Criteria for Choosing Potential Target Industries

Publication Date: May 2008

Publisher: Insight Center for Community Economic Development

Author(s):

Research Area: Labor

Type: Report

Abstract:

The first stage of the sector research process involves identifying two or three potential target industries on the basis of quantitative data that is gathered from secondary sources. At each stage of this data analysis, several industries are compared to each other according to a set of four criteria. Those that are least able to satisfy the conditions of the first criterion are eliminated before moving onto the second criterion, and so on, until only two or three industries remain after all four criteria have been examined. The prioritization of these four criteria makes a difference as to how the industry selection process turns out. Stakeholders leading the sector initiative can prioritize these criteria based on their community's needs.