Insider’s Corner Q&A
IW: What challenge do you and Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI) face right now?
HG: As the discipline of regional planning and strategy development is changing to be centered on sector strategies—i.e., alignment of economic development, workforce development, education and private sector resources—the need for both micro-level data and macro-level data is imperative to provide leadership and decision-makers understanding at both scale and scope. EMSI provides detailed regional understanding of industry performance and linkages to education and workforce development. This presents one piece of the story.
IW: How does IBISWorld help you overcome this challenge?
HG: IBISWorld industry reports and their detailed NAICS-specific reports provide the other piece of the story. As regions gather to determine the future direction of their economies, having the ability to present local information, which is then contextualized by national information on industry performance, challenges and future outlooks, provides a comprehensive picture that facilitates the decision-making process. Regional leadership is presented with “real-time” data at the micro- and macro-level and can then better address the needs of their communities and economic challenges.
IW: What do you foresee happening in your industry within the next year?
HG: In the coming year, I expect to see an increase in demand for good, detailed, real-time data that can:
1) be drilled down to the local level;
2) cross organizational boundaries (e.g., economic development, education, workforce development, etc.);
3) be simplified and presented in a manner to enhance decision-making and track outcomes; and
4) show transparency to constituents and stakeholders within a given region.
IW: Tell us something interesting about yourself:
HG: If activities include being outdoors, you can count me in. In the fall you will find me out fishing and hiking. In the winter, snow-skiing fills many weekends. Spring and summer include vacations and camping. Most recently, my wife and I completed our PADI certification for scuba diving—our newest hobby.
Hamilton Galloway is Economist and Consulting Manager at Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. (EMSI), which provides high-quality, detailed employment data and economic analysis via web tools and custom reports. EMSI has produced more than 1,000 comprehensive impact analyses for colleges and universities in the US and internationally, while our labor market research tool, Analyst, is used by more than 3,500 professionals in higher education, workforce and economic development. EMSI Data, updated four times per year, is a compilation of nearly 90 state and federal data sources and is available for any county or individual ZIP code in the U.S.
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