Economic Development
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This collection provides resources for state and local governments, elected officials, citizens, the business community, and students on economic development-related issues and includes strategic plans, market analysis studies, and research on emerging topics in economic development. Visit the IPA website for more information.
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Browsing Economic Development by Subject "Delaware"
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Item Broadband Opportunities for Sussex County(2009-08-18T20:04:09Z) Mix, Troy; Beauchamp, David; Wendt, MatthiasInfrastructure is a key ingredient in the recipe for regional economic prosperity—a constant requirement as the U.S. economy evolves. Roads and rail connect cities, the electric grid connects industry with energy, and telephone lines connect businesses with customers. The current economy places a premium on the high-speed transfer of data that broadband infrastructure makes possible. Broadband—defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as advanced communications systems capable of providing high-speed transmission of services such as data, voice, and video over the Internet and other networks—has become a staple infrastructure in the diet of competitive regional economies (Federal Communications Commission, February 2009). This report highlights the opportunity for Sussex County, Delaware, to harness broadband infrastructure for economic development and urges policy action in that regard. Broadband technologies are described and defined in terms of their speed, availability, and future promise. Chapter 2 reviews selected community benefits and specific applications of broadband. Chapter 3 summarizes the status of broadband infrastructure and use in rural areas of the United States, with a particular focus on Sussex County. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a framework for policy discussions aimed at enhancing and expanding broadband infrastructure and use in Sussex County.Item Delaware Libraries Governance and Funding: An Assessment of Operational Funding and Governance Issues for the Proposed Duck Creek Regional Library(2013-05) Freel, Edward; Bucsak, JennaLeeThis report assesses options for developing a reasonable and attainable operating funding plan to bridge the gap between the Smyrna Public Library's current funding and the projected funding for the new regional library. This report also suggests various governance options for directing the future regional library. The recommendations offered in this report are premised on the state delivery systems being maintained with little or no change to the status quo.Item Greater Georgetown Area Comprehensive Market Analysis(2009-01-16T20:38:26Z) Mix, Troy; Doss, Manoj; Temko, Ezra; Tolino, Amanda; Wendt, MatthiasThe Greater Georgetown Area Comprehensive Market Analysis was prepared for the Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Georgetown to identify current and future opportunities for business expansion in the Georgetown area.The purpose of this project was to investigate regional market conditions in order to identify current and future opportunities for business expansion in the Greater Georgetown area. In that regard, this report contains a demographic and economic analysis of the population most likely to frequent Georgetown businesses, the results of a customer-intercept survey aimed at gathering opinions about shopping in the Georgetown area, an inventory of businesses within the 19947 zip code, and a comparative analysis of existing and potential retail and food-services sales within the area. Based on these data and analysis, a recommended path forward was prepared with an eye toward capitalizing on existing and emerging market opportunities and preserving those market advantages that the Greater Georgetown area currently enjoys.Item Infrastructure in Sussex County, Delaware: Where, When & How?(2009-01-16T20:38:55Z) Bierma, AlisaThis report stems from a desire to know more about vital infrastructure in Sussex County, Delaware. Where is the current infrastructure located? How much capacity is present? How many more users can that capacity accommodate? What came out of those questions were not answers but many more questions regarding not only what currently exists, but how it came to be and what the future holds.Item Stimulating Broadband Adoption in Delaware: A Planning Tool(2012-02-29) Homsey, Andrew; Patterson, Theodore; O'Boyle, ToddIn mid-‐December 2009, the state of Delaware was awarded funds to research and publish broadband options for its citizens. Governor Jack Markell designated the Department of Technology and Information (DTI) as the agency to receive, apply, and implement the funds, according to the guidelines and mandates of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In 2010 the broadband-‐mapping portion of this program was initiated by DTI, consisting of data collection, the development of a statewide broadband-‐availability map, transmission of those data to NTIA for the development of its national broadband map, and the long-‐ term maintenance of these data by the state. The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) is assisting DTI with project-‐data collection, public outreach, and public policy development. The Broadband Planning Tool, which the current document represents, includes the following components. Chapter 1. Getting the Most Out of Broadband frames the issues related to broadband in Delaware by exploring the benefits of broadband, comparing available technologies, and examining the challenges to improving connection. Chapter 2. Geospatial Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Adoption of Broadband in Delaware describes and quantifies the factors that contribute to broadband connectivity or digital isolation. Appendix 1 provides maps of the latest data available to visualize community “hotspots” and “coolspots” of connectivity across Delaware. Appendix 2 outlines how to use the Broadband Mapping Tool. The tool enables planners and local government officials to evaluate their own broadband challenges and opportunities. It includes three Delaware broadband case studies from across the state to demonstrate how to improve connectivity. Appendix 3 lists federal grant and loan programs available to communities and agencies across the state. Each entry in the resource list includes a description of the purpose of funding, and qualifications for each program, along with contact information.