Within Union County and its constituent municipalities are a number of governmental, quasi-governmental and private organizations that provide economic development-related services. The activities of these organizations or agencies are summarized in Section One of this document. These organizations should continue their efforts, working together and mobilizing their resources on projects that provide economic benefit to the County. To maximize benefits that can be derived from the Development Strategy elements, all entities must work to address economic problems in a coordinated manner.

Section Five outlined Development Strategy elements and the implementation responsibility for each element. Because of the County’s diversity, implementation responsibility for the many economic development activities contained in the strategy listing depends upon the activity itself, project location, and funding source. Project implementers may be government, non-profit or for-profit entities. Within the governmental context project implementation responsibility will be a sub-unit of that government, depending upon its organization. Similarly, non-government organizations will delegate management responsibility to an appropriate unit within that entity.

Implementation and Management

Because of Union County’s diverse nature there is a need for a single agency that relates to and links the various agencies involved in economic development activities. The Union County Department of Economic Development should play a key role in an intensified coordination and implementation effort among all agencies involved, as well as State and Federal agencies and regional organizations. The Department will not only foster inter-agency coordination, but will also link all entities within County Government that have a significant role in the implementation of the OEDP.

The Overall Economic Development Committee will continue to play a major role in facilitating the coordinated implementation of the OEDP Plan elements and the achievement of its immediate and long-term goals. Among its work program elements should be the facilitation of the development of improved linkages and networks among organizations involved in economic development. The OEDP Committee should assist in the prevention of overlapping services and programs by coordinating service providers and in expanding the County’s economic development efforts.

Among the responsibilities of the Department of Economic Development will be the continual review of statutory and regulatory changes promulgated by State and Federal government agencies. This effort will enable the County to adjust strategies and programs to take advantage of opportunities found in new legislation and regulations.

The Department staff will be vigilant in its review of reports, analyses and data published by the US Department of Commerce, the NJ Department of Labor, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and other agencies. This review will identify changes in the economy of the area with an eye toward the revision of the economic plan’s elements. Procedures will be developed to include refinements and mid-course corrections into the OEDP Plan.

Program monitoring is a critical component in the long-term success of the Overall Economic Development Plan:

The monitoring procedures and requirements will build upon existing monitoring systems and experience in administering other Federal and State program funds.

It is the County’s policy to facilitate projects by:

1. Providing technical assistance to develop the management capacity of the grant recipients,

2. Providing guidance to grant recipients so that projects can be carried out according to reasonable schedules, and

3. Identifying potential problems before they become obstacles to the project and by offering solutions to address those problems if they do occur.

The measurement of performance of economic development programs is important in these times of reduced public budgets and cuts in Federal domestic spending. With resistance to public spending there are demands for accountability that should require economic development strategies to prove their worth and to demonstrate what they have actually accomplished. It is desirable to develop a uniform design for evaluating the impact of Union County economic development programs. A basic goal common to all of the economic development strategies listed is the growth and development of the economy and business in the County.

As the detailed content of the previously outlined strategies is developed, and as site-specific projects are identified as parts of the strategies, evaluation criteria need to be developed. A preliminary approach to program evaluation criteria are presented below. The evaluation criteria will be further refined as specific projects are proposed for funding.

1.

Impacts on Business

a.

Impact on sales

b.

Sales per employee

c.

Increased exports

d.

Business profitability

e.

Impacts on labor force quality, availability, or productivity

2.

Targeting to economically distressed areas

a.

Number of businesses and individuals assisted

3.

Assistance to targeted businesses and individuals

a.

Number assisted

b.

Jobs created or maintained

4.

Impacts on jobs created or maintained

5.

Coordination and leveraging impact

a.

Degree to which programs coordinated with other programs

b.

Degree to which programs leveraged other resources, including other public resources and private investment

6.

Capacity impact

a.

Number enrolled in training programs

b.

Number of jobs placed by enrolled individuals, calculated against program operating costs