Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 53
information about jobs, and the city combined this information with data from other sources to allow for a more granular review
of how the economic base was changing, using locally sourced data. San José also used location data to track its sales tax
trends and identify where the pandemic had the greatest impact on taxable sales. Locally sourced data allows a city or county to
more rapidly identify trends by sector without the significant time lag typically associated with other data sources.
Primary Data Gathering
Local intelligence. In addition to data and applications from public agencies and private vendors, another important source
of information about the economic base and the potential impacts of economic disruption can be obtained directly from
local businesses and neighborhood organizations. Economic development has always included some component of business
outreach, such as individual business contacts, focus groups, organizational meetings, and more.
For disaster recovery in particular, on-the-ground empirical information provides an early indication of the types of businesses
that were most impacted by an event. The use of online meetings has increased significantly as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic, and these tools can also be useful for contacting businesses through normal outreach as well as post-disaster. In
addition, local organizations may collect their own data about the businesses they represent, which could supplement other
sources and fill gaps.
Other data collection. Survey research is another commonly used tool for gathering data about local businesses and a
community’s economic base. The traditional methods of mail and phone surveying have now been supplemented or even
replaced by online surveys and geoapps (which include GIS for enterprises, geospatial applications, geo-data visualization and
mapping, location-based services, and more). Survey Monkey is one widely used online surveying platform. The service includes
a survey form builder with preformatted templates and built-in functions for data analysis.64 For communities that have GIS
capabilities or access to sophisticated GIS capabilities, online surveys can also be integrated into other location-based data
collection; for example, ESRI’s ArcGIS Survey123 can be used for building smartphone geoapps and mapping survey results in
real time as data is collected.65 In communities where broadband access is an issue, in-person interviews or other methods to
reach these businesses should be considered.
Putting It All Together
Economic base data serves as an important input into overall strategies for resiliency and recovery because it provides the
context for how jobs are organized by sector and how these sectors are interconnected. Along with the clusters, local market
factors, regulations, and location-specific factors, economic base data influences how a community can plan for resiliency
and recovery.
Resiliency. Economic base data is typically used more for advance planning and strategic initiatives; this aligns with how
communities use information to identify actions for strengthening economic resiliency. In general, economic base data has a
significant lag time, especially at the subcounty level. Broader economic measures, such as employment growth, concentration,
establishment size, industry concentration, and R&D are historical in nature and more amenable to long-term initiatives.
Economic base data, cluster analysis, supply chain information, business development information, and other locally
derived data each provide a diferent part of the big picture. The resiliency perspective examines how a community can
better leverage its locational advantages or safeguard itself against economic downturns or impacts on individual businesses
or industry sectors.
Having a broad understanding of the economic base provides context for a recovery
process as well and points to where the impacts from economic events can have indirect
efects in other areas of the economy.
64
65
https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/take-a-tour/
https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-survey123/overview
Understanding Your Economic Base Through Cluster Analysis, Business Size, and Supply Chain
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