The city of Carson, like many municipalities in Southern California, is looking for next generation economic development.
So it should come as no surprise that was the emphasis for the USC Price graduate students working with Carson officials in the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price. That approach – and a detailed set of recommendations guided by Carson management – was enough to earn Team Carson first place in the challenge and $5,000 for the students.
The Challenge brings teams of graduate students at the Sol Price School of Public Policy together with municipalities to explore economic development for a semester. The program culminates in a final pitch event including cash prizes provided by Sunstone.
It didn’t hurt that Carson Assistant City Manager Robert Lennox, ED.D. is a USC graduate and has attended all three of the Challenge final pitch events. He said he was a supporter of the experiential approach to learning.
“I really like the concept of integrating the students into a real-world situation,” Lennox said. “The amount of learning is pretty unmatched.
“For a city, it provides some perspective,” he added. “It can bring a more innovative look to issues.”
Team Carson – Rediet Retta, Sydnee Yu and Khris Gonzalez Pebe – focused primarily on bringing more aerospace and defense, space tech, and satellite launch industries to the city. Carson is contiguous with Long Beach and near El Segundo, both cities with significant aerospace industry. Carson has its own cluster of aerospace companies with facilities in the city – Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Ducommun and Howmet Aerospace – but is interested in attracting more aerospace facilities that provide higher wages with a focus on manufacturing uses.
With that guidance, Team Carson developed recommendations to pave the way for growth. The students recommended another education-municipality partnership, saying a business development/technical assistance center at California State University, Dominguez Hills, would provide an incentive for companies deciding where to locate.
“Most significantly, providing proactive guidance and resources for prospective businesses will set Carson apart as a city that strives to set companies up for success,” the team said in its report to the city.
Jacob Collins, a recent USC Price graduate and Carson’s assistant planner who worked most closely with the students, said he was impressed with the talent and commitment they exhibited.
“They were great to work with,” Collins said. “They were smart, and quickly got into the weeds… We brought them in, and they got to see the city in action. We learned from them too. They helped expand our vision.”
Students and Carson staff had several meetings to hone the economic development plan. It is a Challenge, and that brings out a competitive attitude.
“Wanting to win helps,” Collins laughed. “It makes the city look good.”
Lennox said the Challenge organizers could leverage that attitude to improve the experience for the students. Providing more resources would help.
“What the students do is amazing,” he said. “I don’t know what resources they are afforded now, but if there was an opportunity for the host cities to put some skin in the game, it might go to another level.”
Reports in the form of memos to the participating cities can be found on the challenge website. The link to the USC Price School is here, and for more about Sunstone Cities, go to www.sunstonecities.com.
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