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Use the red arrow-buttons above to move through pages in series
about economic development. The page you are now on is about
the economic
development data that is available for places
of interest to enterprise
developers and site
selectors as
well as others who want information because they control
opportunities to move the process forward. Those
who provide information are called location
data suppliers.

sources for gathering location data:
CLICK
HERE for the .network glossary definition of location data

local data sources:
... at the top of list of location data suppliers
because they are available in places seriously seeking economic
development and should have the most up-to-date information
available is they are doing their jobs properly. The first
sources to consider contacting are area developers or local
development representives because they are most likely to be
in position to provide assistance in addition to information.
For example, a useful economic development organization is
always prepared to help prospects overcome local problems and
provide incentives as well as to cut red tape for worthwhile
projects. Economic development organizations are often operated
within local chambers of commerce or, at least, tied in closely
with their operations.

It has been our experience that public
libraries in many places can supply information about locations
wanted by enterprise developers and site selectors. This experiece
comes from .network users asking us for help
in trying to find location data suppliers for places
of interest
around the
world see
the promise of The Network. In addition to quality local
public libraries onlie that also have staff with knowledge of
their communities
available
to answer calls and emails, colleges and universities may have
useful information and services.

In today's Internet world, of course, you can go online and search
for location data.
Suggestion: Copy and and page one of the
italicized text,
including
quotation
marks, in
the above
search
box. Before clicking on the
search button, type in the identity of the location that
interests you. For example, say you want to search for the
location of Economic Development Services,
which
is
in
Big Canoe, Georgia, United States of
America ...
Search the Web for (example) ... Big Canoe, GA, US "economic
development data" CLICK
HERE for two-letter abbreviations of countries
Search the Web for ... (location) "economic development
data".

Search the Web for ...(location) "economic development data" site
selection

Search the Web for ...(location) "community profile" site selection.

Suggestion: Search the Global Registry of Contacts for a location keeping
in mind that if you do not find it listed, you can annonymously send an email
asking for it and contact data for the supplier of informatin about it. Likewise,
contact us if
you do find the locatin you searched for listed but there's not
information
for you to move on to contact someone.
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economic developer:
... someone engaged in the
practice of economic development; a change
agent actively involved in the
process; an area or local
development representaive. Among the types
of location
data suppliers, local economic developers are
often the best choice for members
of the .network target
audience to contact. Check to see if
an economic developer representating a place
of interest to you is also
in position to provide assistance such as overcoming
local problems and other hurdles, arranging incentives,
or cutting red
tape.


economic development:
... a process that begins when a community makes
itself ready to accommodate the retention, startup, location,
or expansion of an enterprise. See the answer to questions
often asked about where
to find an official definition of economic development.
The .network library has an economic
development section. It has learning tools, for example,
there you can access A
Summary of Economic Development Terms which
was organized by a local practitioner.

economic development agency:
... an enterprise organized to represent
a location or an area; an economic development organization
operated by a government; an EDA (Economic Development
Admisistration) operated by a government; an economic development
marketing organization.

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The expression is defined in the .network glossary.
The informational resources provided below are about the location data
supplier as an organization or a person who serves the needs of enterprise
developers and site selectors. Any .network user interested
in location work or those wanting to gather information about a location
will find, at least, some of the categories and links useful.*

types of location data suppliers:
a summary list of the various types of site
selection data sources
a summary listing of types of site location data sources
Listed are all six categories of interest to enterprise
developers and site
selectors as well to those who are a part of the .network mission.
This is a guide to help you choose an information source best suited for your
needs.
=====================
networks
Networking is
the best way to find out about those who have location
information to offer because it allows you to check on their
ability to deliver what you want. Associations and various types of business
organizations that regularly put together networking
events are a good place to start. For example, most local
chambers of commerce organize networking events for their members
and visitors.
We (who we are) have attended meetings of the preeminent associations
with members interested in enterprise
and economic development since the early 1970s, listened to the best
business networking gurus, and reviewed most of the significant surveys.
Everything points to the fact that dialogue with business peers and allies
is the leading source for enterprise
developers to gather information. See the business
networking file in Find Me Here.com. Read the .network mission
statement.
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location data websites.

The advent of the Internet triggered the most sensational change in the process
of gathering location data since systematic
site selection was organized in the early twentieth century. The dramatic
affect of the Internet on enterprise
and economic development (enterprise development includes site selection)
is reflected in the the following quote from The Corporate View: Winning Strategies
in Economic Development Marketing (the fourth edition in a continuing series),
September 2005: Sixty-five percent of respondents indicated a strong likelihood
that they would use an economic development organization's website in their
next location search. There is more .network comment on the
quote in the answer to questions about the best way to find site selection
resources using the Web.

search
promise

location/site
selection network

economic
development network.
Go back
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consultants:

Real estate and site location consultants provide
assistance to enterprise
developers by gathering and analyzing information, such as location
data. Generally they are thought of as advisors that enterprise
developers hire and, when that's the case, they should have skills
to organize selection
criteria in a manner that will make data gathering efforts
cost-efficient for their clients. They should also be able to cost-effectively
assemble location
data for making apples-to-apples comparisons.
When consultants are hired from outside an area and must learn who
to contact and how to get things done at the client's expense their services
may be costly. Outsource information collection only should certainly
not cost as much as analyzing it too. Most location
data is available without cost or obligation to those who identify
themselves as economic
development prospects. Site Location Assistance.com offers free
space online for announcing request for location
data. Low-cost data gathering services are available with the SLA/Site
Selection Directory.
So called corporate
real estate executives often hire consultants for confidentiality protection
and keep their identities from being associated with relocation planning.
Entrepreneurs, small business leaders and others without deep pockets
may want to consider data gathering services such as those that go
along with the Site
Selection Directory, those that are offered without cost or obligation
by area and local data suppliers) or those
offered by professional real estate organizations.
Friendly advisors, for example, retired employees
or business associates are sometimes used as consultants. Someone classified
as, say, a management
consultants who has successfully worked for an enterprise may be
worth considering. A hazy line divides management consultants of all
types from site
selection specialists when it comes to finding the right outside
advisor who can help analyze whether a relocation, expansion at a new
location, or new venture startup is the right thing to do.
These days when it comes to needing location
data at the beginning of planning for an expansion or new
venture or a relocation there is a lot of information available online.
It's just a matter of how best search for exactly what you want it
may be worthwhile to review
the Network promise.

Go back

publications:

Most business publications support enterprise and economic development by offering
advertising space and proving supporting editorial content. Some publications
are specifically focused on real estate and location work. Business associations
offer publications, such as magazines, buyers guides, and membership directories.
For example, the Industrial
Asset Management Council has Site Selection Magazine; the Urban
Land Institute publishes a ULI Buyers Guide; and, the International
Economic Development Council publishes an online
membership directory link
is to a members-only resource; however, there are a sufficient number free-access directories
online to more than overcome the problem. (CLICK
HERE for a US economic development directories list by state you
will be using Site Location Assistance.com so why not also search the
website for the keyword entrepreneur
for another example of a publication online with free-access resources.)

publications
as listed under EDN/Categories
of Contact Types.

examples of
publications dedicated to enterprise development

examples of
publications dedicated to location work
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data brokers:

An economic development or location data broker is a commercial information
assimilator that stops short of information analyses see
the definition in
The Network glossary. The Network is not a data broker see
its mission statement if
you do not yet understand its niche in the world of enterprise and economic
development. Even with its services for gathering information that are a part
of the Site
Selection Directory program, The Network doesn't fit the description of
a data broker. Three key players in the development of economic development
and location data brokering

Marc
Bailey

McKinley
Conway

Craig
Throckmorton.

friendly advisors: Business allies may
be willing to help as unpaid consultants. Try networking
with friendly business acquaintances, suppliers or customers
that you know well and you may find someone willing to
guide you. Sometimes retirees with experience in enterprise
development may be available to help gather and analyze
location information or maintain bind addresses for protecting confidentiality
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A community
profile is information about significant features of a place
where people live and work. According to one local
economic developer it is ... an accumulation of comprehensive
data on a community important
to a prospect during
the evaluation of a business relocation or expansion,
Examples include: location, geography, labor force, transportation,
utilities, taxes, services, regulations, education, housing, recreation,
education, health care, cultural opportunities, economic base information,
business climate, weather, important contacts, etc.
definition of community profile defined
how is a community profile used to make
an informational input to a site selection project that that delineates criteria
up front
FYI: Three of the location
data standards listed as examples in the quote are essential
as categories of selection
criteria. CLICK
HERE to review them as people,
place and transportation (labor
force comes under people). Community profile, as defined
in the paragraph, is the same as a location
profile. It may be furnished as part of a package by
a data
supplier in response to a project
profile. Most of the examples in the quote are listed
as information categories of location
data elsewhere in this website. The source of the quote is
a local data supplier.
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libraries:
The following is a quote from the .network glossary definition
of online information service: ... a local public
library with a website that, although mainly provided to be of service
in its community, is accessible to all Web users ... (.network users
are reporting more and more instances of community profiles published online at
the websites of libraries, many of them having links to area or local
development representatives). Libraries of colleges and universities,
especially those that provide educational services for community development,
should be included among potential resource for obtaining local economic
development data AKA location
data. Any library with alert, experienced staff serving a
region or a single community ought to be in position to guide its inquirers
to local enterprise development services.
FYI: A library of general and specialized references,
tools, guides and other resources for those who are interested in its
mission is provided by The Network. The library is referred
to as .network WebSearch. It has a Search/Find Locations
section under which you will find, for example, a link to Home Town Locator,
a ... Gazetteer with Community Profiles for 42,500 US cities, towns
and ZIP codes ... in the US. The library also provides a link to
link to two-letter abbreviations for all of the other countries around
the world in addition to the US.
FYI: A search for local+library+community+data+Idaho.
This query of the Web shows examples of how libraries can fit into the
search for location data. To search for a place of interest to you, CLICK
HERE and substitute its keyword identity for Idaho.
Example: local+library+community+data+Spokane+WA+US

location/location data supplier::

... an expression of the standing free-listing-offer open to locations around
the world that want economic development and want to be listed in a global
economic development directory. The phrase after the slash mark indicates that
a place taking advantage of the offer also as the opportunity to identify its
location data supplier with a free link. It's easy to suggest a location for
listing without cost or obligation. All you have to to is send an email in
accordance with our instructions. You don't even have to identify yourself
personally if you don't care to do so.
Go back

place/place of interest:

... place is defined as a location in
the .network glossary. Here, as part of the expression, it
specifically means a place that can be found on a map or in an atlas. You are
invited to submit
the identity of your location or a place of interest anywhere in the world
for a free listing in The Network details. Place
of interest is also defined under EDN/Area
Development. It's used here, however, as an appeal to .network users,
asking you and all others to identify locations to us, especially when searching
online for contacts to supply location data see Search
for a Location addressed under the details of the promise of The Network.
FAQ: Am I able to discreetly test the search promise? (answer).
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The following terms are defined in the Network glossary.

data element

enterprise
development data element

enterprise
development data standard

location
data standards

location
selection data standard

site
selection data standard
for the recommended order that you should consider contacting them.
Be vigilant about matters of confidentiality when
making contact see
the footnote about
confidentiality in the SLA
Tool Box.

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Three hubs (websites)
combine to make up The Network, each represented by a unique
file-folder-button as shown below with the initials: SLA / FMH / EDN
Select a file folder to enter a .network hub.
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