Andy Karellas, the Executive Director of the State International Development Organizations (SIDO), moderated a panel on how county leaders can engage in international economic development at the 2022 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. The commissioners shared best practices on how they promote international engagement, including promoting U.S. exports, attracting foreign direct investment, and further integrating international trade into their county and region’s broader economic development strategy.

With the conclusion of the State Business Incentives Database summer update, the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) will be publishing a series of blog posts. This inaugural post focuses on general trends and how programs have shifted over the past year. Of particular interest are the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it continues to shape program type and focus.

Through the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), the Economic Development Administration (EDA) is supporting states in economic planning efforts by allocating $59 million in grants through the Statewide Planning, Research & Networks program. To better understand how states are using these funds, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), in partnership with the State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network, conducted a survey of states during the summer of 2022 to learn how the $1 million grant funds were used.

America’s strength and sustainable development in the 21st Century depends upon a thriving manufacturing sector.  That means we need far more progress aligning efforts to include those between states and Economic Development Districts. Stakeholders gathered on March 30, 2022, to focus on the importance of DEI in manufacturing ownership and its workforce.

Remote worker attraction programs represent an exciting innovation for state and local economic development. Recent studies examined two of the longest-standing remote worker attraction programs: the Vermont New Remote Workers Grant Program and Tulsa Remote. Panelists at a recent roundtable shared their findings on the effectiveness of worker attraction incentives.