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State energy offices (SEOs) play a vital role in fostering local energy entrepreneurship and innovation through targeted programs and policies. It's important for SEOs to understand the current local energy ecosystem—including existing businesses, workforce capabilities, research institutions, funding sources, community partnerships, and market dynamics—to enable this cohesion to thrive.

Each new year brings new leadership to IEDC’s board of directors. Dr. Eloisa Klementich, CEcD, president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, will serve as IEDC’s board chair in 2024.

EcoMap Technologies has introduced the PLACE Builder Fellowship as a tribute to the profound legacy of our late CEO Pava LaPere. Just a few days after returning from IEDC's Annual Conference in Dallas in September, Pava's life was tragically cut short. Only 26 years old, Pava was a rising star in the world of ecosystem building and economic development. She built EcoMap from a dorm-room idea to a venture-backed, 30+ employee team located in Baltimore, and was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in the social impact space. Pava wasn't motivated by accolades or achievements, but rather by EcoMap's mission: making information and opportunities more accessible in any given ecosystem. Pava's passion for place-based initiatives and supporting ...

Pursuing the EDP (Entrepreneurship Development Professional) credential for me was an important part of exploring the entrepreneurial ecosystem-building discipline and continuing to hone how the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute leads the inclusive expansion of the discipline in its mission to collaboratively serve the communities in which Arizona State University has a presence. The credential expanded my knowledge of traditional economic development practices and grew my network of ecosystem building professionals, which has helped me be a more effective change agent. Many of the communities I serve are in a nascent or even pre-nascent ecosystem stage, so it is vitally important to maintain an entrepreneurial mindset ...

IEDC’s 2023 Economic Future Forum will be held next month in Calgary. A few of our conference speakers and sponsors shared some economic development projects and initiatives happening in Alberta.

IEDC, in partnership with EDA and six national and international associations, has officially launched the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) program. The multiyear, $30-million collaborative initiative will place up to 65 ERC fellows from diverse backgrounds and disciplines within partnering organizations across the United States to activate economic development projects and plans that generate new practices and paradigms for equitable and inclusive change. Organizations interested in hosting a full-time fellow for 2.5 years (30 months) will have until June 30, 2023, to submit an expression of interest and initiate the application process. This is a great opportunity for organizations that are looking to drive their economic development ...

IEDC is accepting submissions through May 30 for the 2023 Excellence and Leadership in Economic Development Awards. The Tullahoma (Tenn.) Area Economic Development Corporation’s Williamson Aviation Historic Hangar Redevelopment won a Gold Award in 2022 in the Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse category. In 2021 business owner Mike Williamson learned of a neglected 20,400-square-foot World War II hangar at Tullahoma Regional Airport. Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it had been used to house B-24 and B-25 bombers and later general aviation aircraft. Already using airport space for his aircraft maintenance and multifaceted manufacturing businesses, Williamson acquired the hangar to house both companies with enough ...

IEDC is accepting submissions through May 30 for the 2023 Excellence and Leadership in Economic Development Awards. The Lafayette (La.) Economic Development Authority’s ArtSpark won a Gold Award in 2022 in the Entrepreneurship category. In 2014 the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA) and the Acadiana Center for the Arts collaborated to develop an annual individual artist funding program called ArtSpark. The purpose of the program is to provide opportunities for artists in Acadiana to display the artistic excellence that reflects and represents the diversity of the region while increasing economic opportunities. Artists who apply for the program can request funding ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for expenses related to a ...