Every year around this time we provide some tips for how to put forth grant applications for competitive opportunities. This year, the needs for communities are greater, the resources are more limited, and calculating the impacts of your programs is critical. Funding to support local economic development is typically provided with the expectation that the investments will provide new business opportunities, jobs, and increased fiscal receipts to the receiving communities.
How can you demonstrate what these future benefits might be for your particular locality and business environment?
Input-Output Analysis track the relationships among industries and measure the economic output produced by a given set of demands for final goods and services and the inputs required to satisfy those demands.
Market Potential Study, Trenton, NJ
A Market Potential Study using Input-Output analysis techniques was conducted as part of the U.S. EPA Brownfields Area-Wide Planning (AWP) study for the East Trenton neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey. The purpose of the study was to estimate levels of new public and private sector investment necessary to achieve the community economic redevelopment and managed growth goals for the neighborhood and development of nearby recreational amenities along the Assunpink Creek. The study showed that given a total estimated investment of $33.38 Million dollars annually over a 7-year time frame for new construction and expected economic benefits of $84.53 Million annually, the expected benefit-to-cost ratio for these expenditures was 2.5. In other words, the City of Trenton and Mercer County could expect a benefit of $2.50 for every dollar invested by public and private entities in the East Trenton neighborhood.
There are several providers of economic impact data and analytical applications for Input-Output models:
- Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
- IMPLAN, a private company that offers easy-to-use web portal applications for novices, as well as more advanced desk-top applications for the expert user. IMPLAN’s data enables a deeper dive to estimate employment impacts including occupation-specific employment, wages, hours worked, and core competencies for 823 different occupations.
