This practical aid is designed to help individuals and organizations working at the local level on employment and economic issues to build effective public-private partnerships and develop stronger links between economic development and employment and training activities. It is intended for practitioners at the policy and program levels in public and private organizations and in community and economic development programs and employment and training programs. Part One presents a background and perspective on the linkage concept and explains why new efforts are warranted. It reviews the changing roles of different public and private institutions in this area and outlines creative new uses of available resources to promote linkages. Part Two illustrates innovative approaches to such economic development and employment issues as business retention and plant closings. Brief case studies are used to illustrate how different communities have developed successful linkage strategies in a community. It provides checklists of self-assessment questions to help communities think through their local situations. An appendix provides an annotated list of resource persons and organizations and a 75-item bibliography of reference materials. (YLB)