University Centers have extensive expertise and are always searching for new tools to leverage. Alison Turner from Argonne National Laboratory presented on the NERRC tools, emphasizing the latest updates with the Economic Development Capacity Index (EDCI). Turner shared use cases for the tools, and will seek feedback from attendees. These tools are useful for University Centers, as they can be used to assess critical elements that contribute to a county’s overall economic development capacity. This information can be used to support or inform planning, project identification, or applications for assistance.
RECAP
Alison Turner covered several tools and resources from the National Economic Research and Resilience Center at Argonne National Laboratory, focusing on how these can support economic development, especially for universities and University Centers. The key points include:
- Introduction to Argonne National Laboratory: An overview of Argonne, one of the U.S. national labs, and its role in economic research, particularly through the National Economic Research and Resilience Center (NERRC), which collaborates with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and FEMA.
- NERDE Tool (National Economic Resilience Data Explorer): This tool provides access to a wealth of national economic data, including demographic, workforce, industry, and government revenue data, as well as resources for disaster recovery and resilience. It is designed for use in regional economic research, grant writing, and strategic planning.
- Economic Development Capacity Index (EDCI): The EDCI is a key resource for measuring local economic development capacity, using a set of indicators across five categories: human capital, financial, infrastructure, industry, and institutions. It helps communities assess their economic development strengths and weaknesses relative to national benchmarks, informing planning and funding applications.
- Practical Applications: The tools are designed to help economic development districts, universities, and local governments understand local capacity, support grant applications, and track economic resilience and recovery over time. Turner shared use cases for the tools, and discussed how participants could utilize these tools.
Alison Turner is a Senior Economic Development Researcher in the Decision and Infrastructure Sciences Division at Argonne National Laboratory. She brings over ten years of experience to Argonne working in economic development, scale, and program impact. She has spent time on the research side at the New Mexico Bureau of Business and Economic Research, on the financial side as a municipal bonds trader for the Bank of New York Mellon, and in practice working for the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District. Prior to working at Argonne, Alison served as the founder and Chief Executive of Metrics Together, a company focused on data empowerment for local government and non-government offices. Alison holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Anthropology from the University of New Mexico and a Master’s in Statistics from Boston University.