Assessment of Socioeconomic Data for Economic Development Analysis

This project is being undertaken on behalf of the U.S. Economic Development Administration by Impresa and Andrew Reamer & Associates. For further information about this project, contact Joe Cortright at Impresa.

ATTENTION:
Our web-based survey is now closed. Survey tabulations and our final report will be available at this site in the weeks ahead.

You still have an opportunity to share your views on data for economic development analysis. Please click here, and tell us your answers to these questions:

1) Which data are most important to your work?
2) How well are your needs for that data being met?
3) What are your priorities for improving or adding to economic data?

Our thanks to the more than 600 persons who completed the survey. EDA, working in cooperation with federal statistical agencies has commissioned this survey as part of an effort to improve socioeconomic data available for economic development practitioners. .

You can get access to our complete list of links to economic development data sources that were listed in the survey. To learn more about this project, see "About the Project" below.

If you'd like to look at our survey (your answers won't be tabulated), you can click on this link:

Review the Survey Instrument

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About the Project

Accurate, appropriate data on the performance and structure of a region's economy are critically important to the design and the implementation of effective economic development policies and programs. Development agencies rely heavily on data generated by federal statistical agencies, and by state employment agencies following federal methodologies. Two questions arise.

• First, particularly in light of recent budget cutbacks, to what extent are the data needs of regional development practitioners currently being met by the Federal data system, in terms of elements such as availability, frequency, level of geographic and industrial detail, and timing?
• Second, to what extent are development practitioners fully aware of the data sources that are currently available, and the tools and methods for effectively analyzing them?

To answer these questions, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has asked the research team of Andrew Reamer & Associates and Impresa to contact analysts and practitioners through a number of means -- focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and this survey. Once the research team has gathered observations and opinions from these various sources, they will be working with EDA and the three primary federal statistical agencies (Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis) to identify means for improving the availability of socioeconomic data needed for regional economic development. At the same time, EDA and the research team will use a variety of means (publication, workshops) to inform practitioners and analysts about the full range of data sources currently available, and best practices in utilizing them.

Your answering this survey will be helpful not only in identifying the extent to which needs are being met, but also in making clear that a vocal constituency exists for regional socioeconomic data. The federal statistical agencies are happy to work with with the research team on this project because they realize that a vocal constituency can only help their attempts to get adequate funding.