ED Now

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles recently accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County (Ark.).

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles recently accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: Elgin (Ill.) Development Group.

Bill Sabo, EDP, CPPM, regional director of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, is part of the third cohort of certified Entrepreneurship Development Professionals. IEDC’s EDP credential is designed to build capacity for those supporting entrepreneurship in their communities, and demonstrates the skills and expertise to lead communities through entrepreneurship-led economic development (ELED). Why did you decide to pursue the EDP credential? Fort Smith used to be a major manufacturing hub with Trane, Whirlpool, and several other large employers. In the past decade most have moved out, taking thousands of jobs with them that aren’t coming back. The EDP ...

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. Norfolk (Va.) Economic Development’s WELDNOW Mobile Welding Lab won a Gold Award in 2022 in the Talent Development and Retention category. The WELDNOW mobile welding lab program is a collaboration between Tidewater Community College, Norfolk Economic Development’s workforce initiative Norfolk Works, and inaugural host site Lyon Shipyard, a 94-year-old ship repair facility adjacent to the region’s largest concentration of households in poverty. This comprehensive training initiative prepares individuals for employment in shipbuilding and advanced manufacturing with an emphasis on work readiness and ...

IEDC is accepting submissions through May 30 for the 2023 Excellence and Leadership in Economic Development Awards. The Excellence and Leadership in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs, partnerships, and marketing materials, and the year’s most influential economic development leaders. These prestigious awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Receiving an award showcases your achievements and impact in the field, and winners are recognized at IEDC's Annual Conference. Please email [email protected] with any questions. mRNA Victoria’s development of an mRNA vaccine ecosystem in ...

Led by the City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives, the Southern Arizona Coalition for Climate Adaptation and Resilience was named one of 60 finalists in EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge out of more than 500 applicants from across the U.S. Though they did not win the phase two award, the region came away stronger and the coalition is staying together to maintain its commitment to building back better.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has launched the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity to revitalize the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry, support good-paying jobs, and bring supply chains back to the U.S. As part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, the first funding opportunity seeks applications for projects to construct, expand, or modernize commercial facilities for the production of cutting edge semiconductors. NIST will also be releasing a funding opportunity for semiconductor materials and equipment facilities in the late spring, and one for research and development facilities in the fall. The first funding opportunity will evaluate applications with a primary focus on how projects ...