20 Things Economic Developers Need to Know This Week
The stories Dane thinks you need to see. January 11, 2024.
Welcome to this week's issue of What Economic Developers Need to Know This Week, where we explore the evolving dynamics of our economy.
This week we have 20 tools, stories, graphics, charts, and videos that I think you'll find informative, useful, inspiring, and perhaps even humorous. Some are economic development related directly, and some only indirectly. 🤔
If you're wondering what to do with the info in this newsletter, send something to your board members. It will make you look good!
Today's email is brought to you by Resource Development Group
RDG offers customized economic development fundraising solutions for Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Organizations.
They are a small team with over 125 years of combined economic development fundraising experience and over $2 billion, yes, a Billion with a B, in funds raised for communities just like yours.
Every community is different. Atlanta, GA, is not Peoria, IL. Don’t use another city’s fundraising playbook, and expect the same results! A small market requires a different economic development fundraising strategy from a larger market.
RDG's experts thrive in providing customized economic development fundraising solutions for every situation. So whether you’re a startup organization or on your third funding cycle, they have the team and experience to get you the results you’re looking for.
1) Nearly 20% of all office space across major US cities was unleased at the end of 2023, a higher share than any previous year on record.
2) A the large-scale controlled trial at Boston Consulting Group found that consultants using the same version of GPT-4 everyone in the world has access to 12.2% more tasks on average, completed tasks 25.1% more quickly, and produced 40% higher quality results than those without the tool.
3) In a six-month long experiment using GPT-4 to provide advice to small business entrepreneurs in Kenya, getting AI mentoring boosted the performance of the best entrepreneurs by 20% - a very large effect for an educational intervention.
4) "Tourism is the first date for economic development": Destination Marketing Organizations help plow the road for Economic Development agencies, for local corporations looking to recruit top talent and for Colleges and Universities to draw potential students to campus for a tour.
5) Want to attract Gen Z workers? Up your marketing game: Attracting and retaining young tech talent is still possible for the public sector, but not without a marketing makeover, according to a new study.
6) Cincinnati, Cleveland and Buffalo are expected to be among 2024's hottest housing markets. The South, Midwest and Great Lakes regions are expected to thrive compared to the rest of the U.S., because of their relative affordability.
