Here at Smart Incentives, we look at economic development
incentives as a process – not a transaction.
Incentives are a means of achieving your community’s economic
development objectives, not just winning a deal.
This is the framework we use to think about how to use
incentives effectively.
Our four core principles are that a) we use specialized data and analytical tools to support decision-making throughout the
incentives process, and b) we help the economic development profession prepare
for greater transparency and accountability in the use of
incentives.
We apply these principles to the four different stages of
the incentives process:
- Recipient
– As you begin the negotiation, have you done your due diligence on the company
applying for incentives? Are you
prepared to explain your decision to your community?
- Deal
– Are you confident you have negotiated a good deal that is likely to generate
real benefits for your community? Can you justify this deal to your board,
elected officials, and your community?
- Compliance
– Once the deal is signed, how will you know if the company has complied with
the incentive agreement and met its commitments to your community? Can you answer questions on individual and
program compliance rates?
- Effectiveness
– Do you know if your incentive programs have helped your community achieve its
economic development objectives?
This week founder Ellen Harpel will be speaking on how to implement two
different parts of this process.
Wednesday, May 22, 2:00 pm: IEDC webinar, “Build a Smart
Incentives Package: Community Impact Models” with John Cappellino of the Erie
County (NY) Industrial Development Agency. Keywords: analytical tools, accountability,
deal
Thursday, May 24, 3:45 pm: C2ER Annual Conference
(Nashville, TN) panel on “Using Research to Improve Incentive Decisions” with Wen Sun, C2ER, and Jeff Chapman, Pew Center on the States. Keywords data,
accountability, recipient
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