Additional Course Offerings

Regional Innovation Clusters and Cluster Analysis
This course will introduce the concept of Regional Innovation Clusters as they are defined by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Learn how to use location quotients and shift-share analysis: 1) to identify, describe, and map industry and occupational clusters; and, 2) to map regional innovation assets and identify gaps and targets for economic development strategies. The course will conclude with an overview of advanced cluster analysis methods, including brand-new tools developed by the instructor for visualizing clusters and supply chains.

Introduction to Social Network Analysis in Planning and Economic Development
This course will introduce concepts and methods of Social Network Analysis and applications to economic development planning. Topics covered include using network analysis to connect people, places, and events; network data and basic mathematical foundations; centrality; cohesive subgroups; and social capital. The course will introduce and use Node XL software in hands-on exercises.  Node XL is a free, open source add-in for Microsoft Excel.

Managing Differences: Reaching agreement through interest-based negotiation
This workshop is designed to enhance the participants’ negotiation and leadership skills for managing differences between individuals and groups.  Participants will learn how to handle two and multiparty negotiations, and analyze the importance of empathy and creative option design.  The workshop will be a blend of skill building exercises and discussions about the behavior of individuals to understand the negotiation dynamics.  The course builds on the widely acclaimed concepts of interest-based negotiation developed by Roger Fisher at the Harvard University Program on Negotiation.  

Public Private Partnerships
This one-day course will explain what public-private partnerships are and provide a brief history of their development and a variety of examples.  It will cover the economic development benefits of public private partnerships and discuss when their use is warranted.  Different types of public-private partnerships and defining organizations such as the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships will be discussed.  Five important elements of successful public private partnerships will be developed:   political leadership (“commitment from the top”), public-sector involvement, a well thought-out plan, communications with stakeholders, and selecting the right partner.  Finally, a framework for evaluating the structure and performance of public private partnerships will be developed and discussed.

Historic Preservation and Economic Development
Historic preservation is sometimes criticized as an impediment to physical and economic growth.  This course will evaluate those arguments by exploring multiple methods of analysis used to assess the value of preservation.  Topics include economic impact studies, cost studies such as individual project pro formas and cost-benefit analyses, statistical analyses of property values and travel-cost studies, studies of the nonuse value of preservation as a public good, and sustainability studies evaluating preservation through the lens of the triple bottom line of environment, equity, and economy.

Land Use Fundamentals for Economic Developers
This course will cover how land use is regulated with specific focus on Maryland.  It will cover the history and legal authority for the regulation of land through planning and zoning.  The planning and zoning process at the local (municipal and county) level will be discussed in detail.  Maryland’s state planning authority and focus will be discussed from the economic development perspective, bridging local planning and zoning with broader statewide transportation and environmental issues.  This discussion will frame a discussion of smart growth – what it is, how it works and why it is important.  The second half of the course will focus on four special land use issues that are particularly important to economic development:  industrial land use, mixed use, redevelopment & rezoning, and eminent domain.