Find what is blocking local investment and decide where to act first.

A new fund or lender partnership can only go so far when the wider capital system is not working. In this applied learning lab, James Carras helps you examine capital access through four connected components: pipeline, capital, intermediaries, and policy. Map how investment moves through your community, identify where it stalls, and investigate the underlying constraint. You will build an evidence-based starting point for expanding equitable access to capital and directing limited resources toward interventions that address the actual barrier.

Inside the learning lab

Use the Capital Access Ecosystem Assessment and companion workbook to examine your own community. Practice diagnosing bottlenecks through worked examples, compare conditions with peers, and translate your findings into a sequence of practical interventions.

What you will gain

• Assess capital access as an interconnected local system.
• Distinguish shortages of money from gaps in deal readiness, intermediary capacity, or enabling policy.
• Identify the constraint most responsible for limiting investment flow.
• Use peer benchmarking and assessment findings to prioritize action and support a clearer equity narrative.

What you will take back

A Capital Access Ecosystem Assessment Template and companion workbook, peer benchmarking guide, constraint-identification checklist, and intervention-sequencing resources.

Who should join:

Economic developers and public, nonprofit, and finance partners working to expand capital access in underserved communities.

Bring your community’s capital access challenge and build a more targeted response.

Registration (Opens December 2026)

Professional Development Credits

Attendance and participation during all sessions of the training course is required by a registrant to obtain the following credits. 

• Certified Economic Developer (CEcD)
  • Exam = Core Requirement
  • Recertification = (3) Level-1 Points
    
    
• Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP)
  • Exam = Elective Requirement
  • Recertification = (3) Level-1 Points

Note: IEDC will send a registrant an electronic certificate of completion after the course for their records.

Questions

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call (202) 223-7800.

Policies

Please read the following policies carefully prior to registering for the training course.

Materials

The materials provided by IEDC are intended for use only by the registrant of the training course. A registrant should not share the training course materials with anyone else.

A registrant found in violation of this policy will be removed from the training course immediately and will not receive a refund for it.

Payment

A registrant will not receive the materials for the training course until IEDC receives the full amount owed for their registration.

Substitution

A registrant is not allowed to substitute a colleague in their place for any IEDC training course.

Cancellation

Please review our cancellation policy here.

No Show

A registrant is considered a “No Show” if they fail to send a cancellation email and/or do not attend the training course. A “No Show” registrant will forfeit any monies paid to IEDC for the training course.