For Immediate Release
Date: July 29, 2021
Contact: Danielle Casey, dcasey@abq.org
Regional Economic Developers Collaborate With National Tool For Post-Covid Intel
[GREATER ALBUQUERQUE, NM, July 29, 2021] – AED, a nonprofit economic development organization which serves the four-county metro Albuquerque area, is partnering with economic developers representing organizations such as the Village of Los Lunas and the Sandoval Economic Alliance to gather information that will facilitate post-COVID success in growing and retaining area businesses. Called the BR|E Benchmarking Summer Challenge, this effort is sponsored by Synchronist Suite and is designed to help economic development organizations understand the needs of large-scale local businesses as they exit COVID-19. Through the Synchronist tool, responses will be confidentially compared in aggregate to other communities across the U.S. allowing for a national benchmark comparison for areas of opportunity, growth, and competitive advantage.
“AED has long offered existing business support and outreach, resulting in thousands of interviews throughout the year and countless companies assisted through referrals and technical guidance in leveraging tools such as JTIP and LEDA funding to grow their operations in New Mexico. This will be a new expansion of that effort through regional collaboration,” said AED President & CEO Danielle Casey.
“Collaboration of local economic developers and cohesively working towards a better future, aligns the region to a more prosperous economy. In addition, larger sample sizes are critical in identifying trends, and businesses in our region experience common impacts across borders within it.” added Fred Shepherd, President & CEO of SEA. “I am excited to leverage the power of regional partners and national data in concert with our local business interview responses to learn more about ways in which we can support local business retention and expansion.”
As more information is available about the findings in the greater Albuquerque region and additional partners join the effort, AED will be able to utilize them to help guide the implementation of its recently adopted regional 2021 Strategic Plan. The goal for the region is to collect confidential survey input from a minimum of 20 medium- to large-sized base business employers from the Metro area.
“The timing for this effort is perfect; we have already been prioritizing business outreach efforts in the community and this offers us the ability to also examine local business trends as compared to regional and national ones,” commented Kristen Gamboa, Senior Economic Developer for the Village of Los Lunas.
If you represent a local employer in the region would like to be interviewed or complete a confidential online survey, please contact us at businessdevelopment@abq.org.
Synchronist Suite is run by Blane, Canada, Ltd and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC). Researchers facilitating the project will use these post-COVID findings and see how they compare against a similar study pre-pandemic.
About AED
AED is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to recruit business and industry, help local companies grow and generate quality job opportunities throughout the Albuquerque metro area. AED provides confidential assistance to businesses considering the area for expansion and new investment. Since its creation in 1960, AED has recruited more than 250 companies and more than 35,000 jobs to the Albuquerque metro area. AED also provides retention and expansion assistance to existing industry. For more information about AED, visit www.ABQ.org.
About the Village of Los Lunas
The Village of Los Lunas is a municipality located in Valencia County, just minutes south of Albuquerque. The role of Economic Development in Los Lunas focuses on two areas. The first is to maintain strong ties within the community to help local businesses grow and expand. The other focus is to continuously market and attract new businesses and resources to Los Lunas. Historically an agricultural-based community, Los Lunas has rapidly grown into an economic powerhouse with internationally renowned manufacturing, distribution and transportation companies. For more information visit www.acommunitythatworks.com.
About Sandoval Economic Alliance
Sandoval Economic Alliance (SEA) is a private, not-for-profit economic development corporation established to strengthen and diversify the economic base of Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, New Mexico. SEA provides a broad range of free and confidential services to businesses and industries considering new locations for expansion, relocation, or consolidation. Corporation services include identifying available sites and facilities, accessing applicable local and statewide business support and incentive programs, and economic and workforce research. SEA also assists existing Sandoval County and Rio Rancho companies through our Retention and Expansion program, called CORE.
About Synchronist Suite
Synchronist Suite® reinvented the business retention interview almost 20 years ago. Then, we built software to simplify data management. Now, 8 software generations later, Synchronist still provides tools and capabilities that give development professionals unprecedented insight into their local businesses as well as community economic potential. Insights that drive decision-making and resource allocation.
About Blane, Canada Ltd.
Formed in 1983, Blane, Canada Ltd. is an economic development management-advisory firm that exists to assist our clients in realizing their community potential. We equip leaders with tools to understand their current business environment and provide a framework for action.
About CREC
The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) is an independent, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization founded provide U.S. public, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders with the information and technical assistance they need to formulate and execute innovative, regional, job-creating economic strategies.
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