Major Projects

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Workforce Investment Board for Western Illinois - Teamed with Northern Illinois University's Regional Development Institute, E-D-Solutions helped develop this set of strategic plan issues for the Workforce Investment Board of Western Illinois. This "issues summary" blended previously completed reports including a commuting pattern study, an underemployment study, an industry sector analysis, a targeted industries study, and a workforce readiness study. This comprehensive report on issues was used by the Workforce Investment Board to develop strategies and collaborative efforts to workforce development challenges in Western Illinois. (2005)

Strategic Planning Web-Book - Under contract to the University of Illinois, E-D-Solutions prepared a web-based reference on strategic planning for use by extension educators. The web-book identifies over 60 alternate methods and techniques for planning, an average of 6 tools for each of the ten-steps in a typical strategic planning process. The web-book also provides samples and examples of over 30 of these techniques. (2004)

Strategic Planning Handbook - Under contract with Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies, Mr. Rinehart researched and authored a primer documenting the key process steps in the highly successful multi-community strategic planning process employed by the State of Illinois' economic development agency. The report included 24 worksheets and samples for preparation of a community-wide strategic plan. (2003)

Community Audit Northwest Workforce Investment Board - As a part of a team managed by Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies, Mr. Rinehart completed portions of the community audit for the Northwest Illinois Workforce Investment Board. This report combined primary data (a direct business survey) and secondary data (labor market statistics from public and private sources) into a background report for use in the five-year strategic plan for their service area. (2003)

State and Regional Development Strategy - While serving as manager of the Program and Policy Office at the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Mr. Rinehart was responsible for the design and management of a multi-year, multi-community, strategic planning process for the whole of the state of Illinois. While Illinois now uses a successor planning effort, the unique, ten step state and regional initiative that Mr. Rinehart initiated involved more than 5000 citizens resulting in the creation of 200 viable development strategies. (2002)

OPERATIONAL PLANNING

One-Stop Career Center Process Evaluation - As an analyst for Workforce Enterprise Services, Mr. Rinehart assisted the Chicago Workforce Board to document the business processes of selected one-stop career information centers. This entailed on-site visits to document existing services delivery processes as well as studies of 15 participants served by the workforce centers. The final product was the set of decision rules governing enrollment and referral to various services; flow diagrams of the business processes; and case studies of client progress through the one-stop career centers. (2004)

Clearstack Combustion Corporation - Using original research and source materials provided by the chief operating officer, Mr. Rinehart updated and re-wrote this private corporations' operating plan. The plan focused on the management and operations, market potential including competition, and the patented engineering processes used by the firm's environmentally friendly, clean coal-burning technology. (2003)

Lincoln Foundation for Performance Excellence - Using materials provided by the co-directors of Lincoln Foundation for Performance Excellence, a non-profit organization, Mr. Rinehart updated and re-wrote the organization's operating plan. The new operating plan focused on governance, administration, marketing, products and services, and financing. (1999)

International Trade Development Strategy - This project, lead by Mr. Rinehart while at the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, required integrating the efforts of five international trade offices into a single strategic plan. Follow-on work included the design of performance tracking tool to measure service efforts and accomplishments. (1997)

TARGET INDUSTRY RESEARCH

Metro West Target Industry Study - In cooperation with Northern Illinois University's Regional Development Institute, Mr. Rinehart assisted in the research and development of a target industry study for a five-county region in the western portion of the Chicago standard metropolitan statistical area. It was designed to provide both general and specific direction for economic development initiatives by identify those industries that provide the greatest potential for adding economic value to the region and increasing the economic wealth and vitality of the area. (2004)

Critical Skills Shortage Initiative for the North West Regional Partnership - As a part of a team managed by Northern Illinois University Regional Development Institute, Mr. Rinehart completed occupational supply analyses for a Critical Skill Shortages Initiative in the Northwest Economic Development Region of Illinois. This was a regional undertaking being led by three workforce investment boards. The complete project involved participation of the area's business organizations and employment and training agencies to identify, validate, and review critical industries, shortage occupations, and projections of occupational demand. Key information on critical skill shortage occupations were identified; and root causes of critical skill shortages were detailed for the customer. (2004)

Prospective, Competitive Growth Industries Target Industry Study - While employed for the State of Illinois, Mr. Rinehart prepared a multi-sector target industry retention and recruitment study for the Business Development Bureau of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. The report identified 73 possible target industries, identified by growth performance as pace setting, high growth, stable, and waning industries. With this information, the Bureau was able to determine the level of job growth and sectors of industries responsible for that growth. (2000)

Regional Analysis of Industry, Target Industry Segmentation - Mr. Rinehart has given several lectures and presentations on the subject of target industry methods, most recently for the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois Chicago, Basic and Advanced Economic Development Course (2001)

Improving the Practice of Industry Targeting - While employed for the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Mr. Rinehart managed the Department' effort to quantify and standardize their target industry processes. The result was developed by Northern Illinois University into a unique software application of shift share analysis. (2002)

SURVEY RESEARCH AND TECHNICAL REPORTS

Employer Market Satisfaction Analysis - In another project for Workforce Enterprise Services, performed for the Chicago Workforce Board, Mr. Rinehart developed survey questions and analyzed over 750 survey responses to determine satisfaction of employers that use the One-Stop Career Centers in Chicago. The 70-page report gauged the level of employer involvement and satisfaction with the system; the nature and recency of involvement in workforce programs and services and the types of job openings employers were trying to fill. (2004)

Development Practitioner Survey Methodology and Questionnaire - In a project for the University of Illinois at Springfield, E-D-Solutions prepared a questionnaire and survey methodology for the Center for State Policy and Leadership. The objective of the questionnaire was to collect materials (sources) on the best practices in development, including manuals, guidebooks, workshop materials, periodicals, reports, software and other content that development practitioners had determined to be beneficial in operating and managing a program. (2003)

Improving Economic Development Policy - On behalf of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, E-D-Solutions prepared a legislative report on accountability and cost effectiveness of using development incentives. As a supplement to the report, over 2000 Illinois based development projects were identified and 30 project case stories were developed. (2003)

Sources for Labor Market Information - In work intended for a number of clients, including Mosaic Services, E-D-Solutions identified secondary data sources and sample reports for using socio-economic data from state and national sources on a variety of community economic development projects. The data products have been directed to the analysis of labor and industry market information for use in community audits, for target industry analysis, for assessing critical skills shortages and for region al industry analyses. (2003)

Critical Skills Shortage Report - As a part of a team managed by Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies, Mr. Rinehart used a variety of regional, state and federal data on labor market statistics to prepare an analysis of skills shortages for Northwestern Illinois. The emphasis of the report was the use of primary and secondary data to demonstration of the existence of skill shortages both by industry group and by occupation. (2004)

Market Data For Site Selection - In a project for the Illinois Development Council, Mr. Rinehart developed a summary of the proceedings from a small group meeting of development practitioners and site selection advisors. The group met to consider the national data standards and the kinds of information that sites selectors needed. The report resulting from that session listed the data element - labor supply, existing Industry, transportation infrastructure, tax rates; utilities and utility rates; sites and buildings data sheets and incentives information - to an economic development agency with a limited budget or limited time. (2003)