Economic Development

Three layers of economic data.
We are building the fourth.

Every economic development dashboard shows transactions: formation rates, wages, business counts. What none of them show is the contribution layer: the skills, capacity, and community work that produce economic value but never appear in any ledger. The NIEA is building infrastructure to measure it — and to make it legible to the departments responsible for growth.

Access is reviewed by The NIEA. You will hear back within 5 business days.

The Data Stack

Every ED department has three of these.
No infrastructure has ever existed to produce the fourth.

Layer 01
Transaction Data
Sales, wages, invoices, contracts. The foundation of every economic report: visible, measurable, centuries of precedent.
Layer 02
Business Formation
Establishment counts, formation and closure rates, industry classification. Standard public data in every ED toolkit.
Layer 03
Workforce & Demographics
Employment rates, labor force participation, earnings by industry. Well-measured. Does not show what people can do; only what they are currently paid to do.
New
Layer 04
The Contribution Layer
Skills, capacity, mentorship, community economic activity. The value being produced in your city that no current instrument can see. The NIEA is building infrastructure purpose-built to capture it.
What the Portal Shows

The window below is an illustrative concept, not a live screen. Today's live portal — see Grapevine — shows Overview, Map, Sectors, and Methodology views built from public data. The Audits and Pipeline views illustrated here come online as the contribution layer is measured in your city.

01 — City Health

A unified view of your city's economic health.

Industry breakdown, formation and closure rates, workforce participation, pulled from public data sources into a single portal view. The NIEA dashboard is honest about what public data can and cannot surface. That honesty is what makes the fourth layer meaningful when it appears.

02 — Contribution Gap

Where growth is being missed because value is not being exchanged.

Every city has capacity sitting unmeasured. Skills that exist in the community but are invisible to the businesses that need them. Contribution potential with no mechanism to surface it. The NIEA gap analysis shows you exactly where that unmet value lives — and how large the disconnect is between what your economy produces and what it can currently see.

03 — Business Audits

Structured assessments generated for businesses in your city.

The NIEA generates formal audit packages for businesses in your city, identifying contribution needs, capacity gaps, and the engagement pathways most likely to produce economic impact. Your department gets a view into which businesses are audit-complete, which engagement tier was recommended, and what outcomes were recorded.

04 — Opportunity Pipeline

Open tasks, matched contributors, and documented outcomes.

As contributors are matched to businesses and engagements recorded, your department gets the first legible view of your city's contributive economy taking shape: open tasks, active matches, documented outcomes, all tied to verified identities. This is the fourth layer becoming data.

theniea.com/portals/yourcity
Concept — Illustrative
Overview
Gap Analysis
Audits
Pipeline
Grapevine, TX
DFW Metro · Economic Portal
72
Health Score
Industry Breakdown
Retail Trade
28%
Accommodation & Food
22%
Real Estate
18%
Construction
14%
Healthcare
10%
4.2%
Formation Rate
2.8%
Closure Rate
Contribution layer: not yet measured by public data. The NIEA is building this layer now.
Contribution Gap — Illustrative Model
How this data layer will look — not current measurements
Illustration Only
What public data surfaces
100%
What The NIEA is designed to measure (model)
~41%
Estimated unmeasured contribution
~59%
Illustrative scenario
This model shows how businesses with unmet contribution needs would appear in the portal once The NIEA's measurement infrastructure is active in a city.
No contribution layer data for Grapevine exists yet. The NIEA app is the first infrastructure built to generate it.
Full gap breakdown by industry sector and neighborhood available to verified ED Portal partners once data is collected.
Acme Restaurant Group
Illustration Only · Accommodation & Food Services
Audit Complete
Illustrative example — not a real business or real assessment
Assessment Findings
Front-of-house skill transfer gap — experienced staff retiring with no succession path documented
Seasonal workforce capacity below demand — 3 peak periods per year underserved
Community supplier connections: weak — sourcing outside local economy by default
Engagement Options
Helping Hand
Tech Partner
Illustration: The Contribution Network — est. 12 contributors matched
Illustrative example — not real pipeline data
Open
Matched
Completed
Retail Training Program — Floor Sales
Ticket
Cornerstone Market · Retail 240 EC 3 matched
Process Documentation & SOPs
Ticket
Colinas Construction · Construction 180 EC 1 matched
Customer Experience Audit
Direct
DFW Hospitality Group · Accommodation 320 EC Awaiting acceptance
24
Open
11
In Progress
38
Completed
All figures are illustrative examples only — no real city data has been collected
ED Portal Access Includes

Four data views the transactional
economy cannot produce.

The NIEA ED Portal is being built to give economic development officers a view of the contribution layer in their city, alongside the public data they already use, not instead of it.

City Economic Health Dashboard

Industry breakdown, formation and closure rates, and workforce participation, alongside the NIEA contribution layer as it builds. Honest about what public data can surface. Updated continuously.

Contribution Gap Analysis

A sector-by-sector view of where value is being produced but not exchanged, identifying the specific industries and neighborhoods where the unmeasured economy is largest.

Business Audit Reports

NIEA-generated structured assessments for businesses in your city, identifying needs, engagement options, and recommended pathways. Your department sees which businesses are audit-complete and what was recommended.

Opportunity Pipeline View

Open tasks, matched contributors, and documented engagements, all tied to verified identities. A view of your city's contributive economy as it builds.

Request Access

ED Portal access is reviewed by The NIEA.

We review every application to ensure the portal is being accessed by verified economic development professionals. Once approved, you will receive credentials and an onboarding briefing from our team.

1
Submit your request. Tell us about your role and your department's economic development focus.
2
NIEA reviews your application. We verify your role and confirm your city is in our active or upcoming portal coverage.
3
Onboarding briefing. Once approved, a member of the NIEA team will brief you on the portal, your city's current data status, and what to expect as the contribution layer builds.
4
Portal access granted. You log in with your verified ED credentials and begin accessing your city's economic intelligence data.
Request ED Portal Access
Request received.
The NIEA will review your application and respond within 5 business days. Check your inbox for a confirmation.
Couldn't send your request right now. Email us directly at us@theniea.com and we will follow up.

Access is reviewed individually. We do not auto-approve requests. You will hear from a member of the NIEA team.