by Ellen D. Harpel | Nov 9, 2026 | Uncategorized
Nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) became common practice in economic development site selection at some point. Now, the data center debate has prompted companies, governments, and site selectors to reconsider how and when confidentiality should apply to proposed...
by Ellen D. Harpel | Sep 17, 2026 | Uncategorized
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...
by Ellen D. Harpel | Jun 8, 2026 | Uncategorized
If there was one word that defined the 2026 OECD Global Forum on Local Development for me, it was resilience. Not growth, resilience. Across sessions on trade, workforce development, entrepreneurship, industrial policy, and regional cooperation, participants returned...
by Ellen D. Harpel | May 18, 2026 | Uncategorized
Identifying the right metrics is a challenging issue in economic development. The field has long relied on “jobs, jobs, jobs” to tell the story of economic development success, maybe adding in tallies of capital investment. But these traditional measures no longer...
by Ellen D. Harpel | Apr 24, 2026 | Uncategorized
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a $2 billion annual federal program intended to incentivize the hiring of veterans, people with disabilities, and low-income individuals. The credit is currently on hiatus. This may be for good reason. A recent study found...
by Ellen D. Harpel | Feb 23, 2026 | Uncategorized
With Opportunity Zone 2.0 designations on the horizon, communities have something they didn’t have the first time around: the benefit of experience. OZ 1.0 taught us about where investment flows, what kinds of projects attract capital, and where the program...
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