CERCONOMY

Connecticut COVID-19 Conference Call with Governor Lamont & CT DECD by The Connecticut Economic Resource Center

CERC Town Profiles™ are a resource for many - entrepreneurs looking to determine markets and how to grow their business, real estate professionals who need to portray a region, municipalities conducting strategic planning and updates to plans of conservation and development, economic development professionals preparing context for grant and other funding requests, and the general public who are interested in learning more about their current or potential hometown. Listen as Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative, chats with Alissa DeJonge, CERC’s Vice President of Research, about the mission and services of the CT Data Collaborative and the newly updated Town Profiles. In partnership with CERC, the CT Data Collaborative makes the data that lives within the Town Profiles accessible to the general public. Shared in two different formats, the first, a two-page PDF that includes demographic, economic, fiscal, and education data for each of our 169 municipalities. The 54 data sets within the Town Profiles can also be accessed via an interactive database housed on ctdata.org, where the data can be seen across municipalities and over a specific time period. Town Profiles are a valuable resource for viewing all of this data in a single place, and useful for comparing town data over time, or to compare towns relative to one another, and the state as a whole. http://profiles.ctdata.org/

After a period of steady growth, we’re starting to see signs of a slow down as the economy begins to return to a more baseline level of growth. Factors such as the diminishing effects of the temporary boost from the 2017 tax changes, as well as slowing in the manufacturing sector due to prolonged uncertainty with trade and tariffs, have a different economic outlook going into 2020. Fresh from a presentation at the 2019 Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Annual Convention, Courtney Hendricson, CERC’s Vice President of Municipal Services, and Rachel Gretencord, CERC’s Financial and Research Analyst, come together to recap an outlook of the Connecticut economy and how municipalities can leverage this information to help local businesses in their communities. Rachel shares information on the trends we’re seeing in the major industries in the state - including manufacturing, healthcare, education and social services, the IT sector, as well as professional and business services - and discusses how every industry is being affected by the aging workforce, and the challenges companies are facing to train new workers. So, on a local level, what do we do with this information? Courtney shares ideas on how municipal leaders can leverage these trends to build vitality in downtowns through experiential retail, provide resources for emerging businesses, and partner with educational resources to develop the next wave of skilled workforce with the new technologies… all with a focus on the fundamentals of best practices in economic development, without losing the critical character of our communities.

Popular in California and the Pacific Northwest where we see high population growth and prohibitive real estate prices, the fastest adopters of the tiny house movement are millennials, who are trying to establish their own space, and baby boomers / early empty-nesters that are looking to downsize. Here in Connecticut, tiny homes are more of a curiosity or novelty, and come with complications, in part due to municipal zoning regulations. Listen as Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services at CERC welcomes John Guszkowski, Lead Planner and Community Developer with CME Associates and they discuss the state of tiny homes in Connecticut, including legislation that affects these accessory dwelling units - such as tiny houses and temporary healthcare structures (also known as “granny pods”), what the legislation means for the 169 Connecticut municipalities, and how other states are addressing this new housing trend and the resulting dwelling density considerations.

As developers and applicants look fondly on municipalities that are streamlined and able to get development up and running quickly, the question for towns and cities becomes, how do our local land use policies incentivize and streamline economic development projects? And how does this affect the reputation of our community in the eyes of potential developers and applicants? In this episode of CERCONOMY, CERC’s Vice President of Municipal Services, Courtney Hendricson, is joined by Karen Pollard, the Economic Development Director for the Town of New Milford, Connecticut to continue their conversation on the topic of streamlining the land use regulatory process at the recent IEDC Conference, where they presented to a room of economic developers from across the U.S, Canada, and the U.K. Listen as Courtney and Karen share ways that towns and cities can make their processes predictable and consistent, and ideas that have worked in the Town of New Milford.

The retail industry is going through a remarkable transformation - in part due to technology as well as cultural and social shifts. In this episode of CERCONOMY, Alissa DeJonge, CERC's Vice President of Research, and Rachel Gretencord, CERC's Financial and Research Analyst, sit down to discuss the changes occurring in the retail marketplace, and what retailers need to do in order to survive - including establishing destinations where shoppers want to go and spend time - creating authentic experiences. Rachel highlights ways in which downtown retailers and shopping centers can differentiate themselves from the online and discount stores that are dominating the landscape.

Global industry leader, Stanley Black & Decker and Techstars, a worldwide accelerator that helps entrepreneurs succeed, have partnered to run The STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator in Hartford. Focused on additive manufacturing and sustainable packaging solutions, they search the world for established startups that are developing innovative solutions in these areas - searching for disruptive solutions in software, hardware, or materials. Just off the successful second annual Demo Day held October 7th at the Bushnell, Stanley Black & Decker’s Vice President of Business Development, Marty Guay, joins Kristi Sullivan, CERC’s Vice President of Marketing, in this episode to share how the company is committed to leaning into Hartford - and Connecticut - to help with the vitalization, and revitalization, of their legacy through the creation of an advanced manufacturing epicenter here in the capital region. https://www.techstars.com/stanley-program/

Recently, Erron Smith, CERC’s Associate Director of Business Development sat down with Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research, to chat about a recent conference he attended - the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) Professional Forum. Held in Milwaukee, the forum brought together economic developers, service providers, and end users (companies). As a first time visitor to Milwaukee, Erron was impressed with the city’s efforts to transform the historical industrial economy and strategically utilize the existing assets, and how Connecticut, with its similar post industrial challenges, can benefit by learning from cities like Milwaukee. Wanting to capitalize on the “airtime” with the other forum attendees, Erron was impressed with how the organizers structured the agenda to allow each audience member - economic developers, service providers, and end users - to engage with one another and build on relationships, including the discussions on technology automation and its effect on the workforce, and how this is leading the site location decision for both domestic and international companies looking to (re)locate. Listen as Erron and Alissa discuss the forum experience, site section considerations, the importance of networking, and Erron’s first time axe throwing!

Borough 496 is a new business incubator in Hamden, supporting small businesses and serving as a regional asset for innovation as well as a productive institution in a critical neighborhood. In this episode of CERCONOMY, CERC’s Vice President of Municipal Services, Courtney Hendricson, is joined by Dale Kroop, the Director of Economic Development and Neighborhood Revitalization for Hamden - and the mastermind behind the new incubator. Listen as Dale shares the story of how Borough 496 came to be and how they turned this once contaminated, former middle school into a unique space for budding entrepreneurs. https://www.borough496.com

Many listeners are familiar with the free resources that CERC offers for information on the Connecticut commercial real estate market - such as property listings on CT SiteFinder and the CERC Town Profiles, however, CERC also offers project-based services for real estate as well.   In this episode of CERCONOMY, Rachel Gretencord, CERC’s Financial and Real Estate Analyst, highlights the services offered through recent real estate projects including a market feasibility study for the City of Norwalk; an economic development strategy for the Town of Manchester including a review of funding opportunities; for a town in New London County, an impact study on a potential housing development prior to going to the municipality for approval; and in Litchfield County, CERC partnered with an architectural firm to produce a feasibility study for a historic adaptive reuse project.

Hosted by The New England Real Estate Journal and sponsored by the Southeast Connecticut Enterprise Region, or seCTer, the upcoming Connecticut Developer’s Summit will be held October 31st at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Designed for those involved in the development business - developers, financiers, attorneys - anyone involved in major commercial development, to highlight what is going on in Connecticut and more specifically, in the Southeastern Region. Nancy Cowser, Executive Director of seCTer joins Kristi Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing at CERC, to share the details and agenda for this special event, including the future of the gaming industry in the state, and the burgeoning advanced manufacturing and wind energy industries. Learn more and register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mohegan-sun-connecticut-summit-tickets-58650512261

The second annual Greenwich Economic Forum will be held November 5th and 6th to convene the brightest minds in global finance, business, media and government for discussion and debate on the defining issues of our times. In this episode of CERCONOMY, the Forum’s Co-Founder and CEO, Bruce McGuire talks with Kristi Sullivan, VP of Marketing at CERC, about this year’s forum including the agenda and presenters, and how Connecticut is the third-largest global player in the hedge fund industry, after New York City and London, making the state the perfect location to gather and discuss topics such as global markets and asset allocation, international trade policy, and timely cultural and geopolitical issues. The GEF has offered all CERCONOMY listeners a 20% registration discount with the code, "CERC20" at https://greenwicheconomicforum.com

What is economic development and why should you care? As a resident or business owner in your town, you have the opportunity to impact the economic development decisions that not only affect the fiscal health of the town, but also the overall character of your community. In this episode, Sadie Colcord, CERC's Municipal Services Associate, recaps a recent presentation she gave to the Town of Colchester on the transformational approach to municipal economic development, and the roles that volunteers can take within the economic development process... from advocacy to engagement to being a part of the planning process, there are numerous ways that you can positively partner with the economic development team within your town.

The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) is a non-profit, member organization established in 1976 by the Connecticut General Assembly modeled after the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. In this episode, Alissa DeJonge, CERC's Vice President of Research, is joined by Terri Clark, the Executive Director of CASE, and Professor Baki Cetegen, CASE President and United Technologies Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut to share the organization’s mission - how CASE serves the state through advice and information on science and technology to government, industry and people of Connecticut, providing opportunities for discourse on science and technology, conducting on behalf of the state the awarding of the Connecticut Medals of Science and Technology, and for providing recognition for significant STEM accomplishments of Connecticut middle and high school students. A goal of the organization is to promote interest in science and engineering on the part of the public, especially young people. In 2018, Sophia Wang, a junior at Amity Regional High School, received a CASE award for her research project, “Real-Time Sinkhole Detection Using Civil Engineering Techniques, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence." Recently, Sophia was recognized, along with two other young female inventors, as part of Hasbro’s release of “Ms. Monoply." She received $20,580 in real money to continue her work as an inventor (the amount of monopoly money in the game). Watch the video of Sophia learning of her award from Hasbro: https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/09/10/Hasbros-new-Ms-Monopoly-celebrates-women-inventors/9041568118825/ For more information about CASE, visit www.ctcase.org.

Twenty-seven communities within Connecticut have federally-designated Opportunity Zones - a unique tax incentive program and economic development tool to benefit economically-distressed communities. In this episode, Kristi Sullivan, CERC’s Vice President of Marketing, is joined by David Kooris, Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, to discuss the efforts that Connecticut is undertaking to support the 72 Opportunity Zones here in the state. As part of these efforts, DECD will be hosting a conference October 30th in New Haven to bring together real estate developers, property owners, fund managers and investors, attorneys, accounting professionals, and economic development professionals for a day filled with panel discussions, interactive discussions and networking to inform stakeholders about business opportunities and how to leverage local assets and resources to take advantage of some of Connecticut’s best investment opportunities.

The Department of Administrative Services is a shared support service area for all executive branch state agencies… and then some. As the primary procurement division, human resources agency, and construction services for the state, DAS wears many hats. In this episode of CERCONOMY, Carol Wilson, the Director of Procurement for the Department of Administrative Services joins Beth Wallace, CERC’s Director of Business Services, to shed light on many of the programs administered by the agency and discusses the procurement process - what Connecticut businesses need to know to participate on the state contracting portal and bid on public contracts.

In 2017, Connecticut had 113,100 women-owned business, employing over 95,000 people and garnering $16.5 billing in annual revenue. And the Hartford region was recently ranked as 4th in the nation among metropolitan areas with the most female entrepreneurs. Much of this success is owed to the Women’s Business Development Council, a 22-year old organization dedicated to assisting women entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses. Listen as Fran Pastore, the President and CEO of the Women’s Business Development Council talks with Beth Wallace, CERC’s Director of Business Services, about the genesis of the WBDC, their on-going mission to develop economic equity for women, and the services they provide to champion female entrepreneurs.

Often, new business owners are unsure of their responsibilities when it comes to collecting and reporting taxes. In this episode, Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Scott Jackson - the state’s “Tax Man” - sits down with Beth Wallace, CERC’s Director of Business Services, to discuss the department’s role as part of a common enterprise in the state, what businesses need to do to be voluntarily compliant, and how to agency has employed process efficiencies and enhanced its technology profile to make it easier for taxpayers to receive communications, and do business with the DRS.

When towns and cities want to learn more about resident viewpoints on timely topics or the needs of the business community, conducting a survey can be a time and resource efficient option. In this episode of CERCONOMY, Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research, sits down with Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services to discuss the various types of surveys that municipalities can conduct to elicit feedback, and gather the data needed to make informed decisions. Listen as Alissa and Courtney share ideas for municipalities considering the process, and examples of towns that worked with CERC to develop and conduct resident and business community surveys, and how the information was beneficial for planning purposes.

From 2015 through 2017, more than 10,000 New Englanders died from opioid overdoses. To better understand the factors behind the epidemic and the extent to which the crisis affects the region, a recent report by the New England Public Policy Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston investigates the relationships between opioid abuse and various economic indicators in New England counties over the last two decades. Listen as Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, the Director of the New England Public Policy Center and Alissa DeJonge, CERC’S Vice President of Research, discuss the report’s key findings, how the epidemic affects the New England economy and policy responses to the growing crisis. https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/new-england-public-policy-center-policy-report/2019/exploring-causes-of-and-responses-to-the-opioid-epidemic-in-new-england.aspx

The media landscape has changed significantly over the years, and the process of securing advertising in print publications such as newspapers and magazines, on the radio, and on TV, has been impacted. However, a strategic approach to integrating traditional advertising methods into your marketing plan, along with new experiential and hands-on approaches, can reach diverse audiences and pay dividends you may not expect. In this episode, Kristi Sullivan, CERC’s VP of Marketing sits down with Barbara Campbell of Marketing Partners Media, to talk about the importance of planning and the creative ways to integrate both traditional - and new approaches - into your marketing mix, strategically tailored for your unique situation and goals.

In this episode of CERCONOMY, Beth Wallace, CERC’s Director of Business Services welcomes Milena Erwin, the Program Manager of the Women's Business Center at the University of Hartford's Entrepreneurial Center. The Women's Business Center specializes in working with women to launch new businesses or grow established ones. Through advising and technical assistance, training and business networking events, the center is available to help women business owners access loans and grants, write business plans, access government contracting, manage finances and develop exporting opportunities, among many critical offers. Additionally, all of the Center's services are offered free or at a low-cost, making them accessible to everyone. https://www.hartford.edu/academics/schools-colleges/barney/about/centers-and-institutes/entrepreneurial-center/default.aspx#

In this episode of CERCONOMY, Beth Wallace, CERC’s Director of Business Services welcomes Frank Dixon, the interim director of the Connecticut Procurement Technical Assistance Center, or CT PTAC. PTAC is a free, statewide program providing assistance to Connecticut businesses interested in selling goods and services to federal, state, or local governments. Listen as Frank and Beth discuss how business can become involved with PTAC, the types of assistance the organization provides, and how Connecticut businesses can identify, compete for, and win governmental contracts. https://ctptac.org/

In this latest episode of CERCONOMY, Courtney Hendricson and Sadie Colcord of the CERC Municipal Services team discuss the municipal RFP/RFQ process when towns are looking to develop town owned properties. After a primer on the difference between a RFQ and RFP, and using the example of CERC’s recent work with the town of Vernon to market the redevelopment of several large mill buildings, Sadie shares how the collaboration created a RFQ that aligns with the town’s vision for the site and the best outcome for the community.

Alissa DeJonge, CERC’s Vice President of Research welcomes Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, the Director of the New England Public Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to discuss the findings in the latest research reported in, “The Growing Shortage of Affordable Housing for the Extremely Low Income in Massachusetts.” While the report focuses on Massachusetts, Connecticut - and the new England region - are not immune, with high housing costs placing significant financial pressure on residents. A lack of affordable housing can decrease state and regional competitiveness, and have far-reaching social welfare implications for our communities - as extremely-low income households often forgo spending on healthcare, food, childcare, and other necessities, and a single financial shock can cause this group to fall behind on rent, leading to eviction, or even homelessness. The full report, authored by Nicholas Chiumenti, can be found on the NEPPC website: https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/new-england-public-policy-center-policy-report/2019/growing-shortage-affordable-housing-extremely-low-income-massachusetts.aspx

Are you struggling with communications styles among your colleagues and/or partners? Are you confused with the best method to communicate with your audience? Are you unsure if your marketing pitch is attracting the right clients? In this episode of CERCONOMY, Courtney Hendricson and Kristi Sullivan share highlights from a recent workshop on using the DISC profile for better communications and marketing effectiveness. The DISC profile can help you better understand yourself and adapt your behavior with others - within a work team, to assist with better marketing and customer relationships, help you be a better leader, and create better personal relationships. Listen as Kristi shares the four styles, and how to integrate each of the four personality preferences into your marketing and communications outreach.

CERC coordinates and hosts visits by companies evaluating Connecticut as a potential location, and in this episode of CERCONOMY, Erron Smith and Jessica Inacio of the Business Recruitment team, discuss takeaways from a recent visit and what considerations the company leaders had - from the availability of assets and support ecosystem as well as the quality of life offered by the local community. Jessica and Erron also share considerations made for an upcoming visit by another company where the approach was adjusted to accommodate the requirements and driving factors dictated by industry and cultural needs including ready and available infrastructure, schooling options for relocating families, and the willingness for existing businesses and municipalities to be welcoming and willing partners.

In this episode of CERCONOMY, Beth Wallace, CERC's Director of Business Services is joined by Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull of the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection to discuss the mission and breadth of services that the department provides. With the goal of having a safe, fair, and well-working marketplace for consumers and businesses to interact so that consumers have confidence in the products and services that they have paid for, the CT Department of Consumer Protection accomplishes this through the licensing, regulations, investigations, and enforcement efforts. Commissioner Seagull shares an overview of the divisions and what businesses and industries are regulated by the department for the protection of Connecticut's consumers.

In this episode of CERCONOMY, and as a follow-up on his recent blog post, CERC Municipal Services Consultant Kevin Bielmeier shares a recap of the Connecticut Conference on Tourism, and the major economic impacts that the industry provides for the state. Kevin showcases the work being done in Clinton, Connecticut, and how the town is approaching their tourism and hospitality industries as strategic drivers of local economic development.

With the 2019 Travelers Championship kicking off tournament play today, CERC’s Vice President of Research, Alissa DeJonge, welcomes guest Nathan Grube, the Tournament Director, to uncover interesting facts and statistics about Connecticut’s largest sporting event. The annual golf event has had a tremendous economic impact not only for the charitable organizations that are the beneficiaries of the tournament net proceeds but for the communities surrounding the TPC River Highlands - and the state as a whole. Listen as Nathan and Alissa discuss how the impacts have grown, year after year.

Many towns and cities are redeveloping their brands - to better define their uniqueness, and to attract and retain residents and businesses - and in this episode, Kristi Sullivan, CERC’s Vice President of Marketing is joined by Liz Panke, an award-winning designer, and partner on a number of rebranding projects for CERC’s municipal clients. Sharing recent rebranding projects, Liz and Kristi discuss the considerations municipalities, companies, and organizations should take before and during the design process, and how Liz translates the big ideas and concepts into a graphic identity, as well as how and where the new visual identity will be applied.

Being on the front lines of the business recruitment efforts, and champions of Connecticut, Erron Smith and Jessica Inacio of CERC's Business Recruitment team, are always thinking about the factors that the companies look at when considering relocating - or establishing a business - here in the state. Listen as Erron and Jessica discuss the variables of business attraction. What about the overall environment of Connecticut speaks to the cultures of the prospective companies - whether domestic or international - and makes this feel like a place where they can not only do business, and be successful in their businesses, but also successful in their personal lives. And how does Connecticut's available - and future - workforce and ecosystem support the ability for the state to attract and retain companies, and what is the role that municipalities have in the state's recruitment efforts?

Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services, and Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research sat down to share trends and findings from an economic outlook recently presented for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. From the perspective of municipal level data, Alissa and Courtney discuss where are some anomalies as well as growth (and decline) in population including who are the smallest and largest Connecticut communities, the youngest and oldest towns, and the most and least diverse towns within the state, and how the domestic and international migration patterns, as well as generational shifts, impact the overall population here in Connecticut.

In this episode, Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research is joined by Mia Ying, CERC's Research Analyst and share recent research conducted on the Northeast states, for a presentation given at the Merge Conference held by the Society for Marketing Professional Services. For the nine Northeast states - Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - Alissa and Mia compare economic indicators and trends including overall population, percentage of change in population, international and domestic migration, household income patterns, GDP per capita, housing permits, as well as imports and exports - and where Connecticut ranks within the group.

Doing Business in Connecticut is an annual publication of the Hartford Business Journal, and in this episode of CERCONOMY, Donna Collins, the Associate Publisher of HBJ sits down with CERC to share how DBIC showcases the many advantages the state offers to companies - domestic and foreign - to grow and thrive, and how the publication has become a resource guide for government officials and top-level executives to help support efforts to attract new businesses to Connecticut. http://www.doingbusinessinct.com/

In this episode of CERCONOMY, Peter Calcaterra from the CT Department of Transportation and Eric Jackson, Ph.D., from the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center talk with CERC about the upcoming 2019 Northeast Automated and Connected Vehicle Summit, taking place this June in Hartford, a collaboration between the Federal Highway Safety Administration, the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and UCONN. The two day event will foster a regional dialogue on the emerging technologies and their impacts on policies and infrastructure needs. Listen as Peter and Eric discuss the event agenda, highlight the speakers and companies represented, and provide a primer on what automated and connected vehicles are, and how Connecticut is taking the lead on convening discussion around the rapidly-accelerating technologies. https://necavsummit.com

Kristi Sullivan of CERC on Talk of the Town May 9, 2019 re: CT Economic Development Week by The Connecticut Economic Resource Center

A member of America's Small Business Development Center, the CTSBDC helps Connecticut businesses start and grow, creating jobs, increasing success with business startups, and increasing financial investments in the small business and entrepreneurial communities. Serving start-up businesses as well as expanding, growth-oriented businesses, CTSBDC Business Advisor, Denise Whitford, joined CERC to walk us through the services provided by the business advisors across the state, and share the many ways CTSBDC helps small businesses succeed. https://ctsbdc.com

The Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) is a member-driven organization committed to providing our smaller communities with a strong voice in the legislative process. Betsy Gara, COST's Executive Director, sat down with CERC to provide us with an overview of the grassroots organization and how it serves the state's 142 smaller communities through meetings and events, municipal resources, and a legislative center - a valuable online tool for tracking legislation relevant to the state's municipalities. https://www.ctcost.org/

CEDF - the Community Economic Development Fund - is a non-profit organization formed to provide resources and assistance to small businesses through customized financial solutions that allow entrepreneurs the opportunity to start and grow their businesses. President and CEO, Jim Bzdyra, sat down with CERC to share how the organization's mission is dedicated to providing financial, educational, and advisory support in low-to-moderate income towns and cities throughout Connecticut. https://cedf.com

As part of the UCONN School of Engineering, the Connecticut Brownfields Initiative is a dedicated, engaged coalition of industry, academia, community, and government partners focused on the remediation of Connecticut's brownfield - benefitting community development and environmental quality. Marisa Chrysochoou, Ph.D., CBI Director and Associate Professor of the UCONN Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joined CERC to discuss the core mission of the program, and the collaborative nature of the work being done by undergraduate students on brownfield projects in Connecticut towns. http://cbi.uconn.edu

SCORE is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and is America's premier source of free business mentoring and education. Since 1964, SCORE has worked with more than 11 million entrepreneurs and small businesses through mentoring, workshops, and educational resources. Ward Feirer, a SCORE CT mentor from the Southeastern CT SCORE office, spoke with CERC to share the many ways start-ups and entrepreneurs can benefit from the resources provided. https://sect.score.org

As part of the Small Business Administration's National Small Business Week, CERC sat down with Jessica Dodge, Program Manager of CTNext, Connecticut's Innovation Ecosystem. CTNext, a subsidiary of Connecticut Innovations, was launched in 2012 and provides an array of strategic economic development programs that foster entrepreneurship, start-up and growth-stage businesses on behalf of the State of Connecticut. https://ctnext.com

With Connecticut's rich industrial history comes a rather extensive inventory of brownfield for property owners and municipalities to reckon with. The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection's Mark Lewis is our guest on this episode and discusses the services he and his team provide to oversee the investigation and remediation of Connecticut's brownfield sites to reclaim, redevelop properties and encourage economic development. Mark also shares an invaluable resource developed to guide municipalities through the critical evaluation of potential brownfield reuse projects. https://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2715&q=324930&deepNav_GID=1626

CEDAS, or the Connecticut Economic Development Association, is a non-profit committed to the advancement of the practice of economic development within the state of Connecticut. The president, Garrett Sheehan, is our guest on this episode to share how the member-based organization provides a forum for the community through networking and the exchange of ideas among economic development professionals; organizes and sponsors educational programs and seminars; and proposes and supports legislation to improve the Connecticut economy.

Kicking off International Economic Development Week, Patrick McMahon, President & CEO of CT Main Street Center, sat down to talk with CERC about the organization's mission and how CMSC works at both the state and local level to create and implement successful downtowns that meet the needs of residents and visitors. CMSC supports members by providing technical assistance, educational programs and advocacy to be the catalyst that make Connecticut's Main Streets the cornerstones of thriving communities. https://ctmainstreet.org

In this National Small Business Week episode, Sarah Bodley, the Managing Director of reSET, joins CERC to talk about the organization’s mission, provide a definition of what a social enterprise is, and shares the ways that reSET supports impact entrepreneurs to make Hartford the Impact City, and Connecticut the social enterprise state. https://resetco.org/

The Connecticut Transfer Act was established in 1985 with an overarching purpose to address hazardous waste sites in a manner that would ensure environmental cleanup and protect the health and safety of residents. An admirable goal, the scope of the Transfer Act is very broad and can potentially affect any commercial property and even some residential properties across the state. in this week’s episode, Bob Santy is joined by Mark Duclos, SIOR, CRE, of Sentry Commercial, to discuss how the presence of the Transfer Act has had a negative impact on Connecticut’s ability to grow the economy, and how a group of commercial brokers and land use attorneys have come together to find solutions to maintain the original intent of the Act, while lessening the negative effects on the growth of the state economy.

Connecticut Export Week - April 29th through May 3rd - is a unique, free event designed to encourage more businesses to take the first steps towards going global. In this special episode of CERCONOMY, Beth Wallace is joined by Tony Sargis, the International Trade Specialist with the Connecticut Export Assistance Center to share information about their mission, and how they assist Connecticut businesses to reach the global marketplace, as well as highlights of the events coming up during CT Export Week. Joining Tony is Scott Coleman of Owl Cyber Defense Solutions to share the company’s experiences of working with the Connecticut Export Assistance Center, as well as Diana Pagano from Interpreters and Translators, Inc., a company that provides translation solutions to businesses who are working in international markets. CT Export Week: http://ctexportweek.com/ CT District Export Council: http://www.ctexporters.com/ Owl Cyber Defense: https://www.owlcyberdefense.com/ Interpreters & Translators, Inc.: https://www.ititranslates.com/

With the growth of home-based business, not only in Connecticut but across the country, towns and cities are seeking new ways to support the entrepreneurs - very smallest businesses - in their communities. In this episode of CERCONOMY, Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services, highlights key points presented at the recent workshop she led for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities on business creation, and shares how municipalities can build in business creation into their economic development efforts.

In this episode, Alissa DeJonge and Courtney Hendricson sit down to share highlights from the recent workshop that they led, hosted by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, on how global and national trends are affecting Connecticut’s economy and real estate markets, and how uncertainty has implications for businesses and residents. Alissa provides insights into several industries that are in transition - retail, manufacturing, aerospace and defense, insurance, healthcare, grocery, energy - and the impacts on the local municipal economies. Courtney shares ideas on what towns can do to adjust and adapt, positioning them to best assist their communities, and encourage the new breed of emerging support industries.