EDA University Center

The EDA University Center received a CARES Act Economic Recovery grant and has been focusing its research and outreach efforts on helping communities recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of our major activities include:

Expanded Capacity to Meet COVID-19 Research & Data Needs: Professors Gail Huycke and Christopher Stark joined the EDA University Center team to help deepen applied research related to expanding broadband access. Because of her association with the EDA-UC and the CARES Act grant, Professor Huycke was asked to serve on Governor Ever’s Task Force on Broadband. Professor Chris Stark has been working on access in Wisconsin’s communities.

Dr. Tessa Conroy received additional funding through the CARES Act to dedicate a greater amount of time to economic recovery, leading the effort to complete Broadband and the Wisconsin Economy, a companion policy brief Strategies and Policy Options for Broadband Access Across Wisconsin, and a series of factsheets.

Economic Impact Survey – Wisconsin Residents: From September through late October (2020), we fielded the first wave of a survey of a random sample of Wisconsin residents to better understand the pandemic’s effect on individual household finances and resiliency, along with the effect of sudden COVID-19 related changes on the household need for broadband, childcare, and other necessary support for full participation in the economy.

Economic Impact Survey – Municipalities & Economic Development Organizations: The impact of COVID-19 on municipalities has been considerable. Through the CARES Act, the EDA University Center is preparing to field a survey of municipalities and economic development organizations.

Homegrown: Entrepreneurship in Your Community: Research indicates entrepreneurial networks are weak in many parts of rural America. It is expected that already weak entrepreneurial supports will be further eroded by COVID-19. In response, the EDA University Center is offering a multi-day, research-based curriculum designed by the EDA University Center’s lead researcher, Dr. Tessa Conroy, in partnership with Dr. Sara Low at the University of Missouri. Targeted at local stakeholders, the program aids participant communities in creating a supportive network in rural areas so that when entrepreneurs are considering starting a business, they receive support from community institutions and leaders.

Business Development Technical Assistance: Through the CARES Act, Extension is accelerating its efforts to provide direct help to small entrepreneurs, earliest stage entrepreneurs, solo entrepreneurs, and smaller agricultural operators. GrowthWheel business counseling will be offered by ten certified Division of Extension educators.

QuickStart Social Media Marketing: The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of social media sites, such as Facebook, in helping small businesses maintain and serve their customers. The EDA University Center partnered with 3Rhino Media, a nationally recognized social consultant, to provide a three-course series to small businesses. In total, 41 businesses registered for the first wave of QuickStart Social Media Marketing courses in November 2020, and there plans to offer the courses periodically throughout the COVID-19 economic recovery period.

WIndicators: The EDA University Center publishes a frequent, short-form series called WIndicators that looks at data surrounding a range of issues from business expansion to the role of foreign exports in the state’s economy to childcare as an economic development strategy and the role of immigration in entrepreneurship.

Wisconsin Economy Series: The Wisconsin Economy Series is a joint effort of the EDA University Center and the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.  This series is an in-depth look at critical issues in Wisconsin, including broadband, manufacturing, sources of job growth, and effects of research and development investment in the state.

Economic Reports: Our Economic Reports address episodic issues in the economy and detail methods for community-based economic development research. For example, Slow Churn: Declining Dynamism in America’s Dairyland discusses the birth and death rates for Wisconsin business startups and the implication for the state economy. A Trade Area Analysis of Wisconsin Retail and Service Markets provides instruction on how to use publicly available data to assess the local retail market.

Badger Economy Survey: The Badger Economy Survey is a biennial survey of Wisconsin and its neighboring Great Lakes states. The survey explores attitudes toward a rotating number of economic development issues faced by states in the Upper Midwest, along with the experiences of individuals as they encounter issues related to child care, student loans, job searches, and other common events that impact regional residents.

The Center holds major meetings annually that bring together stakeholders in each region to examine research on issues they have identified as critical to economic development.  Meetings are held as in-services, summits, or forums, depending on the preference of the economic development partners. Attendance ranges between 60 and 300 individuals, drawn from local, state, and national elected leaders, economic development professionals, government agencies, and business leaders.

The EDA University Center researchers are frequently called on to directly assist communities or economic development partners. For example, Kristin Runge recently assisted the Village of Waunakee in conducting a year-long assessment and community engagement on the issue of affordable housing. Tessa Conroy is involved in a project supporting entrepreneurs of color in the Fox Valley region of the state through research, developing a co-working space, and identifying grant opportunities. Matt Kures has been working with several partners to identify and understand the implications of commuting and stretch commuting patterns in their regions. Steve Deller has been leading a working group to identify community-based approaches to addressing the lack of affordable housing across the State of Wisconsin.