About the NEAP Program

Objectives

• Create an individual county baseline data repository for socioeconomic, environmental, and asset characteristics
• Create individual county economic impact models that reflect county economic structure (IMPLAN based)
• Collaborate with county leaders to incorporate NEAP in their day-to-day community planning and economic development assessments
• Provide ongoing educational workshops and targeted impact assessment studies
• Develop and distribute county fact sheets and reports
• Develop and maintain NEAP webpage with individual pages
• Update the data repository and analytical tools as new data becomes available
• Partner with Nevada agencies, industries, and nonprofits toassist in data collection, surveying, and analysis

“We are really impressed that the information is county-specific. The availability of the baseline is needed to determine impacts, and how to quantify them.”
- Jeff Fontaine, Executive Director for the LincolnCounty Regional Development Authority

“I was most excited about having some centralized place where I could use that information when I’m trying to write letters and develop some policy position for the county.”
- Curtis Moore, Natural Resources Director for ElkoCounty

The NEAP process is designed to integrate research and county-based education. While the process of delivering NEAP to a county changed during the pandemic, the deliverables have remained the same. NEAP is now capable to present, meet, and conduct workshops either in-person or virtually.

Correlation Between NEAP and CEDS

Many communities have a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, or CEDS. As the EDA states: “Simply put, a CEDS is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS is the result of a regionally-owned planning process designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region.”

The NEAP and CEDS are mutually beneficial documents. NEAP data can be used in the creation and updates of the CEDS. Both are informed economic development decision making and planning tools using verifiable and consistent data relevant to the local community.

Community asset mapping is a critical aspect of the NEAP. In the asset gathering process, county leaders and citizens are asked to list their county’s existing and desired assets.

Assets are things we want to keep, build upon, and sustain for future generations. Assets can include many aspects of a community. They can be something concrete, like a historic building or a favorite hunting camp; or they can be intangible items, like community values or volunteer groups. Community assets contribute to a positive quality of life and increase overall well-being.

Measures of community assets are important because they reflect what is important to community members. Residents of a community know best regarding what is good about their community and what is missing from their community. This type of qualitative data can only be discussed and generated by the residents themselves.

For the purpose of the NEAP, Community Assets are broken into six separate categories: Values, People, Places, Play, Economic, and Groups. Residents are guided through the session to allow them to identify the most important virtues of their community.

“To have something that you can cite and really document some of that social context goes a long way to try and drive home your point on some of the impacts of these projects.”
- Jeremy Drew, Project Manager/Senior ResourceSpecialist for Resource Concepts, Inc.

Baseline Data Repository

• Demographics Characteristics: Population,Gender, Age, Ethnicity, Households, Families,Housing
• Social Characteristics: EducationalAttainment, Veterans, School Districts, Poverty
• Economic Characteristics: Income,Employment, Labor Force, Unemployment,Average Earnings
• NAICS Economic Characteristics: IndustrySector Jobs, Incomes, Earnings, Sales, Exports,Imports, Taxes
• Land Use & Fiscal Characteristics: Land Use,Land Ownership, Federal Land Payments,Taxes
• Community Assets: Values, People, Places,Play, Economic, Groups

Each of the six characteristic sections are present in the NEAP Socioeconomic Baseline Report and are also summarized in two-page infographic fact sheets for each of Nevada’s 17 counties.

Economic Impact Models:

• County Economic Impact Model: The full county economic impact model and write-up(report) detailing individual sector economic controls (sales, purchases, employment, and household earnings)
• County Industry Economic ImpactAssessment: Preliminary county impact analyses are performed to estimate the economic contributions by commodity for primary industries including:
  • Agriculture
  • Mining
  • Outdoor Recreation

NEAP outputs have been used for land use planning, policy assessment, economic impact analyses, and federal grant applications (NIFA, NEPA, etc.). Along these lines, NEAP has contributed to other existing programs like CEDS. The data repository is designed to be updated and re-implemented into community projections, so that community planning is made easier.

Each county has their own landing page for citizens and county leaders to access NEAP deliverables or to check in on any updates, such as new reports, fact sheets, and surveys. All counties are active with full NEAP reports and fact sheets.