regions, communities, and other countries all vying for new jobs and investment. Product in economic development terms is defined as available buildings and sites. Site selection is a process of elimination and the first step in avoiding elimination is to have product that captures the attention of the professional that is directing the process. An essential element of a successful recruitment program is a diverse, quality inventory of product. Without this inventory, a community never gets noticed and never even gets the opportunity to start the race for jobs and capital investment, so crucial for growth and expansion.
Executive Search and Bridge Management
Most economic development organizations will, at some point, make changes in their executive staff positions. These changes often take place with short notice leaving those organizations in a quandary as to how they should continue operating on a high level and not lose traction with clients, projects and staff. SHEDC has experience in both executive search and bridge management having assisted a variety of local and regional economic development organizations through those difficult times.
ROI/Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis
Communities and states today are constantly being asked to make investments in new and expanding economic development projects by way of various incentive programs. But how do those leaders who are making the decision on incentives know if they are investing public funds wisely? SHEDC provides economic and fiscal analysis services that quantify and qualify the impact a project would have on a given area. This analysis allows for a true assessment of the return on investment that are being contemplated and provides a sound basis on which to structure any incentive package.
Shell/Special Use Building Evaluation and Deal Structuring
Every site location consultant has seen their share of contaminated old industrial buildings that communities want ‘saved’ or, maybe, your site consultant has been offered several ‘fields of hope’ being told about how great the area would be once their ‘client or company’ locates to their region or state.
Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Program
Why is a BRE program so critical to a locality? Ask yourself how an existing manufacturer in your area, employing a good number of local residents, had been in the community for many years and had supported a variety of local initiatives; yet most local efforts to increase job opportunities were focused on chasing the next “biggest and best” corporation? Probably not so good. It is an accepted “rule of thumb” in economic development that 80% of new jobs created come from existing businesses.
Competitive Analysis
Successful organizations don’t follow the lead of other organizations and regions they compete for in attracting companies. However, not understanding how one stands in the competitive market is a major mistake. We analyze our economic development organization clients from a competitive and comparative standpoint to get a true measure of their position in the markets in which they routinely compete for investment and job creation projects.
Funding Analysis
Securing sufficient funding for achieving economic development goals is always a challenge but it is the critical “engine” that leads to success and return on investment for an economic development organization. Are there sufficient financial resources dedicated and expended in the best areas to properly implement the economic development function and goals and to ensure that new critical initiatives are funded?
Marketing Program Analysis and Development
When an economic development organization is “in the weeds” with the day to day pursuit of its activities it is difficult to stop and analyze its marketing and positioning efforts. Having an experienced third party to do an evaluation and recommendations for new or improved marketing strategies and tactics allows for continuous improvement without disruption to the current program.
“Your involvement has contributed to a much stronger and effective organization. We would highly recommend your firm to any other economic development organization.”
Companies and Communities We’ve Supported
