Developer Software
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Product Information
Specifications:
- Product Name: Grant Writer’s Toolkit for Workforce &
Economic Developers - Partners: Lightcast and the National Association of Workforce
Boards - Purpose: Empowering workforce development professionals to
secure grant funding using labor market data
Product Usage Instructions
1. Economy Overview Report
This report provides valuable, high-level perspective on your
region’s economic data and contains downloadable tables and
graphics that will help you illustrate your story for greater
impact.
Instructions:
- From the Region menu on the left, choose the Economy
Overview. - Select your region based on pre-set region names or factors
like drive time and radius from a specific address.
2. Labor Force Breakdown
The Labor Force Breakdown provides unique data on who is
participating in your region’s labor force and their employment
status.
Instructions:
- Review the data provided in the Labor Force Breakdown
report. - Utilize Job Posting Reports to identify in-demand skills and
emerging skills in job postings within the region.
3. Community Indicators Map
This report presents American Community Survey (ACS) data in an
easy-to-understand format, allowing you to visually tell the story
of your region.
Instructions:
- From the home screen, select Region on the left side, then
Community Indicator Map from the menu. - Select the region of interest and choose Economic, Social, or
Housing characteristics to view.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Where can I find the data reports mentioned in the
toolkit?
A: All the data reports can be accessed within
Lightcast’s Developer Software.
Q: How can I compare my region’s data to other regions?
A: Depending on your access level, you can
compare basic data points of your region to counties, zip codes,
cities, MSAs, and states within the Economy Overview report.
Q: What type of data does the Labor Force Breakdown
provide?
A: The Labor Force Breakdown offers insights
into who is participating in the labor force in your region and
their employment status.
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Grant Writer’s Toolkit
for Workforce & Economic Developers
Pursue reliable grant funding with the right labor market data to tell your story and demonstrate your organization’s workforce impact.
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Lightcast and the National Association of Workforce Boards are Vision Partners committed to empowering workforce development. This Grant Writer’s Toolkit is a valuable new resource for advancing that shared goal.
Designed to help workforce development professionals use data to pursue grant funding, this toolkit offers step-by-step guidance to help you find and share the most relevant labor market data and visualizations within Lightcast’s Developer tool so you can:
· Highlight workforce demands in your region
· Demonstrate how your organization is putting data to work for your community
· Pursue the funds that keep your workforce initiatives thriving.
All the data shown here can be found in Lightcast’s Developer Software. These are the most common data reports that a workforce development grant writer will need in order to respond to a typical Request for Proposal (RFP).
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Don’t Forget:
· Follow all the submission guidelines, making sure you address the exact questions listed in the RFP.
· Keep your presentation clear, concise, and visually compelling. Don’t let your most important information get lost in excess text or graphics.
· If you need additional help finding or accessing data in our tools, contact your Lightcast rep, or use the live chat within the tool, for expert guidance.
· Ready to hit “send”? Before you do, check and double check the RFP requirements before submitting your grant proposal.
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Economy Overview Report
This report provides valuable, high-level perspective on your region’s economic data and contains downloadable tables and graphics that will help you illustrate your story for greater impact.
Follow the instructions below to see how to find valuable regional data including:
3. Start exploring the data
The Economy Overview report will show you a simple summary of the region’s Population, Total Regional Employment, and Median Household Income. Depending on your level of access, you can also choose to compare the basic data points of your region to additional regions such as counties, zip codes, cities, MSAs, and states.
· Overall economic factors
· Labor force breakdown of the population
· Population characteristics such as age, veteran status, diversity, and crime data
· In-demand skills for your selected region, allowing you to highlight the importance of local workforce programs that align with what employers need.
1. From the “Region” menu on the left,
choose the “Economy Overview”
This report covers a wide variety of data points for your selected region.
CASE STUDY: Employ Prince George’s
2. Select your region
You can base your selection on pre-set region names or region groups, or based on factors like drive time and radius from a specific address.
Learn how Lightcast’s Developer tool empowered Employ Prince George’s with the right data to:
· Secure $6M annually in local workforce funding
· Double the number of residents served
· Quadruple business engagement across the region
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4. Review the Labor Force Breakdown
The Labor Force Breakdown provides unique data on who is participating in your region’s labor force and what their employment status is.
our other Job Posting Reports show not only what skills are currently in-demand, but also which new skills are emerging in job postings within the region that a workforce board may want to prepare for.)
5. Understand population characteristics
This data provides a closer look at some of the demographics, veteran status, and crime data for your region, and compares your region to the US as a whole.
Community Indicators Map
This report presents the American Community Survey (ACS) data in an easy-to-understand format. The map graphic allows you to tell the story of your county, MSA, or state with greater visual impact.
1. From the home screen, select “Region”
on the left side, then “Community Indicator Map” from the menu.
Once you have selected the map, select the region you are interested in. You can also select Economic, Social, or Housing characteristics to look from. If you are unsure, select “Custom Data Selection” and run the report.
6. Identify in-demand skills
Drawn from our Job Posting Analytics data, skill demand is crucial for understanding and demonstrating what your local employers need. Demand for specific skills highlights the importance of local workforce programs that align with job openings that need to be filled. (Note: For an even more granular approach to this data,
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2. Choose your data points to map
The data points on the region you’ve selected include Disabled Population, Average Household Size, Veteran Population, income status, and more. To further customize the data points, select the “Add/Remove Columns” button. It brings up the Custom Data Selection menu. There you will find all the available data points. They fall under the categories: Housing, Social, and Economic Characteristics. You are also able to change the region from State or County to MSA. You can click on each column headers to show that data point on the map and sort by that column in the table below the map. This creates a custom data visual for you to include in your grant application.
metrics, hit “Run.” (Note: “Industry Snapshot” is a separate report and includes slightly different visuals and links from the ones we’ve highlighted here.)
2. Refine your search and export the data.
From here, you can change your time frame, update your class of worker, and export the entire report or just clips of it.
Legacy Industry Snapshot
When external factors–like policy changes, health crises, natural disasters, and more–cause major disruptions, this report helps you assess impacted industries in your region, as well as the staffing patterns, supply chains, and other factors affecting these industries.
1. Click the “Industry” tab in the menu
on the left-hand side, and select “Legacy Industry Snapshot.”
Add the industry and location selections to your search. In this example, we are looking at “Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing” in the Greensboro, NC, metro area. Once you have added your search
3. Select data visuals to maximize impact.
Using the charts in the Industry Snapshot can help strengthen an application that may have a page limit. All reports in Developer include downloadable images to streamline your grant application. All images come with a Lightcast citation. The ability to add other regions to compare to yours within the report can also make an
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impact when showing how your region is growing or impacted by job loss.
4. Explore the data, and dig deeper
with the “jump to” feature.
The Legacy Industry Snapshot includes a Gross Regional Product breakdown, with a “jump to” link to the top 5 of the supply chain for the selected industry. You’ll also find a list of the top five occupations employed by the industry in your region, which provides a “jump to” link to staffing patterns.
Occupation Map
The Occupation Map gives detailed, sortable data points in a table format but also allows you to visualize each data point on a regional map that you can easily customize. For grant writing, the map visual can be beneficial for showing important factors like job numbers, job growth, commuter data, and jobs location.
1. Select “Occupation” from the menu on
the left, then choose the Occupation Map.
From there, you can select your metrics. The “Browse” function will allow you to look at data for multiple occupations in the same category, such as the “Blue Collar” group shown in this example. You can also enter your region manually, browse regions, or select one based on Drive Time, Radius from Address, or another preset group.
5. Top businesses and industry demographics
Those interested in industry demographics can find out which groups of people are working in the selected industry and region. And users who subscribe to Business Listings (powered by Database USA) can identify the five largest businesses in the industry.
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2. Refine your map and update
the data parameters.
Once the map has loaded, use the drop-down menu to select the region by MSA, county, census tract, or zip code to tell your story. On the left side, you can also adjust the occupations you want to look at, the region you want to explore, your time frames, and your worker class. Like most Lightcast reports, you can use the Add/Remove Columns button to change the selected metrics.
The Skills Transferability Report
The Skills Transferability report is fully compatible with the Department of Labor’s guidelines and provides:
· High-level occupational data, such as wages and job growth in your region,
· Data on the skills, occupations, and abilities associated with a selected occupation
· Additional occupations that align with the skills in the selected occupation, so you can help your workforce move into high-demand jobs that use–or build on–the skills they already have.
1. Select “Occupation” from the
menu on the left, then choose the “Skills Transferability.”
From there, you can select your region and the occu-
pation you wish to explore.
3. Update the map to visualize
the data you choose.
When you click on the column header, the map will visualize the data from that column. The eye dropper icon will also colorize the column as a heat map. The map can be customized to make it easier to see and read by selecting the layer mark on the top right corner of the map. In the example shown here, the column titled “2024 Net Commuters” is selected. This data shows where workers live and work. The blue areas indicate more jobs than residents while the red indicates more residents than jobs.
2. Explore occupation insights
and skills-adjecent roles
First, gain an understanding of your selected occupation’s wages, job growth, education requirements, etc. And then click through to the skills tranferability table to discover which other jobs align most closely to the skills in your selected occupation. You can click on each of these to see a similar occupation overview.
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Lightcast’s Impact Scenario is
the best tool for demonstrating and projecting workforce impact I’ve ever seen. Nobody else has anything close. I’ve used it for 21 years, and I can’t do without it.
I have literally saved companies and won grants and investments in community infrastructure with just this tool. It alone is worth the price of the software. It’s Lightcast’s most valuable workforce secret.
3. See the top competencies associated
with your selected occupation
Within the main Skills Transferability report, scroll down to see which knowledge, skills, and abilities are most associated with the occuption.
–CONNIE SHARP, Director of Membership National Association of Workforce Boards
1. Select the Input-Output tab
from the menu on the left.
Choose “Impact Scenario” from the list of reports. Then add your region and a 6-digit industry (or group of industries). You can then model the impact to jobs, earnings, or sales using the drop down by the industry name. Then, input the change to the “Change” box by either adding or subtracting the unit you wish to model. Then hit run. In this example we are using the Seattle-Tacoma, WA, MSA and job change in four tech-related industries.
The Impact Scenario Report
This report reveals deep insights into the regional economic impact of job creation, as well as the cost of an unfilled job–not only in a selected industry but also on the supply chain and the greater community. With this report, you can explore the direct, indirect, and multiplied impact on jobs, earnings, and taxes in the region, as well as the occupations that are most likely to be affected.
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2. See an overview of projected impacts
Once you are in the report you will be able to assess the change in earnings, sales, and taxes for each selected industry. You can also make adjustments to your selected date, region, or industries or choose any of the “+” icons for a more detailed breakdown of the impacts shown.
3. View a detailed breakdown of
each impact by category
From the previous screen, you can click on any of the categories to see the breakdown of how those impacts are expected to occur based on the changes you selected. By clicking “Show Job Distribution” on the bottom right corner or the report, you can also see what industries, occupations, and demographics will be affected by the change.
USE CASE: Second-Chance Occupations
The Second Chance Act authorizes federal grants to programs that aid in taking steps toward reentry into the labor force from the justice system. Developer can help you identify and research occupations with high second-chance opportunities.
In Developer, use the Occupation Group called “Second Chance (SOC 2021)” to quickly identify occupations that tend to be re-entry friendly.
Using this occupation group in reports like the Occupation Table can help identify high-demand jobs that are more likely to offer jobseekers a fresh start in the workforce.
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To view this resource online and learn more about using
Lightcast data for grant writing, visit:
lightcast.io/grant-writerstoolkit-workforce
To find additional Lightcast data resources for all your workforce and economic development initiatives, visit: lightcast.io/solutions/government
For more information on how the National Association of Workforce Boards can empower you to transform your community, visit: nawb.org
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Documents / Resources
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Lightcast Developer Software [pdf] User Guide 1754669277, 120435, 712385, Developer Software, Software |