Financial Assistance
Programs that provide financial support through grants,
loans, loan guarantees, and interest rate subsidies, both
directly and through financial and other intermediaries.
Programs include industrial revenue bonds, linked deposits,
loan guarantees, revolving loan funds, and venture capital
funds. Government-sponsored secondary markets are also
available for farm business loans.
Marketing Assistance
Programs that help define or broaden markets for targeted
businesses, such as export guarantees, government-supported
farmers markets and craft fairs, advertising and product
promotions, and government purchase set-aside programs.
Networking and Economic Intelligence
Programs that link local businesses together to encourage
the purchase of local goods and services, that provide
information on the strengths, weaknesses, and unexploited
opportunities of the local economy, and that facilitate
sharing of technology, services, equipment, and expertise.
Regulatory Assistance
Policies used as a recruitment tool by some governments
that attempt to make a jurisdiction "business friendly."
These policies can range from the absence or loose enforcement
of zoning and environmental regulations to the creation
of a business ombudsman and one-stop business license
offices.
Site Preparation
Publicly supported industrial parks, business incubators,
downtown revitalization projects, and programs that match
business needs with site characteristics.
Special Provision of Public Services
Special public services provided to more isolated sites
to reduce the cost of acquiring clean water, reliable
transportation routes, affordable energy, parking for
customers and employees, etc. Generally a part of industrial
parks.
Tax Abatements and Special Tax Provisions
A popular technique for attracting and retaining industrial
firms. Provisions offering firms favorable tax treatments
are used to reduce the cost of doing business by reducing
State and local taxes on corporate income, property, sales,
fuel, and inventories. At the Federal level, tax provisions
are part of the package offered to businesses locating
within empowerment zones.
Technical and Management Assistance
Public technical assistance programs that provide expertise
on the preparation of business plans, accounting procedures,
market analyses, and other managerial tasks. They sometimes
also provide expertise on technological developments,
industrial processes, and best practices regarding specific
production tasks. Small businesses can often benefit from
the availability of affordable and impartial technical
assistance.
Worker Training and Placement
Public employment services that attempt to match prospective
employers and employees and job-training programs that
upgrade worker skills for specific tasks or upgrade the
skills of prospective employees for whole industries.
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