State of State Business Incentives 2015

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C2ER recently completed its annual update of the State Business Incentives Database. As part of the database review process, C2ER researched every U.S. state and territory to ascertain information on what programs have been created, repealed or altered during each state’s most recent legislative sessions. Based on this research, combined with extensive outreach to representatives […]

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State Economic Development Program Expenditures: FY2014-FY2016 Update

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The Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) has updated its State Economic Development Program Expenditures Database as part of a continuous effort to track investments in economic development across all fifty states. The database now includes all Governor Recommended Budgets for fiscal year 2016. Read the full report on this update here. According to […]

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Good Programs Destroyed by Bad Evaluations

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Who can argue with the importance of understanding whether or not taxpayer dollars are being used effectively to meet agreed upon policy goals like economic growth? Across the country, the concept of regularly evaluating economic development incentives, including those implemented as tax credits, is broadly accepted. The devil, however, is in the details. The best evaluations follow recognized policy evaluation and data analysis methodologies and principles.

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C2ER Partners with SelectUSA

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C2ER and SelectUSA have entered into a partnership to make some features of the State Business Incentives Database publicly available through SelectUSA.gov. SelectUSA is an initiative housed in the U.S. Department of Commerce that was established to attract and retain investment in the American economy. This initiative provides investors with information on accessing federal and state programs and services related to business investment.

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Simplifying Data Overload Using Indicators

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At the 2014 Association of Public Data Users (APDU) Conference, held on September 16th and 17th in Arlington, VA, the session “Simplifying Data Overload Using Indicators” explored how a wide variety of organizations are working to make data more accessible to lay users. These organizations are accomplishing this by making data “human readable” through synthesizing […]

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Take Part in the Data Revolution at the APDU Annual Conference

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The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) Annual Conference will take place on September 16-17 in Arlington, VA. Almost 200 thought leaders from educational institutions; the business community; and federal, state and local governments will be attending this annual event. Many of the panel discussions, breakout sessions, and “lightning” talks will address topics of major […]

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Managing Data Challenges

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Data is one of the key elements of the Smart Incentives 4×4 framework that enables communities to make sound investment decisions. Unfortunately, good data on how well incentive programs work is often lacking. This lack of data hinders both economic development professionals in their day-to-day work and policymakers in their leadership and oversight roles.

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