CERC’s municipal services division to help towns and cities tackle economic development challenges - by Courtney Hendricson

Courtney Hendricson, Connecticut Economic Resource Center

Let me introduce myself if we haven’t met already… I am Courtney Hendricson, vice president of municipal services at the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). I oversee CERC’s new municipal services division – and I am so excited about the work that is underway to help towns and cities across Connecticut tackle their economic development challenges.

By way of introduction, I have built my career in municipal economic development starting in the city of Austin, Texas city manager’s office, then coming to Connecticut in 2007 where I have spent the last decade at CT Main Street Center, town of Farmington and most recently in the town of Enfield as assistant town manager. This breadth of municipal locations has given me a great perspective on what works well and exposure to all kinds of different economic development projects.

CERC’s municipal services division stems from our “Economic Development 101” workshop that we have presented to more than a quarter of Connecticut municipalities to date, free of charge. If you have not yet taken advantage of this fantastic session, please contact me to set one up in your community. It is designed to get your key players (staff, council members, commissioners and active volunteers) together to learn about the basics of municipal economic development, and why it should matter to all of you!

As this successful workshop continues to make its way around the state, we are also offering a unique in-depth self-assessment that towns and cities are taking advantage of to learn about their strengths and challenges. After your key players fill out the survey, we collate the results and can present the findings during a facilitated roundtable discussion.

These two building blocks have resulted in a steady demand for our municipal economic development services in a variety of forms: research to determine the highest and best use for a property; site selection services for a developable parcel; marketing and branding for your community; economic impact analysis for a specific transportation initiative; grant applications; strategic planning; business surveys; brownfield management; and the list continues to grow!

We are enthusiastic about the projects we are already working on around Connecticut and welcome the opportunity to work with your community on your unique challenges. Our staff of seasoned municipal economic developers, research economists, marketing professionals and commercial real estate experts is unparalleled in this market. Let us help you grow your local economy.

Municipal Economic Development

Often towns, particularly smaller towns with little or no staff dedicated to economic development, find it difficult to set priorities and implement on them. Individual members of the economic development commission, elected officials, or town residents may have their own ideas about what are the important economic development activities -- some may want to keep things pretty much the way they are, but there is no consensus. As a result often little gets done.

Economic Development Capacity Assessment

CERC has developed a 70-question assessment tool to help a town undertake an assessment of the community’s economic development capacity. Initially this will help the town establish consensus about what its top priorities are, and what can be accomplished within the resources currently available. We recommend that communities also use this tool on an ongoing basis as part of an annual review of the relative success of economic development activities.

The assessment can be completed by members of the economic development commission, or, ideally, by a cross-section of town leaders interested in building a consensus around economic development options. When completed, CERC will evaluate the feedback and provide a written summary of the results. CERC then recommends our facilitating a meeting to help achieve consensus around an agreed upon number of action steps.

Prioritize & Pinpoint

The assessment will assist in prioritizing different economic development programs or pinpointing areas for improvement. It will also help the town understand if it is ready to attract new development opportunities consistent with the community’s vision. CERC will evaluate the feedback and assist in prioritizing the appropriate allocation of resources as part of the final deliverable. The process will assess whether the town stakeholders believe that there are adequate policy, service or infrastructure assets in place to further economic development, or whether issues need to be addressed to best position the town to achieve its economic development priorities.

Courtney Hendricson is vice president of municipal services for CERC,  Rocky Hill, Conn.