More than six in seven local economic development districts are pursuing at least one industry cluster goal, according to an analysis of recent Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS). These strategies cover sectors ranging from advanced manufacturing to tourism and leverage tactics as diverse as business recruitment, technology development, and workforce…
The recent tax law[i] has numerous implications for regional economic development strategies, which we will dig into in this blog. First up: Qualified Small Business Stock. Many regional tech-based economic development strategies address capital access for startups at least partly by encouraging high net worth individuals, or angels, to invest…
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has opened a funding opportunity for communities affected by disasters over the past few years. The competition includes an “industry transformation” path that borrows much from the agency’s model for the Tech Hubs, Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC), and Recompete programs: applicants propose…
Has your region had success with an economic policy, initiative, or strategy focused on a specific tech sector? Are you proud of how you developed this work or of one of the successes it has helped your region achieve? Do you have lessons that could benefit other communities who are…
Billions in federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funds are awarded each year to translate new ideas into commercial products—but not all states capitalize on the opportunity. Excel’s SBIR State Performance Index offers a new lens to assess and compare how well each region converts research, firms, and employment into…
High technology sectors are valuable to local economies because of their disproportionate effects on private sector output and patent production—with the latter benefit particularly strong in regions with high concentrations of these firms. Recent data from the Census Bureau provides counts of high tech and all firms by metropolitan statical…
In 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration finalized rules to allow new models for its Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) financing vehicle: Accrual and Reinvestor licenses. As I wrote at the time, these rules make the program a better fit for early-stage investment than it has been for the past…
From artificial intelligence regulation to tax policy, the federal government is poised to take actions in 2025 that will likely significantly impact technology advancement. Economic development practitioners should be tracking these developments and preparing to assist their entrepreneurs and researchers through the changes, so that their regions can maximize the…
The U.S. Small Business Administration is an important partner for many regional economic development strategies, and organizations therefore are concerned for what the next four years hold for the agency. From 2017-2020, we saw first Trump administration regularly propose to limit SBA’s funding, particularly for programs designed to assist entrepreneurs….
Business research and development activity is crucial for high-tech and high-growth firms and is therefore an important element of a regional economy. There are many ways that policymakers can usefully assess a region’s business R&D activity, including the value of R&D performed by companies, spending at institutions of higher education,…
With the start of the second Trump administration two months away, the top questions I am hearing from practitioners across the country continue to be variations of: “what will the next four years hold for economic development programs?” There are no definitive answers to be had, but we can learn…
DELAWARE, Ohio — Excel Regional Solutions LLC, a new consulting firm dedicated to strengthening America’s technological and economic competitiveness, is proud to announce its official launch. Founded by Jason Rittenberg, the firm aims to provide economic development organizations and coalitions with expert advocacy management, strategy development, and information services that…
