Community Economic Development
Division of Extension
We advance research about community and economic development in Wisconsin and provide applied research, education, and assistance to individuals, local governments, and community organizations.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY May 2022 — Innovation moves the economy forward. Innovations are new products, processes, or services that create value for customers. Innovations often signal an improvement over a past model or way of doing things. Innovations can be significant, disrupting the status quo. Many innovations, however, are modest, offering small increases in quality of […]
Entrepreneurial activity increased sharply in Wisconsin in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Entrepreneurship is a key part of any healthy economy but ensuring that new business activity leads to significant economic impact by creating high quality jobs can be difficult. Communities can take a lead role in a range of strategies that help entrepreneurs grow and be successful to make the most of this opportunity to improve their economies.
Summary April 2022 — Dr. Alejandra Ros Pilarz discusses the early care and education landscape in Wisconsin, how it has changed over the past 15 years, and the implications for children and families. She describes the current state of the early care and education workforce, as well as challenges and opportunities for supporting the workforce […]
National Restaurant Association Downtown Restaurants by N. David Milder, DANTH, Inc. March 2022 — Restaurants and culinary experiences can be extremely valuable additions to a downtown area. They serve downtown workers and residents as well as attract visitors to the center of the community. They serve both an economic and social role in the community, […]
The development of seasonal and recreational housing units in Wisconsin reflects the economic transitions of many counties that were formerly dependent on natural resource extraction to a current reliance on services, hospitality, and recreation. With these transformations also come regional opportunities and challenges related to the growth of seasonal and recreational housing.
In this webinar, we discuss how city leaders, businesses, property owners, and others can “shape their city” for the betterment of all and how Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) can be used as a tool in that process. The focus of the webinar is on leadership and partnerships that help create an effective downtown organization.
Nonemployer establishments, sole proprietorships and partnerships without any paid employees, are an important part of the country’s economy. As of 2018, they made up a large and quickly growing share of businesses in the United States at 77% of the total while the other 23% of establishments were employer businesses [1]. Given that nonemployer establishments are businesses without employees, they are predominantly independent contractors who work for themselves or small businesses operated only by the owner(s) or unpaid members of their family.
Summary May 2021 — Industry recruitment. Small business support. Public-private partnerships. These strategies characterize waves of economic development in the United States. Are we in the 4th wave of economic development? If so, what does this mean for economic development practitioners? Steve Deller, professor in agricultural and applied economics and community economic development specialist, discusses […]
Summary May 2021 — What type of community economic development practitioner are you? Do you emphasize the “C” (i.e., community)? The “E” (i.e., economic)? Or, the “D” (i.e., development)? Steve Deller, professor in agricultural and applied economics and community economic development specialist, describes several roles community economic development practitioners can assume. Webinar Recording Additional Materials […]
When one thinks about the term “business climate”, factors such as taxes, regulations, and unionization come to mind. These items tend to be viewed as potential costs that businesses face when making investment decisions. Anything that is viewed as increasing the costs of business operations is considered bad for the business climate of a community or region. To foster economic growth and development the business climate of the community or region must be enhanced. The logic follows that strategies or policies that reduce tax burdens, limit or reduce regulations, or weaken the strength of labor unions (e.g. Right-to-Work laws) will enhance business climate and foster economic growth and development.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY January 2021 — In this study we explore issues related to broadband coverage and importance of coverage to community well-being. Several key conclusions include: Fact Sheets Broadband Access and Affordability How Available is Broadband in Wisconsin? Disconnected: Households Without Any Internet Broadband Connectivity and Health Outcomes Increasing Broadband Adoption Broadband and […]
Childcare was a challenge for parents before the pandemic and has only become more difficult in recent months. During the pandemic, as much as 60% of childcare providers closed and stopped providing childcare (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2020). While many of those closures were temporary, a recent state-level study estimates that, in absence of additional aid, 30% of the childcare supply in Wisconsin could be permanently lost if providers are closed for more than two weeks without revenue due to COVID-19.
