Department of Planning Military & Community Compatibility

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Economic Development

Military installations bring many benefits to their host communities including invaluable support to a region's economy via jobs, salaries and wages, contract or procurement opportunities for local businesses, tax base, and indirect or induced benefits related to consumer spending by base personnel. Local governments and installations can further support economic development by promoting job opportunities, strategizing how to attract new businesses, development, and residents to an area to support the local workforce, and providing housing and amenities for residents.

The economic development best practices below describe resources and strategies that defense communities and installations can use in support of their economic development goals.

Relevant Compatibility Factors​: Workforce and Small Business Development, Education, Local Housing Availability

Best Practices in Maryland

  • Velocity Center at Indian Head

Best Practices in Other States

  • NAS Oceana Future Base Design Pilot Program
  • OLDCC Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program Grants

Highlight 1: Velocity Center at Indian Head

 

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Velocity Center at Indian Head is a unique facility offering a collaborative learning space that supports workforce and economic development in southern Maryland. The CSM Velocity Center promotes collaboration between the CSM and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division (NSWC IHEODTD). It is designed as a place for innovation, creativity, and collaboration for the CSM, Navy, and nearby communities. The Velocity Center is intended to spur economic growth in southern Maryland by attracting new opportunities for retail and dining within the Town of Indian Head, which also benefits residents, tourists, and the region.

The Velocity Center has many types of facilities that can be utilized both by the military and community, including conference and meeting spaces, shared flex spaces, workspaces, and makerspaces. These are available to the host community, Navy, and for professional development events. Navy scientists can also use the facilities to collaborate with local students in tech transfer classes, while the community is welcome to take advantage of workforce and professional development courses hosted by CSM.

The development of the Velocity Center was done collaboratively, involving the Charles County Board of County Commissioners, the Town of Indian Head, and the Charles County Military Alliance Council. Collaboration with Naval Support Facility Indian Head, the Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Detachment at Stump Neck, the Office of Naval Research, and the Technology Transfer Partnership enhanced its educational and outreach opportunities. The Maryland Department of Commerce and the Department of Housing and Community Development provided financial support, as well as numerous local, state, and federal elected officials who helped procure funding. Funding for the center came from multiple partners through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund (MEIF), an endowment from the College of Southern Maryland, in-kind services, and traditional fiscal year government budgets.

The next step in this partnership is the continued development of the Maryland Technology Center (MTC), across from the Velocity Center. The US Bomb Technicians Association (USBTA) is now headquartered at the MTC and there is additional space to support contractors and businesses. For more information, refer to the Velocity Center case study.

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Highlight 2: NAS Oceana Future Base Design Pilot Program

 

Due to an increasing backlog of unfunded and underfunded facility operations and maintenance budgets, NAS Oceana must use innovative approaches and better utilize infrastructure (Navy and private sector) to increase and enhance service levels across its core missions. Using Future Base Design (FBD), NAS Oceana can enable long-term sustainability and resiliency of the Navy's Master Jet Base by leveraging its excess or under-utilized real estate.

FBD is a comprehensive asset management approach to partnerships and applies at a large scale to an entire installation. It can transform, optimize, and modernize installation capabilities and resilience to support and maintain core missions. The NAS Oceana Future Base Design (FBD) Pilot Program seeks to reduce installation ownership costs by using public and private solutions to modernize existing facilities. The program also seeks to leverage the revenue- generating potential of current infrastructure and underutilized land within the installation, not directly related to core mission support (i.e., “non-core” functions).

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Highlight 3: OLDCC Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program Grants

 

The OLDCC Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP)(DMCSP) is a DoD funded grant designed to support long-term community investments that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of defense manufacturing industries. The DMCSP is authorized under Section 846 of Public Law 115-232 and was developed collaboratively with OLDCC, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.

In FY21, DoD approved $25 million in grants and leveraged an additional $11.7 million in matching state and local funds, totaling $36.7 million. The Commonwealth of Virginia Office of Veterans and Defense Affairs was awarded $5 million in the 2021 grant cycle to supplement their office-led Defense Manufacturing Consortia. The consortia is using the funds to launch a project to recruit, train, and modernize the Commonwealth's maritime workforce and increase manufacturing capacity, capability, resiliency, and diversity in maritime industries. This will be achieved across the region by creating a K-12 to university training pipeline for skilled workers and manufacturing engineers to support the Navy's shipbuilding needs. Given the importance of the government and private shipbuilding industry in Norfolk, Newport News, and Hampton Roads, this grant will help grow a talented workforce to increase the available labor pool with the right skills during an historic labor shortage, not just in Virginia, but across the country. 

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