State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network

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  • Alternative Governance Models for State Economic Development

    With 36 state gubernatorial elections scheduled for 2026, changing economic conditions may encourage new governors to revisit how their economic development organizations are structured, funded, and governed. Although most states have economic development agencies, one trend that has gained momentum over the past several decades is the move away from traditional state agencies toward alternative organizational models that combine public authority with private-sector flexibility.[1]

    These models have gained attention as states seek greater operational flexibility, alternative sources of funding, and new ways to deliver economic development programs. At the same time, shifting responsibilities outside traditional state agencies can raise important questions about transparency, accountability, and oversight.

    For state leaders considering structural changes, the key question is how to design a structure that balances flexibility with public accountability, regardless of which model they adopt.

    What are Public Private Partnerships in Economic Development Models?

    Within the broader category of public-private partnerships (PPP), states typically use three structures to deliver economic development services: quasi-public authorities, private nonprofits, and hybrid models. Their legal status, funding mechanisms, and governance structures differ significantly.

    Table 1. State Economic Development Governance Models Compared

    ModelStructureStrengthsDrawbacks
    Quasi-public authoritiesState-created entities funded through annual legislative appropriations. They operate under state legislative authority, with governor-appointed boards that include state officials, and report to state oversight bodies.Bipartisan support can keep the organization stable across administrationsIntegrated with broader state strategyEmphasis on transparencyLegislature can reform the organization when neededConstrained by annual budget cyclesSlower decision-making than private models
    Private nonprofitsIndependent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations funded through dedicated revenue streams outside the state budget (e.g., profits from a state enterprise such as Ohio’s wholesale liquor business). Self-governing boards; operational independence from legislative oversight.Faster decision-making that moves at the speed of businessLeaner operations with private-sector expertisePotential for significant economic gainsIndependence from budget cyclesCan be exempt from public records lawsFunding flows can be difficult to verifyFewer accountability mechanisms
    Hybrid (quasi-public + nonprofit)Two-entity structure. A state-funded quasi-public agency handles core functions through appropriations. A separate 501(c)(3) companion accepts private donations for supplementary programs. The two entities share aligned missions.Private fundraising supplements appropriationsPerformance-based, milestone-metered incentivesPotential for measurable economic resultsDual funding reduces state budget pressureDonors to the nonprofit companion may be undisclosedCorporate donors can gain preferential access to state officialsTwo entities make accountability more complexEffectiveness depends on paired accountability mechanisms

    Quasi-public authorities are state-created entities that receive direct appropriations from the state budget and operate under state legislative authority.[2] Funding typically flows through annual legislative appropriations, and the organizations report to appointed boards that include state officials. Core functions include business recruitment, retention, workforce development, and tax incentive administration.

    Private nonprofits operate outside the state budget system, relying on dedicated revenue streams such as tax revenue or enterprise operations. This provides operational independence from annual budget cycles and legislative oversight while retaining nonprofit status. JobsOhio is the clearest example of this structure, with funding mechanisms resting on Ohio’s Beverage System which it manages.[3]

    Some states use a two-entity structure that pairs a state-funded quasi-public agency with a separate private nonprofit foundation. The agency handles select economic development functions funded through state appropriations, while the nonprofit organization accepts private donations and raises funds for other activities and programs. This model creates a dual-funding structure, with state operations and private fundraising managed through separate legal entities with aligned missions. States using this approach provide case studies for identifying successful practices and opportunities for institutional improvement.

    Case Studies

    Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania was among the first states to develop a longstanding quasi-public program with the creation of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners in 1982.[4] Ben Franklin operates as a network of regional nonprofits funded through the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development. Ben Franklin invests in early-stage technology companies and established manufacturers, providing capital and expertise, in partnership with universities, and focusing specifically on technology, commercialization, innovations, and start-ups.[5]

    Ohio

    Established in 2011 by Governor John Kasich, JobsOhio was designed as a private nonprofit corporation to enable some of Ohio’s economic development operations to function more like a business, with faster decision making, leaner operations, and private-sector expertise guiding business recruitment and retention.[6] JobsOhio is funded primarily through the JobsOhio Beverage System (JOBS) liquor enterprise which it purchased in 2013. JobsOhio works in tandem with the Ohio Department of Development, a state agency.

    Virginia

    The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) also presents a case of institutional success. Created in 1995, the organization is a quasi-public economic development organization and governed by a 17-member Board of Directors that selects the President and CEO. VEDP supports business attraction, retention, and expansion.

    Michigan

    Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is supported by the Michigan Economic Development Foundation (MEDF).[7] The MEDF operates from corporate and nonprofit contributions and supports efforts that include investment missions, hosting foreign delegations, and hospitality opportunities.

    Key Takeaways

    State leadership transitions present several reform opportunities, but leaders pursuing alternative economic development models must first grapple with several fundamental questions and considerations:                          

    Accountability and Operational Checkpoints for Transitions

    • Bipartisan/sustainable commitment is important for program longevity.
    • Clear, measurable scope helps organizations stay focused on their mission.
    • Strategies should align with broader economic development planning.
    • Boards should have expertise needed to oversee the organization.
    • Transparency is essential for any economic development organization and to help identify where improvement is needed.
    • Focused performance metrics will encourage political and public support.

    Ultimately, alternative structures can provide greater flexibility and access to private-sector resources, but structure alone does not guarantee success. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan show that each model depends on long-term political commitment, clear objectives, and measurable outcomes.

    [1] The Promise and Perils of Privatizing State Economic Development Agencies – Community and Economic Development, UNC School of Government, https://ced.sog.unc.edu/2013/11/05/the-promise-and-perils-of-privatizing-state-economic-development-agencies/

    [2] Public-Private Economic Development Partnerships, Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research, Report 2006-R-0019, https://cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-r-0019.htm

    [3] JobsOhio Official Website, https://www.jobsohio.com/about-us

    [4] Ben Franklin Technology Partners Official Website, https://cnp.benfranklin.org/about-us/

    [5] Partnerships – Ben Franklin Technology Partners, https://www.sep.benfranklin.org/partnerships/

    [6] JobsOhio Official Website and Annual Report, https://www.jobsohio.com/files/jo26_annual-report_v2.5-spread-web.pdf

    [7] Michigan State University’s The State News, “MSU board member’s organization faces scrutiny for giving businesses access to state officials,” November 4, 2025, https://statenews.com/article/2025/11/trustees-charity-faces-scrutiny-for-giving-businesses-access-to-state-officials

  • State Developments Snapshot – Issue 97, September 2026

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    News & Resources

    Block Your Calendar: Colorado Hosts Fall SEDE Meeting – 10/15 – 16 (SEDE) The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network is holding its fall meeting for state economic development executives or their top deputy in Denver, Colorado. Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, is excited to bring SEDE executives to the Mile High City on October 15th and 16th. Register here and view the draft agenda here. Hotel information and additional details can be found on the SEDE website.

    SEDE Webinar: Learning About the Future Ready Apprenticeship Center (SEDE) States compete for employers on the strength of their talent pipelines. Youth apprenticeship is one tool for building that pipeline, but it usually sits with labor and education agencies rather than commerce. Brent Parton, former ETA Principal Deputy Assistance Secretary and current CareerWise President/CEO, will discuss the Future Ready Apprenticeship Center, which launched its first cohort in May 2026, and what the model offers state economic development leaders. The session will cover how the apprenticeship model connects employers to young workers, early results from the first cohort, and where commerce agencies can add value alongside their labor and education counterparts. Join us on November 5th at 3:00PM EST. Register here

    SSBCI as a Blueprint: Building More Adaptive State Economic Development Systems (SEDE) With nearly $10 billion allocated to states, territories, and Tribal Nations (“states”), the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a unique federal funding program that fueled the development of innovative loan and venture capital programs. As the program moves towards its sunset, the next test for states is to learn key lessons from SSBCI to improve their entire economic development ecosystem, including designing for the market, building delivery systems, connecting services to program outcomes, and planning for sustainability upfront. The goal should be to move from administering individual programs to building adaptive economic development systems. 

    Opportunity Zones: Analyzing the Tax Incentives Impacts and How to Enhance Them (Brookings) This report offers a tract-level analysis of 7,174 of the 7,826 designated OZs across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from 2018 through 2025 to examine how the tax incentive has shaped construction activity and neighborhood change (namely, displacement). The central question is not whether OZs uniformly succeed or fail, but to understand where they have generated stronger economic and community outcomes, where they have not, and what local factors help determine success. Almost half of OZs saw accelerated growth: 46% of designated OZs saw increases in building activity of at least 15%. The findings suggest that OZs can serve as accelerants in places where some foundations for investment are already present. 

    OZ 2.0: What Comes After Zone Designation (EIG) Inspired by best practices from across the country, this guide is intended to help stakeholders across the public, private, and civic domains lay the groundwork for the next decade of investment and impact. More than $112 billion in OZ equity has been deployed, and 77 percent of all originally designated census tracts have attracted investment. This guide offers a practical framework for state and local governments, economic development organizations, financial institutions, and community stakeholders to translate their OZ designations into lasting economic impact. 

    Energy Department Announces $500M to Secure America’s Critical Mineral and Battery Supply Chains (US DOE) The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) announced $500 million for seven selected projects to expand critical mineral and material processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling capacity in the United States. This is the third round of funding from DOE’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs. Projects were announced in Utah, Georgia, and California, with other project locations pending.

    State Leader Spotlight

    Jason El Koubi, President and CEO, Virginia Economic Development Partnership

    El Koubi

    Jason El Koubi oversees Virginia’s strategic vision for economic development across the Commonwealth: creating opportunities for communities and companies alike to achieve long-term growth. Since becoming President and CEO, he has overseen more than 300 projects resulting in over 45,000 jobs and more than $90 billion in capital investment, including major investments from AstraZeneca, Avio, AWS, Eli Lilly, LEGO, LS Cable & System Ltd, Merck, Micron, and Wells Fargo, among others.

    Jason brings a proven track record as an economic development dealmaker, shaped by leadership roles at both the state and regional levels, including serving as Assistant Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development and President and CEO of One Acadiana – a regional economic development organization. With board leadership spanning early childhood to higher education, Jason brings a long-term view and has placed talent development at the heart of Virginia’s economic development strategy. With a background in engineering, he has an analytical approach that allows him to engage in the technical and operational aspects of business expansion and help companies move from strategy to successful execution.

    Across the States: Developments to Know

    New JobsOhio Technician Path Helps Ohio Employers Build Skilled Workforce (JobsOhio) JobsOhio announced the JobsOhio Technician Path incentive program to help Ohio employers build a pipeline of technicians. The incentive is designed to help Ohio employers in targeted industries deploy a technician earn-and-learn program and create more opportunities for Ohioans to access the training and gain the skills needed for in-demand technician positions. JobsOhio Technician Path is the first phase of the $300 million JobsOhio Experiential Learning Initiative. Eligible Ohio employers can access up to $10,000 per employee who completes an approved training pathway, with payments tied to three milestones along the way. To qualify, companies must be located in Ohio, operate in a JobsOhio targeted industry sector, and pay participating workers at least $20 per hour.

    Comprehensive Resilience Plans Help States Address Long-Term Challenges (Pew) A growing number of states are adopting comprehensive resilience plans to address their long-term disaster risks, and available examples reveal a diversity of approaches to aligning decision-making and investments. Three states—South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Maryland—have taken strategically different paths to comprehensive resilience planning, but highlight the value, common elements, and structural flexibility of these plans. South Carolina’s plan has served as a vehicle for linking statewide strategy to coordination, technical support, and on-the-ground implementation. Rhode Island’s evolved into operational system for local engagement, project development and prioritization, and investment planning. Maryland’s first statewide resilience plan recommends the development of a statewide resilience baseline and tracker, a funding table to better coordinate investments, a provision of technical assistance for local governments, and integration of resilience principles within local comprehensive plans. 

    More Than $20M to Train Illinois’ Next Generation of Manufacturers (Office of the Governor) Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced more than $20 million in capital grants to establish five new Manufacturing Training Academies (MTAs) at community colleges across downstate Illinois. The academies will prepare Illinoisans for good-paying careers in advanced manufacturing while helping employers find the skilled workers they need to grow and create jobs. ​ The grants will fund construction, facility improvements, and modern equipment needed to prepare students for increasingly technical manufacturing careers. The academies will also work with regional employers to align training with local workforce needs and connect graduates with available jobs. ​

    Washington Awards $1M to Encourage Innovative Business and Manufacturing Expansion (WA State Dept. of Commerce) The Washington State Department of Commerce announced $1 million in grant funding to seven businesses and organizations to accelerate manufacturing expansion, creating workforce development and economic opportunities across the state. The grants include $150,000 awards to four businesses and $130,000 awards to three industry cluster organizations. The funding is from the Evergreen Manufacturing Growth Grants program, which supports projects that increase manufacturing and research and development jobs through investments in business expansion, technology advancement, workforce development and industry collaboration.

    Allison Ulaky of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) led the development of this newsletter; for questions on the content in this newsletter contact Bob Isaacson, CREC Senior Vice President.

  • Smart Incentives: Incentives Under the Microscope: What Makes Incentives Work Better?

    Smart Incentives: Incentives Under the Microscope: What Makes Incentives Work Better?

    Economic development incentives are under scrutiny. Are they producing the outcomes policymakers expect? Are states measuring the right things so that policymakers can weigh the benefits of new investment against its costs? And when is an incentive actually the right tool?

    Incentives Under the Microscope, a recent webinar hosted by the State Economic Development Executives Network(SEDE) and moderated by Smart Incentives’ Ellen Harpel, took on these questions. Jason El Koubi of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) brought a state economic development perspective, while Nicholas Miller of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) provided a national perspective based on the rapidly changing policy environment surrounding data centers.

    Read the rest of the article on Smart Incentives.

  • SSBCI as a Blueprint: Building More Adaptive State Economic Development Systems

    With nearly $10 billion allocated to states, territories, and Tribal Nations (“states”), the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a unique federal funding program that fueled the development of innovative loan and venture capital programs. Together, these programs help expand access to capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses through the states as policy and program laboratories.

    As the program moves towards its sunset, the next test for states is to learn key lessons from SSBCI to improve their entire economic development ecosystem. Here are a few highlights:

    • Design for the market, not the program. SSBCI gives states flexibility to use different financing approaches (whether they are loan participation, collateral support, loan guarantee, capital access, direct equity, or equity fund investments) that are tailored to local needs. The broader lesson is important: economic development programs should begin with a clearly identified market failure or opportunity rather than with a predetermined program or incentive. Economic developers should use this lens to continually assess where private markets are failing and adjust products accordingly. There is no need to stay with a legacy program if it is not showing results. Flexibility and program modification should be viewed as management tools, not signs of failure.
    • Build delivery systems, not stand-alone programs. SSBCI largely depends on networks of banks, CDFIs, investors, technical assistance providers, universities, and other intermediaries to reach businesses. The same principle applies to workforce, entrepreneurship, innovation, cluster development, and business retention programs. States can achieve greater impact when programs operate through connected networks rather than institutional silos. Partner recruitment, training, communication, and relationship management therefore become core economic development functions. A strong product has limited impact if users and stakeholders do not know how to use or leverage it.
    • Connect services to program outcomes. SSBCI’s integration of technical assistance (TA) and capital illustrates another transferable lesson. TA is most valuable when it helps businesses reach a tangible next step whether it is financing, investment, contracting opportunities, expansion, or another measurable outcome. Treasury’s SSBCI TA Program explicitly connects technical assistance with capital and opportunities created by other major federal investments. Economic developers have long worked across agencies and building on those relationships to develop interconnected services can push projects to the finish line and improve the competitiveness of a region.
    • Use data for management and adaptation. States should move beyond simple reporting activity like businesses served, dollars awarded, or projects completed. Data should instead focus on trying to understand at a more detailed level who is benefiting, what interventions work, where gaps persist, and when programs need adjustment. Treasury’s annual and quarterly SSBCI datasets provide an example of the evidence states can use for this type of management approach.
    • Plan for sustainability from the beginning. Treasury describes sustainability as a key feature of SSBCI, with recycled capital potentially supporting state financing programs for years. Economic developers can apply the same thinking across their portfolios: when temporary federal funding arrives, ask not simply how to spend it, but what capabilities, institutions, partnerships, and financing mechanisms should those resources help create that will remain afterward. That means treating today’s investments as durable infrastructure. Experienced program staff, relationships, networks, technical assistance, and improved data systems can become the foundation for permanent economic development durability strategies.

    Although SSBCI 2.0 was passed to help the nation recover from the COVID pandemic, the ultimate measure of SSBCI may be what remains after Treasury sunsets their program support in 2028. States that use these programs to institutionalize successful financing tools and partnerships can emerge with stronger capital ecosystems, and a more permanent capacity to respond to the next financing gap or economic disruption.

    But the post-SSBCI question therefore extends well beyond capital access. States can apply what they have learned to workforce development, innovation, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, industry strategies, business assistance, and future federal initiatives. The goal should be to move from administering individual programs to building adaptive economic development systems. These systems that identify market needs, engage the right partners, connect services, measure results, adjust based on evidence, and preserve successful capacity after individual funding streams end.

    If that happens, one of SSBCI’s most important legacies will not be a particular loan or investment. It will provide the broader foundation and lasting lessons for how states practice economic development.

  • State Developments Snapshot – Issue 96, August 2026

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    News & Resources

    Block Your Calendar: Colorado Hosts Fall SEDE Meeting – 10/15 – 16 (SEDE) The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network is holding its fall meeting for state economic development executives or their top deputy in Denver, Colorado. Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, is excited to bring SEDE executives to the Mile High City on October 15th and 16th. Register here and view the draft agenda here. Hotel information and additional details can be found on the SEDE website.

    SEDE Webinar – Incentives Under the Microscope: Confronting Today’s Toughest Challenges (SEDE) Join the SEDE network on September 10th at 2:00PM EST for a webinar focused on today’s incentive environment. As incentive decisions grow more complex, state economic development agencies face growing questions about their incentive portfolios, including which programs are delivering results, how states should evaluate success, and how do leaders know when deploying an incentive is the right call. This session will include time for states to share their own approaches and engage in peer discussion — an opportunity to learn how colleagues are navigating similar challenges in their own incentive programs. Register here.

    The Digital Backbone: Data Centers, Community Tradeoffs, and Regional Competitiveness (SEDE) Data centers are the most visible physical form of the AI economy. They are arriving faster than many states and communities can evaluate them. This information piece offers state, regional, and local economic development leaders a grounded, evenhanded account of both sides. It argues that data centers are best understood as enabling infrastructure—like ports, airports, and electric grids—whose value lies in the economic activity they support rather than the handful of permanent jobs they create. Drawing on new research, case studies, and the wave of legislation now moving through more than 30 states, the paper shows why benefits concentrate where deals are well structured and thin where communities accept investment figures at face value.

    Building the Electro-Industrial Investment Pipeline: A Recap from Basalt (SEDE) In July, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) partnered with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to host a three-day Electro-Industrial Investment Workshop in Basalt, Colorado. This workshop brought together representatives from State Energy Offices and state economic development organizations from nine states to help states build the coordination, knowledge, and action plans needed to attract and grow investment in manufacturing, power-dense industrial projects, and grid infrastructure. CREC was a strong partner for RMI given its management of the State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) network.

    NSF State and Regional Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Hubs (NSF) The NSF State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs program aims to expand access to the compute required for AI-enabled scientific discovery and to transform the research, education, and training opportunities offered by institutions of higher education. AI Infrastructure Hubs will connect researchers to new compute infrastructure that leverages contributions from state governments, research institutions, industry, and philanthropy, accelerating AI-enabled discovery across science and engineering and developing a skilled technical workforce for AI use in the scientific enterprise. Approximately $100,000,000 is available for this program. Only one award per state or multi-state region will be made. Submissions are due November 4, 2026.

    State Leader Spotlight

    Ryan Starks, Executive Director, Economic Development Corporation of Utah

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    As a leader in both the public and private sectors of economic development, Ryan Starks’ contributions have been instrumental to Utah’s position as the top-performing economy in the United States. His work has focused on fostering entrepreneurship, business expansions, international trade, rural development, and targeted industry growth. Prior to EDCUtah, Ryan led the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and served as a cabinet member and trusted advisor to Governor Spencer J. Cox.

    State Leaders on the Move

    Indiana Economic Development Corporation

    We’re pleased to share recent leadership changes across State Economic Development leaders. Join us in celebrating these transitions and welcoming new leaders to our community!

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    Outgoing Leader: David Adams, Secretary of Commerce

    Adams served as Indiana Secretary of Commerce and a member of Governor Mike Braun’s cabinet since his appointment in January 2025. In his role, Adams oversaw multiple state agencies including the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Workforce Development, the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, the Indiana Destination Development Corporation, the Indiana Arts Commission, the Indiana State Fair and the Ports of Indiana, driving economic opportunity for the state and fostering an entrepreneurial environment for innovation.

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    Incoming Leader: Chuck Goodrich, Secretary of Commerce

    Goodrich began his service as Secretary of Commerce for the State of Indiana in July 2026. He also serves as the CEO of Gaylor Electric, one of the largest merit-shop electrical firms in the country. In 2014, Chuck was named President, followed by CEO in 2016. From the time he became the President of Gaylor Electric, the company has developed more than 4,000 jobs. As a three-term Indiana State Representative, Chuck was first elected to serve the constituents of House District 29 in 2018. During his six years in office, Chuck authored/co-authored several bills, many of which were signed into law by then Governor Holcomb.

    Across the States: Developments to Know

    State Grant Programs Support Manufacturers and Improve their Competitiveness (SSTI) With the release of the new Notice of Funding Opportunity for MEP Centers, the uncertainty around the program appears to be in the past. Even so, this has prompted many manufacturers, small businesses, and MEP centers to explore new funding and partnership opportunities. Many states have long supported their share of MEP funding through legislative appropriations or through in-kind contributions from state economic development agencies, public universities, and community colleges. Several states including Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are highlighted in this brief for offering broader manufacturing and small business support through initiatives and investments. The included grant programs summarize how select states are continuing to invest in manufacturing capacity.

    West Virginia Releases 20-year ‘Responsible Data Center Development’ Plan (West Virginia Office of the Governor) The Governor joined the West Virginia Department of Commerce to announce a unified legislative and executive vision for data center development in the state of West Virginia. The framework, developed in partnership with the West Virginia House and Senate, leverages the legislative authority of House Bill 2014, the Power Generation and Consumption Act, to establish state-level oversight and strict development criteria for hyperscale data centers. Key principles of the plan include comprehensive state planning, direct tax relief for citizens, grid reliability, and expanding capacity for national defense and economic security.

    Nevada the Entrepreneurial (Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development) Last month, Nevada kicked off a year-long campaign to highlight entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial support organizations to share their journeys, insights, and perspectives, including why they decided to launch in Nevada. In addition, elected officials will contribute their perspectives on why entrepreneurship is essential to Nevada’s economy, the barriers they are working to remove, and what it will take for Nevada to lead nationally in supporting business growth and innovation. Each week, a new story is featured, sharing the variety of small businesses and innovations across the state.

    Allison Ulaky of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) led the development of this newsletter; for questions on the content in this newsletter contact Bob Isaacson, CREC Senior Vice President.

  • Building the Electro-Industrial Investment Pipeline: A Recap from Basalt

    Building the Electro-Industrial Investment Pipeline: A Recap from Basalt

    A joint convening with CREC and RMI brought together state energy offices and economic development organizations to tackle one of the biggest opportunities in state economic development today: the electro-industrial era.

    In July, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) partnered with the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to host a three-day Electro-Industrial Investment Workshop in Basalt, Colorado. This workshop brought together representatives from State Energy Offices (SEOs) and state economic development organizations (EDOs) from nine states. The goal was to help states build the coordination, knowledge, and action plans needed to attract and grow investment in manufacturing, grid infrastructure, and power-dense industrial projects. The electro-industrial era marks the convergence of clean energy, smart manufacturing, and electrified infrastructure into a unified industrial stack, and ensuring states are prepared is important. CREC was a strong partner for RMI given its management of the State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) network.

    Why This Matters for State EDOs

    Energy and economic development touch the same investment decisions, but the two activities aren’t always coordinated inside state government. As data centers, advanced manufacturing, and other energy-intensive industries reshape site selection and readiness, that coordination and alignment matters more than ever. States that pair predictable permitting and siting with proactive grid planning and thoughtful incentive design are best positioned to compete for these projects.

    A recent CREC white paper  The Digital Backbone: Data Centers, Community Tradeoffs, and Regional Competitiveness, frames the challenge well. It argues that large power users like data centers are best understood as enabling infrastructure (comparable to ports, airports, and electric grids) whose value comes less from the direct jobs on site and more from the economic activity they support elsewhere: cloud services, advanced manufacturing, research computing, and the broader digital economy. That framing cuts both ways. It means these projects deserve to be evaluated on more than headline job counts, but it also means the tradeoffs — electricity costs, water use, land use, and who bears the cost of new infrastructure — are real and shouldn’t be waved away.

    The paper’s core argument is that good governance is itself becoming a competitive advantage: the states and regions that pair transparent, evidence-based decision-making with fair cost allocation and durable public trust are the ones best positioned to benefit from this wave of investment. Getting there requires exactly the kind of coordination this workshop was built around, with SEOs and EDOs working from a shared strategy, rather than making decisions about the same projects from separate silos.

    The workshop’s three objectives captured this well:

    1. Equip state teams with actionable best practices for building an electro-industrial investment pipeline.
    2. Lay the foundation for a State SEO–EDO community of practice, so states can keep learning from each other after the event ends.
    3. Produce tangible outcomes for every state team — including the start of a State Electro-Industrial Action Plan and 1–2 prioritized policy solutions with clear next steps.

    Key Pieces for State Economic Development Leaders

    A few of the ideas and tools referenced throughout the workshop are worth understanding in more depth for state EDO teams building their own electro-industrial strategy.

    Advanced Industrial Zones (AIZs)

    AIZs are a place-based policy model designed to solve one of the biggest bottlenecks in industrial development: the fact that a single large project — a chip fab, a battery plant, a green steel facility — has to clear municipal, county, state, and federal approvals separately, often with no coordination between them. The AIZ model instead pre-designates specific areas where a state (or state-community partnership) proactively lines up the pieces a manufacturer needs before a project ever applies: streamlined and often single-point permitting, coordinated infrastructure (power, water, rail, roads), and workforce development pipelines tied to the industries the zone is targeting. Learn more here: https://www.industrialzones.org/

    Energy zones more broadly

    “Energy zones” is a catch-all for a growing set of geographic designations that unlock funding, tax treatment, or streamlined permitting for projects sited within their boundaries. For state EDOs building an electro-industrial pipeline, understanding which designations exist in your state and how different designations such as Opportunity Zones, DOE-designated Energy Communities, and state-designated enterprise or industrial zones stack is increasingly a core part of site strategy, since the strongest packages often come from projects that qualify for more than one. The practical next step for a state EDO is mapping which of these overlap with existing priority sites and industries in-state.

    A few examples illustrate how this has worked in practice:

    • Texas’s Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), 2005: The Texas legislature directed its public utility commission to designate priority wind-resource zones and build the transmission needed to connect them to load centers, rather than waiting for individual developers to justify transmission investment project by project. The state approved 3,600 miles of new 345 kV transmission in advance of generation, which helped unlock 15 GW of new wind capacity within a decade and cut wind curtailment by 16.5 percent within five years.
    • Illinois’s own Renewable Energy Access Plan: Because Illinois sits inside two multi-state grid operators (PJM and MISO) and can’t unilaterally direct regional transmission expansion, the Illinois Commerce Commission designated its own renewable energy zones based on resource potential, developer interest, and land use so the state could use those designations to engage PJM and MISO.

    Siting and permitting reform

    Permitting speed is consistently one of the biggest bottlenecks between a state winning a project and losing it to grid delays or approval uncertainty. States are experimenting with a few approaches:

    • Consolidating review. Rather than requiring a project to clear separate municipal, county, and state processes sequentially, some states are moving toward single-point-of-contact or concurrent-review models.
    • Pre-clearing sites. “Shovel-ready” or certified site programs where a state or regional EDO has already completed environmental assessments, utility studies, and zoning clearance before a company ever shows up can compress a multi-year siting timeline into months.
    • Setting clear standards up front, especially for energy infrastructure. Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council process, used for large solar, storage, and other energy facilities, is one example of a state permitting body with defined statutory criteria and timelines, paired with negotiated community benefit commitments.

    RMI has developed a State Permitting Power Tool to help states move past treating “permitting reform” as a single goal and instead identify exactly which problem they’re facing. The tool sorts challenges into high-level categories — things like fragmented governance and authority, community opposition and social acceptance, or unclear jurisdictional boundaries — and then surfaces relevant reforms for each one, drawn from real examples across states.  The tool helps policymakers identify potential state-level permitting reforms that could be employed to address these permitting challenges.

    Load growth and grid readiness

    As of mid-2026, roughly two dozen states have approved at least one “large-load tariff” — a special utility rate class for very large electricity customers. The core policy problem these tariffs are trying to solve: when a single customer needs 50, 100, or 500+ megawatts, the utility often has to build new generation, transmission, or distribution infrastructure to serve them. Without a large-load tariff, those costs can get spread across all ratepayers, including residential customers, even if the large project never materializes or leaves early. Ohio, Georgia, Texas, and Oregon are cited examples of different approaches to this problem.

    Incentive design: what the research says

    Tim Bartik of the W.E. Upjohn Institute, who presented at the workshop, recently co-published a multi-state study on whether clean energy incentives actually pay off for residents, conducted in partnership with RMI. The study examined 50 of the largest clean energy projects nationally. A few of the key findings are directly relevant to any state building an incentive strategy for electro-industrial investment:

    • Project type matters. EV and battery manufacturing projects had a median benefit-cost ratio well above wind, solar, and clean fuels projects. The gap comes down to jobs: EV/battery projects tend to create far more direct employment per dollar of incentive.
    • Bigger incentive packages don’t mean better outcomes. The 10 projects with the highest ratio of incentives to jobs all had lower benefit-cost ratios, meaning the largest deals were disproportionately likely to be bad deals for residents.
    • How an incentive is delivered matters as much as how much. Structuring incentives as specialized services — workforce training, infrastructure improvements — rather than straight cash improves cost-effectiveness by about 50%.

    Read more here: https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/new-study-incentives-most-clean-energy-projects-yield-positive-economic-return

    Next Steps

    The workshop was explicitly framed as the start of a longer conversation, not a one-off event. RMI and participating states are laying the groundwork for an ongoing SEO–EDO community of practice, which will become a standing space for peer learning, shared troubleshooting, and continued refinement of state action plans as they move from planning into implementation.

    For state economic development organizations, electro-industrial investment is no longer just an energy policy conversation or just an economic development conversation. It’s both, at the same time, and the states that build that early will have a real advantage in the years ahead.

  • The Digital Backbone: Data Centers, Community Tradeoffs, and Regional Competitiveness

    Data centers are the most visible physical form of the AI economy. They are arriving faster than many states and communities can evaluate them. They bring billions in private investment, expand local tax bases, and fund grid, fiber, and water improvements. But they also raise questions about electricity demand, water use, air quality, and whether communities get fair value for the incentives they grant.

    This white paper offers state, regional, and local leaders a grounded, evenhanded account of both sides. It argues that data centers are best understood as enabling infrastructure—like ports, airports, and electric grids—whose value lies in the economic activity they support rather than the handful of permanent jobs they create. Drawing on new causal research, case studies from Loudoun County to Lenoir to Lancaster, and the wave of legislation now moving through more than 30 states, the paper shows why benefits concentrate where deals are well structured and thin where communities accept investment figures at face value.

    With data center development shifting toward rural areas that often have the least capacity to assess the tradeoffs, the paper lays out the questions leaders should be asking, principles for responsible decision-making, and the distinct roles state, regional, and local leaders each play. Above all, it makes the case that public trust and sound governance are themselves competitive assets in the age of AI.

    Read the full white paper to see how your state or region can turn a contentious moment into lasting prosperity. 

  • State Developments Snapshot – Issue 95, July 2026

    State Development Snapshot header 2

    News & Resources

    Block Your Calendar: Colorado Hosts Fall SEDE Meeting – 10/15 – 16 (SEDE) The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network is holding its fall meeting for state economic development executives or their top deputy in Denver, Colorado. Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, is excited to bring SEDE executives to the Mile High City on October 15th and 16th. Register here and view the agenda here. Hotel information coming soon.

    SEDE Webinar – Incentives Under the Microscope: Confronting Today’s Toughest Challenges (SEDE) Join the SEDE network on September 10th at 2:00PM EST for a webinar focused on today’s incentive environment. As incentive decisions grow more complex, state economic development agencies face growing questions about their incentive portfolios, including which programs are delivering results, how states should evaluate success, and how do leaders know when deploying an incentive is the right call. This session will include time for states to share their own approaches and engage in peer discussion — an opportunity to learn how colleagues are navigating similar challenges in their own incentive programs. Register here.

    The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: What State Leaders Should Know (SEDE) Housing has evolved from a quality-of-life issue to a core economic development challenge. State leaders underscored this reality at SEDE’s fall meeting in New York, noting that companies are increasingly unwilling to commit to locations where their workforce cannot afford to live nearby. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act may offer part of the solution. This legislation passed both chambers with bipartisan support, has recently become law, and represents the most significant federal housing package since 1990. This blog summarizes the relevant provisions for state economic development agencies to be aware of, including housing support for middle-income workers, new grant funding and more.

    Putting State Dollars to Work: How Governors’ Signature Investments Drive Workforce Transformation (The Project on Workforce) Governors occupy a distinct position in the American workforce development ecosystem, influencing how both federal and state workforce dollars are deployed. Many Governors are using state-funded workforce investments to address labor shortages, support economic development priorities, and strengthen education-to-employment pathways. This report examines Governors’ “signature workforce investments” across five states: North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, Massachusetts, and Wyoming. Drawing on interviews with 45 stakeholders spanning Governors’ offices, state agencies, workforce organizations, higher education institutions, and industry, the report explores how those initiatives were designed, funded, implemented, and adapted over time.

    NSF Awards 12 New Regional Innovation Engines to Fuel Research, Jobs, and Economic Growth Nationwide (NSF) The U.S. National Science Foundation announced it awarded the newest NSF Regional Innovation Engines awards to 12 U.S. teams across 20 states. These NSF Engines will build and scale innovation clusters that aim to accelerate the development of critical technologies, prepare talent for emerging jobs and grow regional economies. Each team, led by a coalition of regional organizations, including universities, nonprofits and private industry, will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years. Teams that demonstrate progress on well-defined milestones will have the potential to eventually receive up to $160 million each from NSF over the next decade as they seek to build an internationally competitive technology and innovation cluster in their region. Awards range from critical minerals, grid modernization, biomanufacturing, and other key technologies.

    States Enable, Regions Thrive: A State Playbook for Growing Good Jobs in the Next Economy (Brookings) As voters head to the polls in 2026 to elect 36 governors and thousands of state legislators, the economy remains their top concern. In this moment, the challenge is clear for governors and legislators: Modernize economic development systems to create the enabling conditions needed so that these forces grow good jobs and expand economic mobility, rather than deepen divides. Accomplishing this requires a structural shift. This playbook highlights five ways to modernize state economic development: define direction, make regions investable, align capital, learn and scale, and run as one team. Evidence from across the country, including efforts in Virginia, New York, and Indiana, shows that when states align their authority, funding, and strategy with empowered regional cross-sector coalitions, they can unlock levels of coordination, co-investment, and growth that fragmented systems simply cannot achieve.

    State Leader Spotlight

    Rick Siger, Secretary, PA Department of Community and Economic Development  

    Siger PA

    Rick Siger leads the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED), driving innovation, business growth, and competitiveness across the Commonwealth. As Secretary, Rick and Governor Josh Shapiro launched Pennsylvania’s Ten-Year Economic Development Strategy, the state’s first long-term economic plan in nearly two decades, as well as the first-ever Pennsylvania Housing Action Plan. Under his leadership, DCED has rolled out major initiatives like PA SITES, which expands Pennsylvania’s inventory of shovel-ready sites, and Main Street Matters, an investment in downtowns and main streets. He has also worked to strengthen partnerships between state and local governments and the private sector, with collaborative efforts like the revitalization of downtown Pittsburgh securing nearly $600 million in public and private investment.

    Previously, Rick served as Chief of Staff at Carnegie Mellon University and spent over seven years holding senior roles at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and U.S. Department of Commerce. A Pittsburgh native, he holds a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University.

    State Leaders on the Move

    Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce

    We’re pleased to share recent leadership changes across State Economic Development leaders. Join us in celebrating these transitions and welcoming new leaders to our community!

    Image

    Outgoing Leader: Sebastián Negrón, Secretary

    Negrónis a Puerto Rican attorney and public servant who served as the Secretary from 2025 to 2026. As Secretary, he has focused on promoting economic growth independent of federal funds and redefining the island’s economic priorities. Prior to his appointment, he held several key roles in both the public and private sectors, including serving as Chief of Staff for the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico.

    Rios Pierluisi PR

    Incoming Leader: Carlos J. Ríos-Pierluisi, Secretary

    Ríos-Pierluisi brings several years of experience within Puerto Rico’s economic development agencies. His previous position was as executive director of the Roosevelt Roads Local Redevelopment Authority, where he oversees the redevelopment of the former naval base in Ceiba and related infrastructure, investment and public-private partnership initiatives. Before taking that post in December 2025, he served as DDEC deputy secretary and previously as deputy executive director of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co. In those roles, he worked on debt restructuring, technology modernization and industrial development initiatives.

    Across the States: Developments to Know

    How State-Level Partnerships Help Local Michigan Economies Grow and Prosper (Detroit Free Press) Recently announced business development projects in Detroit (R&D for 3D printed concrete homes), Troy (advanced EVs), and Fenton (nut milk extraction technology) will add 650 new jobs across three Southeast Michigan counties and are expected to bring more than $97 million in capital investment to local communities. Funding is tied to measurable outcomes, with businesses receiving support only after meeting agreed-upon performance milestones.

    After World Cup, State Works to Lure FIFA Fans Back to Georgia (WSB-TV Atlanta) During Atlanta’s FIFA World Cup matches, Georgia’s Department of Economic Development hosted a reception for its “Georgia, the Whole Day Through” exhibit at the Georgia World Congress Center — a free, interactive experience that had run throughout the tournament showcasing the state’s food, art, music, and communities beyond Atlanta, from Savannah to Augusta to Lake Lanier. The state framed the roughly 70,000 World Cup tourists as a huge opportunity, drawing comparisons to how the 1996 Olympics boosted Georgia’s global profile, and got many of those visitors to sign up to return. The event hosted local businesses and representatives from communities across the state, showcasing what Georgia has to offer.

    Arkansas Economic Development Commission Announces $12M in Funding (Arkansas Governor) Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, alongside the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, announced more than $12.52 million in funding for Arkansas cities, counties, and communities. The 88 grants were awarded from the Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) and State Rural Community Grant programs. State CDBG funds are utilized for a variety of public facility and infrastructure projects, including senior centers, childcare centers, public health facilities, youth centers, flood control and drainage projects, as well as economic development grants. The Rural Services Block Grant program funds new construction or renovation of community centers, fire stations, or multi-purpose buildings, while the Rural Community Grant Program is used to fund projects such as fire trucks, fire protection equipment, community centers, storm sirens, community parks, and walking trails.

    Allison Ulaky of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) led the development of this newsletter; for questions on the content in this newsletter contact Bob Isaacson, CREC Senior Vice President.

  • The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: What State Leaders Should Know

    The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: What State Leaders Should Know

    What the New Federal Housing Law Means for State Economic Development

    Housing has evolved from a quality-of-life issue to a core economic development challenge. State leaders underscored this reality at SEDE’s fall meeting in New York, noting that companies are increasingly unwilling to commit to locations where their workforce cannot afford to live nearby.

    The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act may offer part of the solution. This legislation passed both chambers with bipartisan support, has recently become law, and represents the most significant federal housing package since 1990.

    This law contains many provisions, some (like a five-year ban on digital currency issuance at the Fed) are altogether unrelated to housing. Below is a summary of the relevant provisions for state economic development agencies.

    • Housing Support for Middle-income Workers

    Most federal housing assistance stops at incomes well below an area’s median income level, leaving a swath of middle-class workers without access to housing assistance. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act raises the income ceiling on HOME homeownership assistance (a major federal grant for building and repairing affordable homes) from 80 percent to 100 percent of area median income and orders a federal study to define “workforce housing” for households earning 80–120 percent of area median income.

    • New Grant Funding for Successful Housing Models

    A new $200 million annual grant fund will provide funds to communities that show measurable increases in housing supply. These grants will fund CDBG-eligible activities plus local initiatives that expand housing supply — zoning reform, permitting capacity, and infrastructure tied to housing. Separately, HUD’s Community Development Block Grant allocations to cities will be adjusted based on housing growth. This incentivizes local governments to approve additional housing. ED leaders can help communities compete for these dollars to benefit site development and workforce strategies.

    • A Streamlined Approval Process

    On the regulatory side, many small infill projects, developments of 15 homes or fewer, and office-to-apartment conversions are now exempt from lengthy federal environmental reviews. These changes take effect on their own with no new funding required.

    • Support for Manufactured Housing

    Manufactured homes are among the least expensive forms of new housing. The new law removes an outdated requirement to build manufactured homes on a permanent steel frame, something which should reduce the cost and time to deployment of new manufactured housing. New grants will also fund infrastructure in manufactured housing communities.

    • Newly Rationalized Disaster Recovery Grants

    The block grant program that funds long-term disaster recovery has run on improvised rules since Katrina. The operating rules are now written into law with set timelines, and states can pre-certify their financial controls before a disaster strikes. In practice, these changes will mean faster deployment of funding after a disaster and the ability for states to set up and certify their recovery systems ahead of time, rather than building them after a disaster has already hit. This is a meaningful planning tool for any state with storm, flood, or wildfire exposure.

    • Institutional Investors

    Restricts large institutional investors from buying additional single-family homes once they have acquired 350 or more. The threshold counts homes acquired after the law takes effect, and investors are not required to sell homes they already own. Several exemptions apply, including for investors purchasing or building single-family homes specifically for the rental market.

    • Programs Authorized but Not Funded

    The law will create many new programs but does not include new appropriations to fund them. Therefore, the grant programs will only exist if Congress funds them in future spending bills. For state leaders, authorized but not appropriated programs may be a worthwhile advocacy target.

    What Does This Mean for Leaders?

    Taken together, these provisions reframe housing as workforce infrastructure — the same connection state leaders drew in New York, where the availability of housing near job sites emerged as a direct constraint on project wins and talent attraction. Much of the law’s potential impact now depends on implementation: which programs get funded, how federal agencies write the rules, and how effectively states position their communities to compete. SEDE will continue tracking that process and will keep members informed as guidance is issued and appropriations decisions take shape in the months ahead.

  • State Developments Snapshot – Issue 94, June 2026

    State Development Snapshot header 2

    News & Resources

    Block Your Calendar: Colorado Hosts Fall SEDE Meeting – 10/15 – 16 (SEDE) The State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network is holding its fall meeting for state economic development executives or their top deputy in Denver, Colorado. Eve Lieberman, Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, is excited to bring SEDE executives to the Mile High City with the meeting beginning at 9 am on October 15th and concluding in the early afternoon of the 16th with a tour of Colorado industry in the afternoon. More information will be available in the coming weeks.

    What Communities Should Know About Data Centers (CREC) The CREC blog highlights the race to build data centers and how the competition is reshaping local economies faster than almost any other real estate trend. The sector is drawing billions in venture capital and now consumes up to eight percent of total U.S. electricity. For local communities, that growth is arriving with both a windfall and a set of tradeoffs: improved fiber and broadband networks, short-term and permanent job gains, and large tax receipts on one side, with infrastructure demands, public health concerns, and general local opposition on the other.

    Child Care as Economic Infrastructure (SEDE) Economic development succeeds when talent, capital, and employer demand line up; child care now sits squarely inside that equation. This brief for state economic development leaders shares how child care is increasingly considered economic development infrastructure, not just a social program. Because inadequate access slows growth, these brief offers solutions being implemented by different states such as tax credits or cost-sharing programs, and the implications for state leaders and ideas to finance programs.

    Webinar — Assessing State and Local Incentives for Attracting New Energy Investment (RMI) This June webinar was hosted by RMI and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research to share research on the state and local government incentives to attract and grow project-level investment in electricity infrastructure, clean fuels, and new energy technology manufacturing. 

    New Resources: State Intel Briefs, Defense Industry Reports, and Issue Briefs (Manufacturing Momentum) CREC’s Manufacturing Momentum network has published numerous resources on defense manufacturing relevant to state leaders:

    • State Intelligence Briefs: These briefs were developed to support the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes’ (MIIs) strategy, regional partnership, and defense industrial base engagement. The state level information, investment details, and actionable recommendations are useful for planning and partnership. Thus far, briefs are published for nearly 30 states, with more to come in the coming weeks.
    • Biomanufacturing Talent for U.S. National Security & Economic Competitiveness: This workforce report examines the landscape for U.S. biomanufacturing, a DoD Critical Technology Area essential to domestic production of biofuels, bio-based materials, and other defense-critical capabilities. 
    • Electronics Talent for U.S. National Security & Economic Competitiveness: This industry report analyzes the workforce underpinning U.S. electronics and semiconductor manufacturing—a sector critical to defense systems ranging from precision munitions and unmanned vehicles to submarine sonar and photonics-enabled targeting. 
    • Defense Manufacturing Issue Briefs: This series of 3 briefs are designed to inform local and state government officials, workforce professionals, and manufacturers about important issues that impact their local economy and workforce training.

    Incentives Blogs (SEDE) Incentives continues to be an important element of economic development and the SEDE network is excited to share four state incentive blogs, all from Smart Incentives:  

    • Smart Incentives: Incentives for Entrepreneurial Firms analyzes state and local incentives for entrepreneurial firms and offers guidance for offering them.
    • Ellen Harpel, Randall Bauer, and Joe Buckson: Incentives Best Practices summarizes ten best practices the PFM and Smart Incentives team identified from dozens of state incentive evaluations conducted since 2020. The authors note these practices may need to be weighed against one another and observe that states alone offer more than 2,000 incentive programs costing billions, which is driving more governments to evaluate their portfolios rigorously.
    • Smart Incentives: Incentives that Work: A guide for designing and managing effective programs addresses whether incentives work, concluding that they influence business decisions but are not solely responsible for them, and that they generate positive outcomes only with sound program design and implementation. It argues for crafting competitive packages by combining multiple program components and partner offerings, and for shifting from a program-management mindset to an investment-partner one.
    • Smart Incentives: Incentives 101 – The Essential Concepts presentation defines different business incentives and identifies six incentive types: financial, tax, regulatory, workforce, site- or zone-based, and services. It closes with four takeaways: incentives should serve economic development goals rather than only winning deals, governments use many incentive types beyond tax breaks, economic developers can adopt procedures for sound decisions, and those procedures help answer whether incentives are working.

    How Has Federal Spending on Place-Based Programs Changed Over Time? (Urban Institute) Between 2010 and 2024, federal spending on the country’s largest recurring place-based programs climbed from roughly $44.1 billion to $60.7 billion in inflation-adjusted terms, yet direct program spending fell over that same span. Urban Institute’s report traces this shift across 13 programs and finds that tax expenditures like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Opportunity Zones now account for 84 percent of tracked spending, up from 66 percent in 2010, handing the private sector a larger say in where federal dollars land. If you are deciding whether current funding matches the needs of your community, or you are interested in who now directs these investments, you should read this report.

    Analysis of the Manufacturing USA Occupation and Competency Framework (NIST) This analysis describes the most common entry-level occupations in advanced manufacturing across the technology areas associated with the Manufacturing USA network through 2030. This review identifies occupations connected to the knowledge, skills, and abilities that workers need, as of 2025 and into the future, to work with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies across technology areas (biomanufacturing, digital/automation, electronics, energy/processes, materials). The objective of this framework is to provide a common language for and improve collaboration between industry, training providers, and workers.

    State Leader Spotlight

    Ellen McNair, Secretary of Commerce, Alabama Department of Commerce

    McNair

    Ellen McNair was appointed as secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce in 2024. Prior to joining Commerce, McNair served as the chief economic development officer for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. While at the Chamber, she successfully located 600 national and international projects with a combined capital investment exceeding $8 billion, resulting in the creation of almost 30,000 new jobs for the community. During her tenure, the Montgomery Chamber’s Corporate Development Division was named a Top 20 Economic Development Organizations in the U.S. by Site Selection Magazine four times.

    Additionally, with 40 years of economic development experience, she holds the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council, making her one of a handful of economic development professionals in Alabama with this designation. McNair attended Auburn University and is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

    Across the States: Developments to Know

    Vermont Incentive Program Update CREC is proud to have contributed to a meaningful policy outcome in Vermont this summer. On June 8th, Governor Phil Scott signed S.327 into law, permanently extending the Vermont Employment Growth Incentive (VEGI) program. This is the state’s only performance-based business incentive, which had been facing a 2027 sunset. CREC evaluated the program and supported the annual VEPC retreat where the Council invited stakeholders and legislators, helping equip state officials with the evidence and analysis needed to make the case for VEGI’s future. With the sunset repealed, Vermont businesses can now plan with greater certainty, knowing that a proven tool for job creation and business investment will remain available for years to come.

    JetZero Expected to Create $250B in Economic Impact for North Carolina (WXII 12) JetZero broke ground on a $4.7 billion manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, marking the start of a project that promises to create over 14,500 jobs and produce innovative, fuel-efficient aircraft. JetZero’s design for its Z4 aircraft, which will use blended-wing design, is projected to be up to 50% more fuel-efficient than traditional planes. The company aims to have its Z4 aircraft in the sky by the early 2030s.

    Utah Launches “Utah Elevated” Strategic Economic Plan (Governor’s Office of Economic Development) The Governor’s Office of Economic Development formally launched the Utah Elevated economic development plan, while also announcing legislation that changes the name of Utah’s economic development office to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and establishes a new statewide Economic Development Council that is central to the Utah Elevated plan. The plan marks a shift to a more coordinated, outbound economic development posture for Utah and GOED. GOED will take a central role in coordinating statewide economic development projects and the plan identifies ways for the state to understand clusters of activity and includes methodology focused on quality of life and broader economic scoring.

    Ohio Investing More than $11.7M to Support Communities and Fuel Business Growth (Ohio DED) The Ohio Department of Development announced the release of more than $11.7 million through three state-funded programs that will enhance communities and support business expansion. Of the investments, more than $9 million has been designated to improve community infrastructure through the Roadwork Development Grant (629) Program, which provides funding to local jurisdictions with an economic development project to assist with eligible public roadwork improvements. It also helps employers in creating or preserving employment opportunities. The other funded programs are the 166 Direct Loan Servicing program, which aids businesses that have been previously approved for a loan by the state of Ohio’s Controlling Board, and the Regional 166 Direct Loan program which provides low-interest loans to businesses with limited access to adequate capital from private funding sources.

    Allison Ulaky of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) led the development of this newsletter; for questions on the content in this newsletter contact Bob Isaacson, CREC Senior Vice President.