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Center for Economic Research

About the CER
The Cochise College Center for Economic Research (CER), founded in 1995, is dedicated to analyzing and interpreting economic information and educating residents of Cochise County on the local, state, and national economy. The CER provides economic and demographic information, analysis, and forecasting to help community leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors make informed decisions.

The CER hosts economic outlook luncheons each year in Benson, Bisbee, Douglas, and Sierra Vista. The Center also produces four major publications annually as part of its Cochise County Economic Outlook Publication Series: Benson Economic Outlook, Bisbee Economic Outlook, Douglas Economic Outlook, and Sierra Vista Economic Outlook. In previous years, these were published, respectively, as Benson Prospectus, Bisbee Outlook, Douglas Perspective, and Sierra Vista Economic Focus. They were renamed in 2008 to more clearly identify them as economic outlook publications.

Throughout the year, the CER responds to a wide range of information requests from business and community leaders throughout Cochise County and across the state and region. The CER also provides personnel to serve on community projects, committees, and task forces. In these partnerships, the CER provides technical expertise in research methodology and serves as a source of economic and demographic information, analysis, and forecasting.

As an extension of Cochise College's educational mission, the CER prepares weekly press releases that are published in newspapers countywide and provide insight into economic issues affecting Cochise County. The CER's quarterly newsletter, The Indicator, provides updates on the local economy and CER activities. The CER also produces the Cochise County Economic Update, a biweekly compilation of links to online newspaper articles relevant to the Cochise County economy, which is emailed to everyone on the CER's distribution list. The CER's website (www.cochise.edu/cer) provides updated economic news, information, analyses, forecasts, and studies.

The CER has economic advisory committees in Benson, Bisbee, Douglas, and Sierra Vista. These committees include representatives from various sectors of the local economy who provide advice, expertise, and input to the content of the economic outlook publications and luncheon presentations. They also serve as focus groups for the study of the qualitative aspects of the local economy, and provide specialized expertise related to the industries they represent.

The CER is a member of the Association for University Business and Economic Research (AUBER), one of only two community college organizations in the nation holding membership. In addition, the CER is a state data center affiliate, receiving and disseminating U.S. Census Bureau data to local governments and non-governmental data users at no charge or on a cost-recovery or reimbursable basis.

As an auxiliary department of Cochise College, the CER is charged with raising its own operating budget, independent of the college's budget, through sponsorships, gifts, donations, contract research, and other sources.

Robert Carreira has served as director of the CER since 2005. He holds a doctor of philosophy degree in public policy and administration, and master's degrees in public administration, education, and international relations.