R3 Economic Development Strategy
Retention, Relocation, and Recruitment
In today’s Economic Development strategies, one of the issues that must be addressed it that the funding for many such projects has dried up, and alot of those tasks have been left to chambers of commerce, city governments, and nonprofit organizations trying to develop tourism, new businesses, and recruit corporations into the area to hire more people. After all, jobs are always very serious issues connected with it, and many economic development projects need those jobs for increased tax bases, consumer confidence, and to help keep local economy’s above water.
Now then, lets also talk about new economic development strategies which we will call; R3 or R-cubed. Instead of trying and traveling to other states to recruit their top corporations to come to your state, region or area, it seems that you should have a three-pronged approach. It's not that you shouldn't recruit those corporations that are dissatisfied with their current location, but you should also work hard to make sure the businesses that are currently in your region stay put, and don't fall for the recruitment tactics, tax deferment promises, incentives, or reduced regulation guarantees.
If another state, region, or even country is offering a better deal, it is a free-market and free-market competition will indeed determine where those businesses are located, therefore where those jobs stay or go. All too often governments local, state, or federal are busy trying to use large corporations as their tax cash register rather than asking them what they need to succeed. This is where retention comes in, it's where you stay in constant contact with the needs of your local job suppliers, and if you're on top of things and informed, you should certainly know their needs, you shouldn’t even have to ask, you better have open communication lines.
So, in a nutshell that should fully explain the need for recruitment and retention. What about relocation? What about those companies who are planning to relocate, but could use some assistance? Shouldn't you have a place to go with all the information they need, even a streamlined way to help them process all of their requests and projects with local, state, and national governments? When you put the R3 concept together, and everything seems to flow it is because in a way it is all one.
Merely recruiting a company does no good if you give them a hard time as they relocate, you are setting up a negative mindset with the powers that be in that corporation, leading to negative referrals and lack of future retention. The reality will spread fast through the business community no matter what PR propaganda your economic development team puts forth. It would be wise for you, your team, or organization to consider all this and think very hard on it as you move forward with your economic development ideas and tread lightly.
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The Blueprint For Local Progress
Community Economic Development Solutions
Community Economic Development (CED) solutions shift the focus of traditional economic growth away from simply attracting large corporate outsiders to nurturing local assets, empowering residents, and driving wealth retention from the grassroots level. True community wealth building requires combining social, infrastructure, and financial interventions to build lasting self-sufficiency.
1. Fostering Grassroots Entrepreneurship & Capital
AccessTraditional banks frequently bypass under-resourced business owners. CED solutions focus on expanding direct, community-managed capital:
Establish Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Scale up local entities like CEDS Finance to provide microloans, flexible capital, or specialty financing (such as Islamic-compliant lending) to BIPOC, immigrant, or rural entrepreneurs.
Launch Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs): Seed a community-controlled fund where loan repayments from existing small businesses directly finance loans for new startups.
Deploy Business Incubators & Accelerators: Build structured environments that offer subsidized commercial spaces, technical training, and intensive mentorship to local founders.
2. Shifting to Democratic & Alternative Ownership Models
To prevent community displacement and keep profits circulating locally, neighborhoods can move toward democratic ownership models:
Form Community Land Trusts (CLTs): Acquire and manage land collectively to guarantee permanently affordable housing and commercial spaces for local retailers.
Incentivize Worker-Owned Cooperatives: Support the transition of local businesses to employee-owned structures, directly building generational wealth for low-to-moderate-income workers.
Fund Community-Owned Social Enterprises: Build mission-driven businesses that reinvest 100% of their profits directly back into community needs, such as local food hubs or renewable energy projects.
3. Implementing Customized, Sector-Aligned Workforce Strategies
Job creation succeeds only when residents possess the explicit skills needed to land and sustain those positions:
Build Targeted Training Alliances: Partner directly with community colleges to implement fast-track, customized training pathways explicitly mapped to high-demand regional industries.
Integrate Holistic Support Systems: Ensure training initiatives include critical wrap-around services—such as flexible nighttime classes, childcare, and transit passes—to eliminate systemic participation barriers.
Leverage Federal Grants: Apply for targeted federal resources, such as the Office of Community Services' CED Grant Program, which helps fund job expansion targeted heavily toward low-income individuals.
4. Maximizing Public Assets & Progressive Placemaking
Revitalizing the physical environment naturally attracts foot traffic and maximizes the value of a municipality's internal layout:
Activate Downtown storefronts: Repurpose vacant municipal buildings or industrial remnants into creative pop-up retail districts, microbreweries, or shared maker spaces.
Optimize Local Procurement: Reform city or county purchasing guidelines to mandate that a fixed percentage of public contracts prioritize local cooperative or minority-owned vendors.
Promote Cultural & Heritage Assets: Launch regional tourism trails, open-air markets, and localized artisan festivals to capture regional capital and fuel the hospitality sector.
The Purpose of Community
Economic Development (CED)
Community Economic Development’s purpose is to revitalize communities, develop and rehabilitate affordable housing, promote sustainability, attract investments, build wealth, encourage entrepreneurship, and create jobs.
Community Economic Development identifies, disseminates and implements successful best practices for Community Action Agencies and related organizations.
It provides strategies by which local development organizations initiate and generate their own solutions to their community’s economic problems and thereby build long term community capacity and foster the integration of economic, social and environmental objectives. Public programs may be used and corporate support attracted, but organizations representing the interests of the local community launch and direct the initiatives.
Examples include:
Micro or small business loan programs
Business classes
Counselling and technical assistance
Social enterprises
Commercial development
Incubators
Sectoral development strategies
Community economic development (CED) solutions shift the focus of traditional economic growth away from simply attracting large corporate outsiders to nurturing local assets, empowering residents, and driving wealth retention from the grassroots level. True community wealth building requires combining social, infrastructure, and financial interventions to build lasting self-sufficiency.
1. Fostering Grassroots Entrepreneurship & Capital AccessTraditional banks frequently bypass under-resourced business owners. CED solutions focus on expanding direct, community-managed capital:
Establish Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): Scale up local entities like CEDS Finance to provide microloans, flexible capital, or specialty financing (such as Islamic-compliant lending) to BIPOC, immigrant, or rural entrepreneurs.
Launch Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs): Seed a community-controlled fund where loan repayments from existing small businesses directly finance loans for new startups.
Deploy Business Incubators & Accelerators: Build structured environments that offer subsidized commercial spaces, technical training, and intensive mentorship to local founders.
2. Shifting to Democratic & Alternative Ownership ModelsTo prevent community displacement and keep profits circulating locally, neighborhoods can move toward democratic ownership models:
Form Community Land Trusts (CLTs): Acquire and manage land collectively to guarantee permanently affordable housing and commercial spaces for local retailers.
Incentivize Worker-Owned Cooperatives: Support the transition of local businesses to employee-owned structures, directly building generational wealth for low-to-moderate-income workers.
Fund Community-Owned Social Enterprises: Build mission-driven businesses that reinvest 100% of their profits directly back into community needs, such as local food hubs or renewable energy projects.
3. Implementing Customized, Sector-Aligned Workforce Strategies
Job creation succeeds only when residents possess the explicit skills needed to land and sustain those positions:
Build Targeted Training Alliances: Partner directly with community colleges to implement fast-track, customized training pathways explicitly mapped to high-demand regional industries.
Integrate Holistic Support Systems: Ensure training initiatives include critical wrap-around services—such as flexible nighttime classes, child care, and transit passes—to eliminate systemic participation barriers.
Leverage Federal Grants: Apply for targeted federal resources, such as the Office of Community Services' CED Grant Program, which helps fund job expansion targeted heavily toward low-income individuals.
4. Maximizing Public Assets & Progressive Placemaking
Revitalizing the physical environment naturally attracts foot traffic and maximizes the value of a municipality's internal layout:
Activate Downtown storefronts: Repurpose vacant municipal buildings or industrial remnants into creative pop-up retail districts, microbreweries, or shared maker spaces.
Optimize Local Procurement: Reform city or county purchasing guidelines to mandate that a fixed percentage of public contracts prioritize local cooperative or minority-owned vendors.
Promote Cultural & Heritage Assets: Launch regional tourism trails, open-air markets, and localized artisan festivals to capture regional capital and fuel the hospitality sector.
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Community Action Agencies (CAAs) include over 1,000 local, non-profit, and public organizations funded by the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) to fight poverty. Because there are too many individual groups to list here, you can find your local provider using the National Community Action Partnership locator.
Overview of Community Action
Local groups work in almost every U.S. county.
Boards include low-income community members, public officials, and business leaders.
Core funding comes from federal block grants
Common Services Provided
Head Start and early childhood education
Utility payment help via LIHEAP
Home weatherization programs (WAP)
Food pantries and emergency services
Job training and career counseling
