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Economic Recovery Corps fellow applications are now open! Are you, or someone you know, a community builder with an entrepreneurial spirit looking to do economic development differently? Join the inaugural cohort of the Economic Recovery Corps as a fellow, or help us share this opportunity with emerging leaders and practitioners. Launched in May to accelerate recovery from the pandemic in distressed areas, the ERC program connects host organizations with early- to mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to build stronger, more resilient, and more equitable economies. IEDC, in partnership with EDA and six national and international associations, is seeking to place up to 65 ERC fellows at host organizations ...

IEDC has partnered with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for more than four years through IEDC’s economic recovery and resilience program. The CNMI’s tourism- and agriculture-focused economy is unique, vibrant, and dynamic. IEDC’s current work with the CNMI economic development community addresses dual recovery from the pandemic and natural disasters. To kick off this phase, a team of IEDC volunteers visited the islands to conduct a needs assessment.

The following is a summary of the Strategic Planning chapter of the updated Leadership in Times of Crisis Toolkit. This toolkit provides economic developers with tactics, resources, and examples to help recover from a disaster and build resilience. It was launched in August 2022 and funded by the Economic Development Administration. Summary Effective planning enables communities to recover quickly and effectively from shocks and stressors on the community’s overall economic health. This resilience effort not only prepares and organizes communities in advance, but once faced with a disruptive event the community is able to respond immediately. This chapter focuses on an economic development organization’s (EDO) role in ...

The Economic Recovery Corps page is now live on IEDC’s website. IEDC and partners will receive $30 million from EDA over four-and-a-half years to create the Economic Recovery Corps—65 fellows who will be embedded in distressed regions throughout the United States to help lead efforts to increase the capacity of regional economic development ecosystems and provide guidance to support local economic developers. The ERC program will help communities accelerate their economic recovery, develop and deliver effective regional strategies to promote resilience and competitiveness, and create sustainable and equitable opportunities for all. Prospective fellows and host organizations should fill out the Economic Recovery Corps Interest ...

Transitioning to employee ownership is a powerful strategy to preserve local businesses and jobs and support economic recovery and resilience. For the last decade, Project Equity has worked closely with numerous regions and economic development partners to unlock the power of employee ownership and create thriving local economies.

As a part of EDA’s webinar series on the new Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Coal Communities Commitment webinar focused on funding for communities affected by the coal downturn. Coal communities are defined as communities affected by changes in the coal economy which resulted in or anticipate job losses and layoffs in any coal-reliant commercial sector, including coal mining, coal-fired power plants, and related transportation, logistics, and supply chain manufacturing industries. EDA aims to: Encourage all coal communities to apply for ARPA funding Commit to planning and technical assistance grants Offer opportunities to develop communities of practice and build ...

Many decades of loss for the coal- and steel-dominated economy of Jefferson County, Ohio, cemented its reputation as a Rust Belt community. But while the county's population has contracted from its peak in 1960 of nearly 100,000 to its current population of 65,000, a new economic development framework has brought hope and excitement. The county is a testament to how well-rounded economic development planning is critical to help “one-industry towns” transition into 21st century economies.

By Colton Campbell, IEDC intern Regional Economic Models Incorporated (REMI) hosted a webinar about the importance of resilient power grids. Economic analyst Haozheyi Guan and associate Alexandra Burelbach spoke about the potential effects of power grid resilience on state and regional economies. Resilience The webinar kicked off by exploring what resilience means: the ability to recover from or adjust quickly to a change in circumstance. These changes can include anything from natural, manmade, or infrastructural disasters to economic declines to pandemics like COVID-19. As we begin to learn more infrastructure failures such as the ERCOT grid in Texas, it is important to understand why modeling is necessary. In previous articles in ED ...