The ActiveEconomyReport
A data-driven summary and analysis of 21 community projects located in Beaver and Allegheny Counties, Pennsylvania
For ten years, 0 community projects have been steadily growing an Active Economy throughout Beaver and Allegheny Counties.
Research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that together these projects are projected to produce $840 million in Gross Regional Product, $137 million in social value, and 6,640 job-years.
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What Is the Active Economy?
A community activating its own economic potential through projects designed to reinforce one another...
A community activating its own economic potential through projects designed to reinforce one another created by and for the community to generate wealth that stays local.
...created by and for the community to generate wealth that stays local.
The Active Economy Report shows what is being built and why it matters to the future of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
But it’s only the beginning of
what's possible ...
...when communities are wisely resourced to activate our region’s full economic potential.
But it’s only the beginning of what’s possible the when communities are wisely resourced to activate our region’s full economic potential.
Economic impact of the Active Economy
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh found that the Active Economy generates significant economic and social value for the region. Economic Impact was evaluated over a 20-year time horizon (2016 to 2036).
$840M
Gross Regional Product6,640
job-years$137M
Social Return on Investment
The Key Insights
Three key insights emerged from the research. Together they support the report’s central argument: that the region has been underestimating what community-led development contributes to its economic future — and should plan, prioritize, and resource accordingly.
Comparable Value, Far Less Subsidy and Risk
Active Economy projects generate jobs at a third of the cost of corporate megaprojects, while avoiding many of the associated risks.
Diversification beats Boom and Bust
When single-site corporate projects collapse, they take jobs and wealth with them. Diversified Active Economy clusters spread risk, promote community ownership, and circulate more money locally.
Social Value adds to Economic Value
As demonstrated across eleven measured pathways, for every $1,000 of economic impact generated by the Active Economy, an additional $163 of added social value is created for local communities.
Economic impact Over Time
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh calculated the economic impact of the Active Economy Portfolio using three standard metrics: Job-Years, Gross Regional Product, and Output. A 20-year time horizon was considered, ranging from 2016 to 2036.
6,640
job-years of employment sustained by the
Active Economy portfolio, past and future.
Past (Cumulative 10-year)
388Current (Annual)
82Future (One Time)
366Future (Annual)
567Comparing the Active Economy Portfolio to Corporate Megaprojects
Research suggests that 75% or more of disclosed state and local subsidy dollars go to large corporations. Due to the cost of megadeal projects, the public often assumes that such public subsidies generate an outsized return on the incentives received.
But what do the data really show?
Active Economy Portfolio
Corporate Megaprojects
$93M
Budget
$100M–$1B+
large-scale to megaproject574
Full-Time Jobs Created
projected annual, not temporary600
Shell Polymers Monaca$162K
total costCost per Job Created
$456K
taxpayer cost only$902
for every $100 invested20-Year ROI
$192
for every $100 invested$163
for every $1,000 of economic impactSocial Value Created
Cumulative Economic Impact by Sector
Taken together, these sector clusters represent a coordinated model for place-based development in some of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s most disinvested — and therefore most disadvantaged — communities. Projects within the portfolio are strategically integrated across multiple sectors.
For example, the real estate development of a vacant commercial building can also provide small business space, workforce training, and energy production simultaneously. The projected cluster values below represent total GRP plus SROI over the 20-year research period. Each project represents multiple sectors, demonstrating the overlapping interdependence and compounding impact of the Active Economy model.
Real Estate Development$769.7M
Creative Industries$131.7M
Active Mobility$20.0M
Small Business & Workforce$509.6M
Energy Production & Efficiency$168.1M
Food & Nature-Based Infrastructure$169.1MJobs Sustained Over Time
About 82 people hold jobs across the portfolio today. Modeled to maturity, that rises to roughly 574. Each figure is one job, tinted by the project that sustains it.
SROI Details
by Cluster
Real Estate Development
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive principally through blight abatement and real estate recovery.
1 / 6
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive principally through blight abatement and real estate recovery.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $100.7 million in total social value over 20 years, including blight abatement, property appreciation, and other monetized activities.
Small Business & Workforce
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive principally through increases in participants’ long-term earnings and the family stability such earnings make possible.
2 / 6
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive principally through increases in participants’ long-term earnings and the family stability such earnings make possible.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $68.7 million in total social value over 20 years, including business incubation, workforce development, and other monetized activities.
Energy
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive through the collective offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement of public health that follows from cleaner air.
3 / 6
The social benefits generated by this cluster arrive through the collective offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions and the improvement of public health that follows from cleaner air.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $66 million in total social value over 20 years, including 4,520 megawatt-hours of solar energy, 1,775 metric tons of CO2 avoided, and other monetized activities.
Food & Nature-Based Infrastructure
The social value generated by this cluster arrives principally through expanded food access and the public health costs such access averts.
4 / 6
The social value generated by this cluster arrives principally through expanded food access and the public health costs such access averts.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $35.6 million in total social value over 20 years through food distribution, nature-based infrastructure, and other monetized activities.
Creative Industries
The social value generated by this cluster arrives through art and media production, community programming, and education.
5 / 6
The social value generated by this cluster arrives through art and media production, community programming, and education.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $43.5 million in total social value over 20 years through art and media production, community programs, education, and other monetized activities.
Active Mobility
The social value generated by this cluster arrives through safety benefits, health impacts, transportation cost savings, and increased property values.
6 / 6
The social value generated by this cluster arrives through safety benefits, health impacts, transportation cost savings, and increased property values.
Projects in this cluster are projected to produce $16.1 million in total social value over 20 years through safety, health, transportation access, property appreciation, and other monetized activities.
Social Value Across Eleven SROI Metrics
Combining past and projected activity yields the cumulative SROI figures at right, covering all activity between 2016 and 2036 as measured across eleven SROI metrics that appear in many of the portfolio's projects.
$3.45M
Value of Blight Abatement
4.52MkWh
kWh of Renewable Electricity Produced
1,775t CO₂
CO₂ Emissions Avoided
$1.77M
Value of Art & Culture Produced
$20.77M
Value of Workforce Development Programs
$6.41M
Value of Volunteer Hours Donated
$8.92M
Value of Property Appreciation
$1.20M
Savings from Renewable Energy & Efficiency Programs
$23.22M
Value of Produce Grown or Saved
$15.72M
Value of Community Education + Programs
$37.46M
Value of Business Incubation ProgramsBusiness incubation, produce grown or rescued, and workforce development together account for more than 60% of the portfolio's monetized social value. Not one of them is the sort of outcome a conventional impact study would think to count.
Report methodology and frameworks
Impact is measured along two independent tracks so readers can weigh economic throughput and social return on their own terms. Every figure in this report is traceable to one of the frameworks below — no composite scores, no proprietary adjustments.
Both approaches are presented together because projects with modest economic footprints may carry a high SROI — and vice versa. Pairing them gives the most complete picture of value created.
Read more about SROI→Framework A
REMI Transight
A dynamic regional economic model that captures the traditional footprint of EIR activity — jobs supported, gross regional product, and industry output — across direct, indirect, and induced channels. We run scenarios against a counterfactual baseline and report only the incremental change.
Key question
What economic activity does this create?
- What is counted
- Jobs, economic output, regional income.
- Strengths
- Standardized; easy to compare across projects.
- Limitations
- Misses social and environmental value; can understate small programs.
Framework B
SROI
Social Return on Investment monetises the outcomes that markets tend to miss — wellbeing, environmental stewardship, community capacity. Each outcome is valued using published financial proxies, discounted for deadweight and attribution, and reported as a ratio against invested capital.
Key question
What value does this create for people and communities?
- What is counted
- Social, environmental, and quality-of-life outcomes.
- Strengths
- Captures non-market value; reflects real community priorities.
- Limitations
- Requires assumptions; less standardized across studies.
Outcomes monetised
Workforce earnings
Blight abatement
Food access
Carbon & energy
Active transport
Arts & programming