ED Now

Former IEDC board chair and veteran economic development executive Tom Kucharski, CEcD, HLM, has served as the architect behind major regional transformations. Kucharski is a quoted economic development expert in national publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Newsweek. In this article, he offers insights and advice for economic developers serving today and into the future.

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. In this edition we hear from IEDC's board secretary and treasurer Danielle Casey, CEcD, EDFP, who heads the Albuquerque (N.M.) Regional Economic Alliance.

Young Smart & Local (YSL), a groundbreaking national network dedicated to fostering diverse talent through attraction, inclusion, development, and retention, will host its third annual conference November 13–15 in New Orleans. This three-day event has become a valuable platform for leaders from various sectors to collaborate and share insights and best practices. Launched with a national conference in Philadelphia in 2019, YSL has rapidly grown to encompass more than 900 professionals in economic development, city government, higher education, and business. Co-founded and managed by Deborah Diamond, former president of Campus Philly, and Cecelia Thompson, executive director of Action Greensboro (N.C.), the network provides a ...

Given the ongoing labor shortage, many communities are putting efforts into attracting and retaining talent that 20 years ago would have focused exclusively on business. The latest report from IEDC’s Economic Development Research Partners program explores how EDOs are taking strategic, proactive approaches to improving the assets they have to offer this smaller pool of workers, and promoting their communities with talent marketing collateral, remote worker attraction programs, and more.

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.

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: Avondale (Ariz.) EDGE.

Does your organization have what it takes to be EDO of the Year? IEDC is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Excellence in Economic Development Awards. The following EDOs received the highest honor in 2022: Greater New Orleans, Inc., Investissement Québec, the Tulsa (Okla.) Regional Chamber, the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County (Fla.), Invest Newark (N.J.), and the Greater Sacramento (Calif.) Economic Council.

As remote working opportunities remain popular among employees, workers deemed ‘digital nomads’ continue to grow in importance for economic developers. New incentives and programs are being designed to lure these workers to new locations. Digital nomads are a relatively new class of workers who value mobility and travel. They typically don’t have a permanent residence and change locations every few months. The rise of remote work has allowed this lifestyle to become popular in affluent nations. As these individuals also typically work well-paying jobs, they provide a valuable source of disposable income. Spain hopes that in addition to bringing their income, they will also bring ideas and help cultivate a culture ...