A new study from Rutgers University’s Education and Employment Research Center (EERC) sheds light on how community colleges can more effectively serve as engines of regional economic growth—not just as workforce trainers, but as strategic partners in innovation and community development.
Titled The Hidden Innovation Infrastructure Project: Understanding the Economic Development Role of Technician Education in the Changing Future of Work, the multi-year study examines how community colleges in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin engage with local industries, economic development agencies, and community organizations to strengthen regional economies. Drawing on insights from 73 community college leaders and faculty, 20 employer partners, and 32 regional economic development organizations, the report offers one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the sector’s role in regional development.
The findings highlight a persistent gap between rhetoric and action. While many community college leaders claim to link workforce and economic development, few institutions have developed a coherent vision or framework to make that connection tangible. The study’s conceptual model identifies four broad approaches through which colleges can embed economic development into their missions—approaches shaped by the unique economic conditions of their surrounding communities.
“In a period when there is substantial public skepticism of postsecondary institutions and their value to citizens, a more sustained emphasis on economic development will make the community colleges more central to the future needs of their communities,” the report concludes.
The study’s case examples reveal the diversity and intentionality of effective local strategies. In Arizona, for instance, community colleges joined forces through the Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Institute and the Arizona Advanced Technology Network, partnering with the Arizona Commerce Authority to create the Automated Industrial Technology program. By building on existing mechatronics courses, these partnerships helped align local training with the state’s growing advanced manufacturing industry.
In Florida, Daytona State College collaborated with the local manufacturers association to launch the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) program, which trains technicians to support the state’s expanding high-tech manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, in Ohio, community colleges within the Ohio TechNet Consortium worked collectively to meet the workforce needs of Intel’s new semiconductor facilities while contributing to statewide economic development goals.
Beyond individual programs, the report emphasizes that genuine economic development work goes far beyond traditional workforce training. Some colleges host business incubators or maintain development funds that support local start-ups, while others collaborate with community-based organizations to prepare residents for jobs created by new employers. In these ways, the colleges act as hubs for regional collaboration and innovation.
The EERC study argues that integrating economic development into institutional strategy helps colleges move beyond a “transactional” model—one that simply responds to employer demands—to a more systemic, proactive approach that addresses the broader needs of their communities. This alignment, the authors contend, not only benefits local economies but also strengthens the colleges themselves by informing academic programs, supporting student success, and ensuring that career and technical education remains responsive to evolving industry needs.
As federal investments in semiconductors, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing accelerate—and as Pell Grant eligibility expands to short-term training programs—the question of how community colleges define their role in economic development has become more urgent. The EERC’s findings suggest that colleges that view themselves as partners in regional growth, rather than service providers to individual employers, are best positioned to meet the demands of a rapidly changing economy while reaffirming their public value.
