2021

Strengthening Connections Between States and Economic Development Districts

5:00 pm EST
Webinar

As pandemic recovery continues throughout the United States, there is a tremendous opportunity right now to better coordinate economic development planning efforts at the state and regional levels to drive prosperity and resilience. The NADO Research Foundation and Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) hosted a webinar highlighting how state economic development offices and regionally-based Economic Development Districts (EDDs) can better align their efforts, in particular by coordinating statewide economic development plans and regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS).

During the webinar, participants learned more about the CEDS process from U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) staff and how it can support efforts to meet regional and statewide economic development goals. They also heard how the Eastern Maine Development Corporation, located in Bangor and serving four counties, forged a strong partnership with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development – an example of an EDD-state government collaboration that is leading to powerful outcomes for local residents and businesses.

Speakers:
Bob Isaacson, Senior Vice President, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, Arlington, VA
David Ives, Deputy Director, Performance, Research and National Technical Assistance Division, U.S. Economic Development Administration, Washington, DC
Heather Johnson, Commissioner, Maine Department of Economic & Community Development, Augusta, ME
Lee Umphrey, CEO, Eastern Maine Development Corporation, Bangor, ME
Brett Schwartz, Associate Director, NADO Research Foundation, Washington, DC (moderator)

This was a joint SEDE/EDA webinar so attendees included an EDA audience. The Recording and slides used in the presentations are available online.

The materials included on these State-Local Alignment webpages were prepared by the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness using Federal funds under award ED21HDQ3070060 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.