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research and policy overview
MACED’s research and policy program provides information and analysis to help citizens and decision makers better understand the challenges, issues and opportunities facing eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia.
Public policy at the local, state and federal levels plays a critical role in determining the health and vitality of communities in our region. MACED seeks to partner with public officials, organizations, experts and ordinary citizens to identify governmental rules, investments and incentives that best help move the region forward. MACED draws policy ideas from our experience providing services and programs and from solid research and analysis.
MACED’s research and policy program also includes the Appalachian Transition Initiative, an effort to promote an active, participatory and action-oriented conversation about economic transition in Central Appalachia. Visit the website at www.appalachiantransition.net.
The focus of MACED’s research and policy efforts include the following:
Sustainable Forestry: MACED is conducting research and policy development and working through regional collaborations in Central Appalachia to create more economic opportunities through the development of a sustainable forest economy.
Entrepreneurship: MACED is developing policy ideas to build a stronger support system for entrepreneurs and small businesses in Kentucky.
Workforce Development: As a member of the Working Poor Families Project, MACED is exploring the status of low-income working families in Kentucky and identifying workforce development policies that better connect people to career ladder jobs.
Click here for a list of recent publications. Recent policy projects include the following:
Economic Development Spending in Kentucky—In 2005, MACED released “Accounting for Impact: Economic Development Spending in Kentucky,” the first comprehensive analysis of the state of Kentucky’s economic development expenditures. The report was released in conjunction with a seven-part, 30-article series in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Child Care Policy—In 2008, MACED released “Child Care in Appalachian Kentucky: Financial Sustainability in a Low-Income Market,” a report highlighting the need for changes in public policy in order to promote higher quality child care, better jobs in the child care industry and financial viability for the dozens of independent child care centers across Kentucky.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Policy—In 2008, MACED partnered with the Rural Policy Research Institute’s Center for Rural Entrepreneurship to do an assessment of Kentucky’s infrastructure of support for entrepreneurs and small businesses and release an analysis and policy recommendations.
The Role of Coal—In 2009, MACED released The Impact of Coal on the Kentucky State Budget and a companion piece on the current economic impacts and future prospects for the coal industry in Kentucky.
Please contact MACED Research and Policy Director Jason Bailey, jbailey@maced.org, or call 859-986-2373 for more information.
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Enterprise Development | Forest Opportunities | Policy | Common Cents | Energy Efficient
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