on Oct 28, 2015

Caroline McCarthy, Principal at HR&A DC Leading the National Resources Network, is Recognized by Lambda Alpha International

 

Caroline McCarthy, Managing Principal in HR&A’s Washington, DC office, was recently inducted into Lambda Alpha International, a global land economics society. Caroline has more than seven years’ experience with HR&A, supporting the growth of the New York and Washington, DC offices. Currently, she is leading HR&A’s work as part of a five-member consortium operating the National Resource Network (the Network). A core component of the Obama Administration’s Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) initiative and funded with a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Network develops and delivers innovative solutions to help cities address their toughest economic challenges and is currently working with nearly 40 cities across the United States. Other consortium members include Enterprise Community Partners, Public Financial Management, New York University, and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

 

As a key partner in the direct technical assistance component of the program, HR&A has conducted in depth assessments of city economic development capacity, recommended actions to improve location economic conditions, and provided a range of expertise to help cities advance catalytic economic development initiatives. For example, HR&A is leading the creation of a Health District Development Plan for Meridian, MS that will help the city better leverage its two anchor hospitals to attract additional residential and commercial development and support the continued revitalization of its historic downtown.

 

The importance of anchor institutions, particularly in the health care sector, has emerged as a key trend in the Network’s work in several cities. Building on this theme, the Network, NYU Wagner, and the Urban Institute recently released a report, entitled Striking a (Local) Grand Bargain that analyzes how cities and anchors work together and proposes new ideas on how these important relationships can be improved. Caroline and other consortium members discussed key findings from the study and experiences working with local governments on a panel called Insights from the Field: Strategies to Support Economic Turnaround at the 101st ICMA Annual Conference in September.