Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 40
Share data. The bedrock of this relationship
is sharing data. In most cases, the data already
exists. Whether it is an inventory of traditional
infrastructure assets in public works, or a study
analyzing sales tax data and demographics in
commercial areas that can help public works
staf focus their resources in the right areas,
this data is useful to both public works and
economic development. The time to begin
sharing this data is before a disaster occurs.
Discuss each other’s needs. Existing data
is a perfect starting point, but what happens
if some data points are not already included?
For example, a local government might have
an inventory of public assets, but the condition
of those assets hasn’t been updated since the
inventory was created. To prepare for a disaster,
it is important to have up-to-date condition
information not only for insurance purposes but
also for grant opportunities that may replace
the assets to the prior standard. Economic
developers can and should work together with
other city and county departments to ensure
that needs beyond existing data can be met.
Building a collaborative relationship between economic developers and the
Public Works Department is an essential resiliency practice.
Communicate how this relationship benefits the Public Works Department. Any partnership between departments or
agencies should benefit both partners, and it’s important to understand how the extra work of sharing and potentially gathering
data will help public works. Many public works grant applications for infrastructure projects can be greatly strengthened with
data from economic developers, whether it’s demographic data, project impacts on employment or housing, or sales tax data
for areas served by certain projects. Public works may also benefit from the relationships fostered by the economic developer
with the local business community that provide connections with business owners and sectors necessary for grant applications
or infrastructure project outreach.
Identify and articulate common goals. Public works staf and economic developers have a common goal: a thriving
jurisdiction that provides for the needs of its residents and is self-sustaining (in other words, provides enough tax revenue to
support its needs).
In addition, partnerships with other state and local government departments or agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector can
help build a resilient economic foundation. These potential partners could include:
• Governor’s Ofice of Business & Economic Development (GO-Biz)
• Governor’s Ofice of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA)
• Local communications service providers (internet, phone, etc.)
• Local health care providers (hospitals, clinics, nonprofits)
• Planning Department
• Ofice of Emergency Services/Sherif
• Health & Human Services Agency
• Public health agencies
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CALED | Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook
