Does Your Community Have the Capacity to Undertake Community Economic Development?
Published for Community and Economic Development (CED) on July 15, 2013.
Say you have learned of a community economic development (CED) program that seems to be a perfect fit for your area. The need is already there and well documented, the program provides the right mix of projects, and all the program financial resources are available and already approved. All that is needed is the local government to ‘do it’ – that is, officially apply, implement, administer, and report on the program at the community level. Seems like a slam-dunk, right? Now imagine what your reaction would be if the city or county manager turned it down?
It might be that the local government simply can’t take on any more, no matter how wonderful an opportunity the proposal seems to be. This scenario is the basis for a new conversation in local government policy arenas – the issue of local capacity.
Capacity can be defined in a wide variety of ways. One option is to consider it along four levels:
- physical infrastructure (bricks and mortar, space, location)
- equipment (the mobile tools needed to implement the program – cars or trucks, storage containers, tables, machines, computers, desks, supplies, etc.)
- personnel (number, type, hours, skills, expertise)
- administration (ability to manage the program through management personnel, financial, HR, oversight and accountability systems)
Public Officials - Local and State Government Roles
Topics - Local and State Government