CREC issued a RFP in January 2023 to solicit applications from state/EDD teams. In addition to the RFP, CREC hosted a webinar to discuss the opportunity and answer questions from potential applicants:
Aligning Strategies Policy Academy RFP
Following evaluation of the applications, CREC selected six teams to participate in the 2023 Policy Academy: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. These teams are committed to improving their strategic alignment and collaboration in their state. The blogs below summarize the team’s Academy activities throughout the nine months of the Policy Academy:
Lessons Learned for Building Strategic Alignment
Success! Building State-EDD Strategic Alignment through the CREC Policy Academy
And…We’re Off! The Policy Academy to Strengthen State and Local Strategic Alignment Kicks Off
Building From a Strong Foundation: The Kick-Off Meeting for the CREC Policy Academy
Empowering Economic Development: Progress on the CREC Policy Academy for Strategic Alignment
| Final Reports and Presentations |
The final report summarizing the Policy Academy, CREC Policy Academy: A Learning Cohort Designed to Improve Regional Competitiveness by Enhancing State and Local Alignment Strategies, can be found here.
In January 2024, the six teams concluded the Policy Academy by completing a final report and presenting final presentations to a national audience. The report and presentation presented by each team can be found below:
| Colorado | Louisiana |
| Idaho | Michigan |
| Kansas | Wisconsin |
| Webinars |
CREC hosted webinars to share progress and lessons learned during the Policy Academy journey. These webinars included discussing the importance of state-EDD alignment, as well as the teams final presentations:
Aligning Strategies: Lessons from Six States (1 of 2 Webinars)
Aligning Strategies: Lessons from Six States (2 of 2 Webinars)
Marketing Your Improved State-EDD Alignment
Making the Case for State-EDD Alignment
Building From a Strong Foundation: The Kick-Off Meeting for the CREC Policy Academy
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.