ED Now

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 ...

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

Michael Harris, CEcD, EDP, executive director of New Haven (Conn.) Innovation Collaborative, is part of the first 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). Harris has headed the New Haven Innovation Collaborative since 2018. NHIC catalyzes growth in technology and fosters entrepreneurship by building a collaborative work and research environment. Anchored by Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University, and the University of New Haven, the city has a strong talent pool in ...

IEDC is now accepting submissions for the 2022 Excellence and Leadership in Economic Development Awards. Take advantage of early-bird pricing and submit your entry by April 8. Please send any questions to [email protected]. 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. Winners are recognized at IEDC's Annual Conference. Receiving an IEDC award showcases your achievements and impact in the field. Below is ...

Convergent is helping local economies recover by managing fundraising campaigns with true community impact that address specific challenges and opportunities. Through these efforts, we’re seeing economic development organizations and chambers prioritize initiatives that address talent attraction, workforce development, diversity and inclusion, entrepreneurship, and more. Here are a few examples from our clients: The Greater Burlington Partnership in Iowa is Transforming the Talent Pipeline with a five-year goal in their capital campaign of reducing unfilled positions by 25 percent. The Chamber and Economic Development Corporation of Lawrence and Douglas County in Kansas is addressing the childcare issue, a significant challenge in ...

As Polk County’s economic development partnership, the Central Florida Development Council (CFDC)’s mission is to support local business expansions, attract new businesses to the county, and market our ports, airports, roads, rails, central location, and access to 10 million consumers within 100 miles to decision-makers around the world. Much like many other economic development organizations, our mission has been tested by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CFDC continued its mission during the pandemic, adding more than 2,000 new jobs in the last 24 months, which helped reduce a 20 percent pandemic unemployment rate to the now 5 percent. That’s only slightly higher than the 3.7 percent rate before COVID-19 forever changed the ...

Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC)'s recovery and resilience work falls into three major areas—business resilience, workforce and welcoming, and community development. Business resilience Some of our local businesses accessed federal and state relief, pivoted, and even grew. Some still feel the effects of the pandemic and ongoing disruptions. Others floundered or failed due to the new reality of lockdown, or because their foundations were weak. We always knew a lack of financial literacy and basic business skills created risk. This was driven home during the pandemic. BDCC is building business resilience with increased technical assistance delivered by an expanded business services team. We are doubling down on new ...