This toolkit is a how-to-guide. Its purpose is to give city staff, policy makers, and partner organizations concrete tools and strategies to increase engagement with their city’s manufacturing sector. The knowledge gained from these interactions can be used to increase interest and excitement around manufacturing.

This toolkit outlines strategies that can help cities connect and engage with their manufacturing sector—from making city services easier to access to supporting the existing constellation of manufacturing community groups. In this toolkit, examples of successful outreach programs will be shown alongside tips for making those campaigns a success.

Using these strategies and other policy levers (such as real estate zoning, community college funding, etc.) will help companies start, grow, and stay in cities.