Abstracts Economics

Economic incentive programs : performance evaluation and the Iowa Department of Economic Development

by David A. Keele

The Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) oversees a broad range of economic development programs and services designed to meet the needs of individuals, companies and communities. Evaluating economic incentive programs can help determine what works and what does not work for an individual state. The effectiveness of economic incentive programs is largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine how the IDED can measure the effectiveness and performance of its economic incentive programs. A performance evaluation methodology developed by Todd Calhoun was utilized to organize the economic development objectives of key IDED stakeholders into a Global Hierarchy. IDED program objectives were then linked to the Global Hierarchy to demonstrate that IDED objectives were in alignment with State objectives. The performance indices developed serve as an example of how to complete the process of breaking down objectives into specific indicators of performance.