Shaping Tomorrow’s Success

In today’s dynamic and fast-paced global economy, the importance of using workforce and industry data to inform economic development strategies and priorities cannot be overstated. Veridus understands that this data-driven approach plays a pivotal role in shaping successful and sustainable economic development efforts. Our Community and Economic Development Team utilizes a variety of tools to inform labor market analysis, economic impact studies, workforce development, housing studies, and data-driven strategic plans. Recently, our team has used Lightcast data and software to help our clients understand and navigate the dynamics of regional labor markets, track employment trends, assess the economic impact of various activities, and make informed decisions related to workforce development, and economic planning.

Community Reports

Veridus is here to partner with you in creating insightful reports that empower community decision making processes and inform community success. We will work with you to develop tailored graphic reports unique to your community needs. Customized reports can cover a variety of metrics including:

• Track demographic & population trends with insights into population dynamics, growth patterns, and demographic shifts.
• Analyze workforce trends to gain a competitive edge and uncover opportunities for skill development, employment, and talent acquisition within your community.
• Drive business and industry growth by identifying growth opportunities for industries and strategically plan for economic diversification.
• Optimize housing solutions and identify housing trends, affordability factors, and investment opportunities for sustainable development.
• Understand commercial retail potential and gain insights into consumer preferences, spending
  habits, and growth opportunities.

Veridus collaborates with your community to establish a flexible update schedule tailored to your needs, whether it’s annual, bi-annual, or quarterly reports. This ensures that your community remains consistently informed and can proactively adapt to evolving circumstances, guaranteeing your ongoing
success.

Data Driven Planning Outcomes

• Informed decision making: Workforce and industry data provide vital insights into the local, regional, and national labor markets and industry trends. This information empowers decision-makers with a clear understanding of the current economic landscape in their community. Armed with this knowledge, policymakers, economic development agencies, and business leaders can make well-informed decisions that maximize the impact of their development-oriented initiatives.
• Resource Allocation: Economic development often involves the allocation of resources, whether in the form of funding, education and training programs, or infrastructure development. Access to data enables stakeholders to identify the most promising sectors for investment. By targeting resources where they are needed most, these efforts become more efficient and effective.
• Talent Attraction and Retention: Workforce data helps identify the skills and talents that are in high demand within a region. Understanding these dynamics allows communities to create initiatives that attract and retain the workforce needed for their key industries.
• Industry Diversification: Economic development strategies often aim to diversify local economies to reduce vulnerability to economic downturns. Industry data helps identify opportunities for diversification and fosters the development of new sectors. By expanding the range of industries in a region, communities can create stability and resilience.
• Economic Resilience: In times of economic crisis or significant market shifts, workforce and industry data can provide early warnings and insights. Communities armed with this information can proactively adjust strategies and policies to mitigate the impact of economic shocks and position themselves for recovery.
• Evaluation and Accountability: Data plays a crucial role in measuring the success of economic development initiatives. It allows for the tracking of key performance indicators and assessment of the impact of various strategies, ensuring accountability and the ability to fine-tune approaches as needed.

CASE STUDIES

Our team of economic development experts will use data-driven tools to analyze labor markets, track employment trends, and make informed decisions in economic planning.

Hamilton County Vision 2023

Jobs and residents are the pillars of any community, but not always aligned. They determine the demand for infrastructure, schools, utilities, restaurants, coffee shops, parks and all other factors that improve quality of life. Community and government organizations are well positioned to play a vital role in bridging this gap and attracting and retaining talent.

Veridus is participating in a project in Hamilton County, that combines and consolidates population and workforce data from community partners like; cities, schools, utilities, home builders, and economic development professionals; and blends that with hard data from sources like Lightcast, to provide a fuller picture of the county’s population and job pillars through the year 2030.

This process includes forecasting the talent demand created by future growth. Ultimately, the effort streamlines the extensive data available, highlights a multi-faceted approach to illustrate talent attraction demands, and creates resources that better inform existing and future workforce conditions through 2030 across the region.

Steuben County Economic Development Strategic Plan

Steuben County hired Veridus to lead them in the creation of a new economic development strategic plan. This process included significant stakeholder outreach, as well as synthesizing several existing data sets. As part of this process, our team completed a deep analysis of the County’s industrial base to identify economic drivers, competitive advantages, and opportunities for industry diversification. This analysis helped inform a business attraction strategy that will guide the County for the next five-years.

Wells County Housing Study

Veridus is currently working with Wells County Economic Development on a housing and economic development study. Our team utilized Lightcast data to understand existing and future job and workforce trends that are impacting housing affordability for county and regional residents. This housing study is timely as the Indiana Legislature recently allocated funding for housing infrastructure. Communities must have completed a housing study in the past five years to access this pool of funds.