Challenge At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas unemployment rate skyrocketed from its historical low of 3.4 percent in January 2020 to its historical high of 12.6 percent in April 2020. Like the rest of the country, a wide range of stakeholders, including public officials and economic development […]
Challenge Long-standing efforts to create a more equitable workforce development system in Detroit and Southeast Michigan shifted drastically as national discussions about social justice and racial equity issues intensified in the Trump era. The shift brought increased leadership, capacity, and support from the public and private sectors for transforming the
Challenge The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 2005) decided to realign the 188th Fighter Wings of the Air National Guard at Fort Smith, Arkansas. This decision prompted concerted action on the community’s part to maintain existing levels of engagement with Fort Smith. Though the community avoided economic catastrophe,
Challenge In late 2019, Delaware was enjoying some the lowest unemployment levels in the state’s history. The state’s largest city, Wilmington, boasted a thriving tech sector, built on its strengths in business and financial services, that supported $65 million in wages and 17,000 jobs. Yet despite these favorable economic conditions,
Challenge The US Department of Energy’s 300-square-mile Savannah River Site (SRS) has been a key economic driver in South Carolina since the 1950s, making the federal government and its contractors the region’s largest industry sector. Established in 1993, the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) is charged with facilitating
Challenge Maury County, Tennessee, enjoyed a relatively young housing stock, low rates of violent crime, and a healthy share of residents ages 20 to 39. These attributes, along with its location in the orbit of the Nashville metropolitan area, should have made Maury County a contender for talent attraction and
Challenge Perceptions of a disconnect between the skill and experience needs of regional employers and the skills and experience of those seeking employment have long been a topic of discussion among Detroit area business leaders. While this disconnect is often raised as a national issue, resulting from technological disruptions and
Challenge In addition to administering the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Program, the College Success Foundation (CSF) is charged with oversight of the Washington State Opportunity Expansion (WSOE) program. As part of this effort—which evaluates proposals from colleges and universities to increase the production of four-year degrees in high-demand fields—CSF sought
Challenge Lewis County, Washington, sought to mitigate job losses and community divestment resulting from the closure of the state’s only remaining coal-fired power plant, TransAlta. Under a grant from the US Economic Development Administration’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) initiative, the community engaged TIP Strategies to
Challenge Established in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to increasing college graduation rates among Latinx families in the US. In addition to its dedicated scholarship fund, the organization operates a broad range of outreach and education programs in support of this goal, including
