ICED - Initiative for Community Economic Development

Vision

To be the center for economic development outreach services in the region served by Murray State University and prepare students for future professional opportunities.

Mission

To facilitate sustainable economic development efforts in our region by providing customized data and economic analysis and offer clinical experience to students.

Services

Long term sustainable economic development is built on the region’s economic, cultural and physical assets. Successful economic development efforts focus on the region’s natural amenities, historical resources and human capital that can be effectively leveraged into sustainable growth. The purpose of ICED is to provide economic development agencies, local governments, community organizations and businesses up-to-date data and analysis to understand current conditions, identify growth areas and develop strategies that lead to long term sustainable economic growth. The range of services offered include:

• County/City Profiles

  • An economic, demographic and workforce overview of the county/city

  • An economic overview of the industries in the county/city

• In Depth Economic Analysis

  • Collection and data mining of all relevant information available in various public and proprietary sources

  • Conducting interviews with community stakeholders to understand the local economic environment

  • Use of ESRI Business Analyst to identify businesses in the area

  • GIS mapping and cluster analysis

  • Shift-share analysis identifying the industries or clusters for growth

  • Economic growth and economic resiliency analysis

  • Economic impact studies utilizing IMPLAN

• Business Retention and Expansion

  • Conducting interviews with local businesses, economic development agencies and local governments to understand their needs

  • Analyzing the results of the interviews and preparing reports aimed at identifying, designing and implementing strategies to improve business operating climate and strengthen existing businesses and industries

County/city profiles are provided free upon request, while economic analysis and business retention and expansion services are tailored to the client’s specific needs and fees are contract specific.