In Retooling for Growth, experts present new frameworks, cutting-edge analysis, and innovative policy solutions through which the nation's government, business, civic and community leaders can sculpt a sustainable and supportable economy for older industrial areas. The unique focus on rehabilitating weak market cities outlines ideas for reshaping the role of public agencies, the workforce, business organizations, and technology. Implementation of these measures addresses challenges such as fostering entrepreneurship, reducing poverty and inequality, and maintaining and augmenting the number of skilled professionals who reside and work in a community, among others.

Randall T. Kempner, vice president of Regional Innovation for the Council on Competitiveness, contributed the chapter “The Talent Imperative for Older Industrial Areas”, focusing on the global labor-related challenges these areas face.

This guide is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Initiative and the Council on Competitiveness. It examines the critical importance of institutions of higher education to the global competitive advantage of regional economies.

This guidebook is designed to help regional leaders understand the theory and practice of asset mapping, make a decision about what level of asset mapping is appropriate for their region and provide an easy-to-use guide for implementation.

This national report draws heavily upon five regional studies and synthesizes the implications for any region that seeks to improve its economic performance. The report examines the composition and performance of regional economies, how industry clusters develop and innovation arises, how clusters affect a region's economic future, and how a region can establish a strategy and action program to drive its economy and clusters forward. The framework employed and the lessons learned apply to every region of the country.