Officials described the effort as a major step forward.
“This is really about aligning our BD strategy with the right data tools,” said EDO President Melissa Carter. “We’re using LMI to support workforce analysis, NAICS to refine targets, GIS to visualize assets and QCEW to validate employment concentrations.”
She paused.
“Then obviously we roll that into the RFI.”
Board members nodded.
Most had stopped taking notes after GIS.
The request for information arrived late Friday from a site selection consultant representing a confidential manufacturing prospect.
By 8:12 Monday morning, staff had opened six databases, three dashboards and a shared folder labeled RFI FINAL FINAL V2.
“We moved quickly,” Carter said.
The first step involved confirming the company’s NAICS code.
The second involved determining whether the NAICS code provided by the consultant was the right NAICS code.
The third involved discussing which version of NAICS everyone was using.
“That took longer than expected,” said Business Development Manager Aaron Blake.
Staff then pulled LMI to assess workforce conditions.
The analysis included occupations, wages, labor force participation, commuting patterns and several other indicators that were immediately converted into charts.
“Once the charts are there, everyone feels better,” Blake said.
The team also reviewed QCEW data to validate employment concentrations by industry.
One board member asked what QCEW stood for.
The room became quiet.
Blake answered first.
“Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.”
The board member nodded thoughtfully.
“Right.”
He had no follow-up questions.
GIS was then used to map industrial sites, major employers, highways, utility infrastructure, training assets and several circles indicating drive times.
Staff added a 30-minute circle.
Then a 45-minute circle.
Then, after reviewing the workforce numbers, a 60-minute circle.
“We wanted to show the full labor shed,” Carter said.
The resulting map was described as compelling.
It was also nearly impossible to read when printed.
The RFI requested information on sites, workforce, utilities, incentives, transportation and community assets.
Staff divided the document into sections.
Each section immediately generated additional acronyms.
Transportation included DOT, MPO and FAA.
Workforce included WDB, CTE and SBDC, though staff later removed SBDC after someone pointed out it was not actually a workforce agency.
Incentives introduced TIF, PILOT and several program names with acronyms unique to the state.
By lunch, the working document contained 37 acronyms.
“It was actually pretty efficient,” Carter said.
The team made one attempt to spell everything out.
The document grew by 11 pages.
They reversed the decision.
Economic development staff say acronyms are necessary because the profession regularly requires lengthy concepts to be communicated quickly.
“You can say ‘labor market information,’” Blake explained. “Or you can say LMI.”
Asked how much time that saves over the course of a year, he said no formal study had been conducted.
The organization may commission one.
Internally, staff have developed a strong working knowledge of the terminology.
New employees generally require several months to become fluent.
“We had an intern last summer who thought BRE was a cheese,” Carter said.
She was referring to Business Retention and Expansion.
The intern was not retained.
By Tuesday afternoon, the team had assembled a draft RFI response containing workforce data, property information, infrastructure maps, incentive summaries and nearly 70 pages of supporting material.
Carter described the package as concise.
The consultant had requested responses be limited to 25 pages.
Staff immediately created an executive summary.
The executive summary was 14 pages.
“We’re tightening it,” Blake said.
Before submission, Carter presented highlights to the board.
The first slide read:
BD + LMI + NAICS + GIS + QCEW = RFI RESPONSE
Board members studied it carefully.
One asked whether CRM should be included.
Another recommended adding KPI.
A third said the organization should consider AI.
Carter added all three to her notes.
The board chair praised staff for responding quickly and asked when the RFI was due.
“COB Thursday,” Carter said.
A newer board member raised his hand.
“What’s COB?”
Several longtime members smiled.
“You’ll get there,” Carter said.
At press time, the Fairfield EDO had submitted the RFI ahead of deadline and begun tracking follow-up activity in its CRM while preparing KPIs for the next BOD meeting.
ASAP.
