Procurement Can Be a Powerful Tool for Local Economies, but Takes More Than a Policy Change to Work

August 29, 2015August 29, 2015Leave a comment

Originally Posted at the Institute of Local Self-Reliance

At least 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, have procurement policies designed to give a preference to businesses that meet certain characteristics, such as those that are owned by veterans, pay certain wages, use environmentally sustainable practices, or manufacture within the state. Of these, about half have adopted an explicit preference for businesses that are small and/or local. These policies vary considerably. Some apply only in narrow circumstances; others are broader. In addition, more than thirty states have policies aimed at steering purchasing to minority- and women-owned businesses. Looking beyond state governments, large numbers of counties, cities, and towns have procurement policies of their own.

Read article:

Procurement Can Be a Powerful Tool for Local Economies, but Takes More Than a Policy Change to Work

Evaporation As A “New” Approach To Stormwater Mitigation

August 23, 2015August 23, 2015Leave a comment

Originally Posted at Biomimicry NYC

The Urban Greenprint is working with a diverse group of experts to determine how buildings and infrastructure can mimic [forest] functions, researching materials and digging into questions such as:

What if rainwater, after being used inside a building, gravity-fed out to a spongy façade where it was held until it evaporated?
What if building skins had hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, like moss, to hold onto water and slowly trickle it off the building, increasing the opportunity for evaporation?
What if curbs were built of material mimicking mushrooms to remediate stormwater and store it until it could evaporate?
What if downspouts coming off our buildings were designed to pool water in staggered trays along their height, allowing for evaporation, like the leaves of a tree?

Read: Evaporation: Closing the Gap between Forest and Urban Water Flows

Local Investing Inspiration from Vermont

August 15, 2015August 15, 2015Leave a comment

Vermont Dollars, Vermont Sense

Michael Shuman

This is the first in what we hope will be a series of state-specific handbooks to spur local investment across the United States. Each handbook will be filled with local examples and information, modeled on this first edition focused on local investing in Vermont.

Climate Appropriate Economy Policies

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015Leave a comment

The Keene Cities for Climate Protection Committee is focusing on identifying policies that will increase the vitality and competitiveness of local business and support environmentally sustainable businesses and our economy (part of Keene’s Climate Adaptation Plan).

The information below is simply a gathering of information. The committee is not recommending the adoption of any specific policies right now — we are still in the research phase of this effort.

We categorized potential policies under the following goals:

Read more about the policies specific to each goal by clicking the respective links above. Please let us know if we’re missing any goals and/or policies.

Why Policy Work?

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015Leave a comment

From BALLE:

View more of what works locally.

Sometimes it isn’t enough to change the way you play. Sometimes you have to change the game itself, and the Localist movement is re-writing the rules that govern economic systems from the grassroots up.

By drafting, advocating for and implementing policy, a broad cross-section of entrepreneurs, policymakers, economic development professionals and community members are transforming the legal structures that undergird the economy. New rules are needed to put an end to corporate subsidies and instead reward benefit corporations, mission-based procurement, investment in health, minimum wages, rights of nature, smart land-use planning and better public transportation.

MILE HIGH BUSINESS ALLIANCE BRINGS CROWDFUNDING TO COLORADO SMALL BUSINESS

Adopting Policy to Grow Our Local Economy

July 26, 2015July 26, 20151 Comment

Stacy Mitchell from Institute for Local Self-Reliance delivered the presentation above on June 14, 2013, at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Conference in Buffalo, New York.

View the text on ILSR’s website

OR

Download a PDF version of the text.

Complete Streets in Keene Policy Update

Celebrate National Farmers Market Week

July 19, 2015July 19, 2015Leave a comment

Yarden of Eatin'

National Farmers Market Week is coming up August 2-8, 2015. In celebration, NH Farms Network is participating in the Farmers Market Coalition’s summer campaign: There’s More to Market! Farmers markets are more than just an outlet for fresh produce and friendly farmers. And don’t forget that New Hampshire is celebrating NH Eat Local Month throughout the month of August.

Farmers Markets…

Preserve America’s rural livelihoods and farmland. Farmers markets provide one of the only low-barrier entry points for beginning farmers, allowing them to start small, test the market, and grow their businesses.
Stimulate local economies. Growers selling locally create 13 full time farm operator jobs per $1 million in revenue earned. Those that do not sell locally create 3.
Increase access to fresh, nutritious food. Several studies have found lower prices for conventional and organic produce at farmers markets than at supermarkets.
Support healthy communities…

View original post 54 more words