COMMUNITY AUDIT TYPOLOGY

Barbara Baran

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• Publié par: Nasor
• Nombre de lectures: 28
• Langue: English

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AN OVERVIEW OF NVO
COMMUNITY AUDITS
CMUTAS


The type of community audit a local area will launch depends
above all on the goals of the stakeholder partnership that initiates
it. This is a quick overview—in table form—of community audits
tailored to different strategic goals.





This paper was prepared by WORKFORCE LEARNING STRATEGIES for the Employment and Training Administration, Office of Adult
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TYPES OF COMMUNITY AUDITS

Conducting the
AUDIT TYPE Purpose Methods and Data Analysis Customers
Baseline Audit Provide a basic lay of
• Goals and • In most cases, WIBs • Individual customers
the land about both the
geographic scope do not have the staff and career
demand and supply sides
need to be resources to conduct counselors
of the labor market and established in themselves so should
• Policymakers and
the employment and
advance. In general, contract out.
practitioners
training “resource base”.
it is best to profile an
• It is useful to have (workforce
economic region.
partners in this kind development,
• The first step is to of project (e.g. a economic
create a basic profile number of WIBs development,
using available within a region or educational)
quantitative data. multiple
• Other stakeholders
organizations within
• Supplement with (e.g. unions,
primary research to a WIB area or both). community-based
ensure timeliness • WIBs and their organizations)
and fill in holes. partners need to
clearly drive the
• In the case of the
employment and project and establish
its goals.
training “resource
base”, begin with the • Often useful for the
required WIA WIB to be involved
partners. in some of the
primary research
since this process
builds relationships. Conducting the
AUDIT TYPE Purpose Methods and Data Analysis Customers
Sector/Cluster Analysis Identifies the industries Same as above. There can be multiple
• Techniques such as
and business clusters in customers for the
shift share analysis
which a region has information, including
and location quotient
competitive advantage job seekers, employment
analysis can identify
and/or are critical to and training
critical industry
maintain in the local professionals, educators,
sectors.
economy. and economic
• Additional research
development staff. But
is needed to pinpoint
this information tends to
the related
be strategic, as such it is
businesses
particularly useful to
(including suppliers
policymakers.
and customers).
• The spatial
dimensions of key
sectors are
important.
• Analysis of the
competitive
dynamics of each
industry requires
qualitative and
primary research.
Detailed Job and Skill To provide detailed O*Net is a useful data Small-scale surveys can Depending on the
information about jobs source but must be be conducted locally by purpose and method of
Analysis
and skill requirements, combined with other WIBs. Large ones the analysis, the
including changes over secondary and primary should be contracted to information is relevant
time. sources. professionals. to most stakeholders,
including individuals. Conducting the
AUDIT TYPE Purpose Methods and Data Analysis Customers
Mapping Career To help employment and
• Occupations to be • Smaller efforts can • Individual customers
Ladders training customers and
mapped must be be conducted by and career
professionals understand
selected. WIB staff. counselors
career paths.
• Quantitative and • In general, however, • Policymakers and
secondary data are this is a big project. practitioners
reviewed. As such, it is useful (workforce
to form a consortium development,
• Extensive
of stakeholders to economic
interviewing within
fund and direct it and development,
firms (often
use a professional educational)
including focus
organization for the
groups). • Other stakeholders
research and (e.g. unions,
analysis.
community-based
organizations)
Vacancy Surveys To provide data on job
• Employment service • Job developers and • Employment and
openings, skills
jobs listings; others routinely training
shortages, areas of
conduct informal professionals;
• Want ad listings;
structural
vacancy surveys.
• Firm surveys. • Educators;
unemployment.
• Sophisticated
• Economic
surveys require
development
significant expertise
professionals;
and resource.
• Policymakers
Identifying Skills To identify serious At local levels, firm It usually makes sense Although information is
Shortages occupational skills surveys are used, for a WIB to contract useful to individuals,
shortages. followed by this work out. surveys are usually
interviews/focus groups. conducted for broader
policy and planning.
Conducting the
AUDIT TYPE Purpose Methods and Data Analysis Customers
Business Visitation Are primarily for Entails a formal method Conducted by Employment and
Programs purposes of business and for regularly surveying employment and training training and economic
job retention. area firms. and/or economic development
development professionals and
professionals and even policymakers primarily
citizen volunteers. use this information.
Can be employed for a Can include informal Rapid Response Team, Employment and
Rapid Response and
Other Informal variety of purposes, e.g. information gathering Job Developers, training, and economic
Methods layoff aversion, rapid re- and the collection of Economic Development development
employment of workers more formal data. Staff, and so on. professionals and
being dislocated, policymakers primarily
identifying workforce use this information.
development needs
across firms and
industries, identifying
other firm needs, etc.
TAILORING COMMUNITY AUDITS TO SUPPORT LOCAL STRATEGIES:
SOME EXAMPLES

SPECIALIZED STRATEGIES Purpose Specialized Information Needed
To employ or re-employ a particular group The information needed will depend on the
Employing/Re-Employing a Target
Population of workers, e.g. hardware engineers from a strategy or set of strategies employed (such
defense dependent firm, welfare recipients, as some of those listed below). In all
residents of a depressed neighborhood. cases, however, it is important to know:
• On the demand side: which firms and
sectors are most likely to hire the target
population, their issues and problems,
potential solutions.
• On the supply side: as much
information about the target population
as possible, obtained both from
available data and focus groups.
• In terms of resources: identification of
community resources available to meet
the special needs of the target
population (such as childcare,
transportation, mentoring, mental
health, etc.)
Sectoral Strategies Sectoral strategies work with groups of
• In-depth sector (and even cluster)
firms to a) address a public policy concern,
analysis of the regional economy.
but at the same time b) solve one or more
• Frequently also the particular problems
common problem that the firms share.
addressed require use of some of the
other kinds of specialized profiling
techniques such as career ladder
mapping and job and skill analysis. SPECIALIZED STRATEGIES Purpose Specialized Information Needed
Layoff Aversion Strategies To retain businesses and jobs in the region. Information requirements vary depending
Can include: on strategy but all are based on a more in-
depth understanding of the dynamics of the
• Early warning system;
local economy and the workings of firms
• Rapid intervention strategies when
than is usually required of employment and
closing/layoffs are announced;
training professionals, including firms’
• Sectoral strategies aimed at
competitive position, how they make
improving industry
business decisions, how business activity
competitiveness;
can be monitored, how to broadly evaluate
• On-going retention efforts
the economic health of a firm/industry.
including customized training,
business visitation programs,
modernization programs, etc.
Employer-Focused Training To improve firm competitiveness and the Program must, by definition, be
productivity/employability of its customized and therefore require in-depth
workforce. The immediate goal can also analysis of needs of the customer firm(s).
be either business attraction or retention. As such, this also requires a specialized
provider inventory since many providers
cannot meet firms’ needs.
“High Road” Strategies Ensure that public funds target industries, Entails delving into employment and
firms, occupations that provide the most human relations practices of industries and
“value-added” to the community in a firms and the development of independent
variety of ways, including decent wages standards of what