Technical Assistance

CREC and partners are developing a variety of technical assistance efforts to help states and EDDs improve collaboration:

  • A policy academy to bring together a small group of states to learn from each other’s initiatives.
  • Deliver on-site and virtual technical assistance through conferences and peer exchanges.
  • Conduct outreach and technical assistance on incorporating international engagement into CEDS.

Policy Academy

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:

Following evaluation of the applications, CREC selected six state 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:

Technical Assistance to Improve Alignment and International Engagement

CREC has provided technical assistance to states and economic development districts in a variety of formats and events:

  • CREC participated in the “Afternoon with the Districts” session at NADO’s Washington Policy Conference in March 2023. CREC provided a five-minute project overview and then discussed this project and related challenges with individuals representing EDDs from Virginia and Arkansas.
  • CREC and NADO partnered to deliver technical assistance at two October 2022 NADO Annual Training Conferences sessions. At the first session, attendees formed small groups to discuss and respond to questions related to improving the alignment of their EDDs with their respective states. The second session provided an opportunity for attendees to participate in a live poll that drove discussion related to improving alignment with emphasis on the state planning grant activities.
  • CREC also met individually with EDDs during the October 2022 NADO conference to discuss alignment between their EDD and respective states. The discussions provided technical assistance on their alignment activities with many EDDs including:

o  Ark-Tex Council of Governments (TX),
o  North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning & Development Commission (PA),
o  Lake Agassiz Development Group (ND),
o  Southwest Iowa Planning Council (IA),
o  Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission (VA),
o  Buckeye Hills Regional Council (OH), and
o  Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (UT).

  • SIDO’s 2022 Washington Policy Forum hosted a session where CREC asked attendees their perspectives on state-EDD alignment. CREC offered technical assistance to guide future collaboration.
  • NADO participated in the 2022 Western Prosperity Roundtable Forum and discussed the value of state engagement with EDDs, states, RDOs.
  • SIDO officials attended the 2022 Council of State Government Annual Conference and moderated a panel on how state leaders can engage with international economic development. Panelists shared best practices and discussed how to integrate international trade into their region’s economic development strategy.
  • In August 2022, SIDO convened their annual Best Practices and Training Forum in Seattle, Washington with state international trade officials. During the meeting, CREC staff presented to SIDO board members and conducted one-on-one meetings with nine state international trade offices regarding coordinating their international engagement strategies.

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.