State & Local Investments

This web site provides a number of reports on labor strategies to promote “high road partnerships” that pursue economic development strategies that focus on the creation and maintenance of good paying jobs.

The Center for Best Practices seeks to identify and promote innovation in state government by surveying states on key issues and cataloguing innovative programs (it also does consulting for individual states on specific issues). On its web site, it has a weekly newsletter, Front and Center and makes available many of its reports for public dissemination.

The Local Government Commission (LGC) is a nonprofit membership organization that provides inspiration, technical assistance, and networking to local elected officials and other dedicated community leaders who are working to create healthy, walkable, and resource-efficient communities. Two primary areas of concentration are smart growth and resource conservation (including the promotion of renewable energy sources). On both issues, the web site has a large number of freely available reports, articles, and case studies.

Governing is a monthly magazine whose primary audience is state and local government officials: governors, legislators, mayors, city managers, council members and other elected, appointed and career officials. It has a total circulation of 85,000 and provides some of the most in-depth analysis available of state and local policy innovation.

The EDR Group is a consulting firm that works on economic development strategies, with a specialty in doing economic impact analysis. Its on-line library provides a large collection of downloadable articles on economic development impact analysis.

Founded in 1984, the Center for Venture Research has undertaken and published numerous studies in the area of early-stage equity financing of entrepreneurial ventures, including its annual survey of angel investors. Abstracts of the survey and the Center's publications are available on line.

Formed in 2000, the Alliance for Regional Stewardship aims to foster collaborative multi-sector regional stewardship in America's metropolitan regions. Their web site includes presentations and papers from past conferences, as well as specific links and resources tied to four topics: new economy (e.g., high-tech industry), sustainability, collaborative governance models, and social inclusion.