Workforce Development

• Workforce3One: Overseen by the Department of Labor, the site “is an interactive communications and learning platform designed to build the capacity of the Workforce Investment System (WIS) to develop strategies that enable individuals to be successful in the 21st century economy.”

• Workforce Strategy Center: A national nonprofit that shapes policy and institutional change to create a market-driven workforce system, New York based WSC is a longtime partner of EMSI/CCbenefits.

• CareerOneStop is a career information site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

• Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW): This Michigan-based nonprofit specializes in “helping stakeholders across the country in business, government, education, economic development, human services and philanthropy find ways to adapt and thrive.”

• WorkingVentures Publications: This arm of Public/Private Ventures publishes books and other resources to strengthen the field of workforce development.

Economic Development

• International Economic Development Council: The mission of the IEDC is to promote economic development worldwide through professional development resources and public awareness.

• EDPro Blog: Maintained by Ed Morrison of the Center for Regional Development at Purdue University, this news and analysis site is an excellent resource for economic development professionals.

• Know Your Region: An online collection of professional development curricula and other resources to help development professionals “understand and apply core concepts of regionalism and industry cluster development.” A joint project of two universities and C2ER (formerly ACCRA).

Education

• Association of Community College Trustees: A longtime partner of EMSI/CCbenefits, ACCT’s mission is “promoting effective board governance through advocacy and education.”

• Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school.

• Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative: Started by the Ford Foundation, the goals of this initiative are (1) “Promote policy innovation which supports the integration of the multiple community college missions through selected engagement of policymakers, institutional practitioners, and multi-stakeholder coalitions of support from business, labor, and community groups, educational leaders and others; (2) Research ways in which state and local policies can enhance community colleges’ efforts to expand educational and economic opportunities for disadvantaged students; and, (3) Develop models of effective institutional classroom and administrative practice for use by policymakers, college administrators, and advocacy coalitions.” Be sure to check out their Community College Career Pathways Toolkit.

Data

• QCEW Data Tool: QCEW is the comprehensive census of payroll employment in the U.S., produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This single-screen tool allows users to access the dataset for multiple industries and geographies, although aggregation of the employment numbers remains rather awkward.

• Bureau of Economic Analysis: A central source for regional, state, national, and international economic information, including local area income, RIMS II, gross domestic product for states and MSAs by industry, and more.

• Local Employment Dynamics (Census): An attempt by the Census Bureau, in partnership with state labor market agencies, to make better workforce information available at the local level. Provides better integrated data than most other public sources.

• County Business Patterns (Census) provides the number of establishments and employee ranges by industry.

• The 2002 Economic Census is a key supplemental source for industry data, although it is somewhat outdated. The 2007 Economic Census begins data collection in December 2007.

• Nonemployer Statistics (Census): A major source of data on non-covered workers, particularly proprietors.

• DoL/ETA Catalogue of Workforce Information Sources: A comprehensive list of public and private sources for labor market and related data.

Other/Misc.

LesLe: A repository of resources on community and economic development compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Some interesting highlights:

•  HUD’s Office of University Partnerships
• NGA’s Growth and Quality of Life Toolkit
• USDA’s Rural Development Success Stories