Phone Interview Questions_Clean_6_23_23 rev FINAL

NGA PHONE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS – June 2023

These questions will be used to narrow down the number of projects selected for the final case studies that will be included in the final report. The phone interview should take 45 minutes or less, and questions may differ based on initial feedback.

PRIORITY QUESTIONS

BACKGROUND

1. What are the goals of your project and who are its champions, stakeholders, and target audience?

2. What is innovative about this project? Does it incorporate new methods and/or ideas, and if so, how?

ECONOMIC GROWTH

1. Based on any project results or findings to-date, did your local or state government adopt supportive policies and programs such as tax incentives, workforce training or marketing programs? If so, which ones?

2. What state policies or regulations make it easier or harder to implement the project and increase economic benefits?   

3. What are the key strategies you are employing to increase employment and wages?

4. What type of support has your project provided to create new businesses?

RESILIENCY

1. How does your project address resilience to economic and climate change shocks?

2. What aspects of this project addressing resiliency are replicable in or scalable to other regions? 

EQUITY AND DIVERSITY  

1. Does your project seek to create equitable opportunities for underserved populations?

   1. Does your project intend to increase economic diversity in travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation? If so, how?

   2. Does your project intend to increase wages in the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industry for underserved populations? If so, how?

2. Did you partner on this project with any non-profits/organizations or educational institutions such as Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) that focus on diversity in travel, tourism and outdoor recreation? If so:

   1. Which ones?

   2. What work did the MSI perform under your project’s scope of work?

FOSTERING HIGHER SKILLS AND WAGES

1. Does this project provide skill development opportunities for employees, potential employees, or business owners? If so:

   1. Please provide supporting information on the type of skill development programs, including funding levels and sources.

   2. If applicable, did higher skills translate into higher wages for employees and potential employees or profits for business owners? Can you describe in terms of numbers of employees or businesses (i.e., some, many) or financial increases (i.e., wages increased some or a great deal)?

DATA AND MEASURING SUCCESS

1. What data are you collecting to measure the success of your project?   

2. What incentives and/or assistance would help you with project data collection?

3. Is there another source of data for your project or baseline data that you are using? (i.e., state travel & tourism agency, outdoor recreation office, or federal agency such as the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Census Bureau, etc.)?

 

Other Potential Questions:

These may be used based on time remaining/responses to the questions above:

1. How are you defining success in this project? Are there any other metrics or data that would be helpful in measuring that success?  

2. What other factors influence your project’s expected outcomes (i.e., economic recovery of the sector more broadly; regional initiatives/resources to support the work; etc.?)  

3. What partners are involved in the project?  Please name the partners and their type of organization (i.e., companies, foundations, universities, volunteer organizations, etc.). What are their roles in the project?

4. Is the project expected to sustain newly created and higher wage jobs over the long-term (next decade or longer?)  How so?

5. Please describe any indirect benefits resulting from this project (such as other new business opportunities/development; improved health benefits, etc.)?  

6. What other assistance have you identified that may be contributing to the development and marketing of local tourism and outdoor recreation (i.e., funding, training, or technical assistance, etc. provided by a federal, state or local organization or some other source). Please identify the organization(s) and types of contribution(s).