Economic Development Now

Weathering the Storm: How the Financial Crisis is Affecting Your Peers
Some communities are seeing significant impacts from the current economic turmoil while others aren’t – at least not yet. And flawed as it might be, most economic developers think the rescue bill was necessary. Read more

Kauffman-IEDC Entrepreneurship Summit Report Now Available (PDF)
Economic development professionals play a key role in supporting entrepreneurs and raising awareness of the importance of entrepreneurial development as a key factor in strengthening local economies. In April, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and IEDC brought together 40 experts for a summit to discuss effective entrepreneurship support programs and tactics.

IEDC News

November Web Seminar: Understanding Sustainability Trends: Opportunities and Challenges for Communities

Green collar jobs, LEED building standards, clean tech, green house gas reduction and renewable energy portfolios...these issues and others are part of a sustainability movement that is transforming the economic development industry. Join IEDC for a web seminar that cuts through the issues and examines the impact on the industry in Understanding Sustainability Trends: Opportunities and Challenges for Communities, Friday, November 14, 2:30 - 4:00 pm EST.

Bring IEDC Expertise to Your Community

IEDC can assemble a team of staff and member experts to visit your community to address your challenges and opportunities. IEDC Advisory Services solve tough economic development problems by drawing on case studies, our research library, and the knowledge and experience of our staff and members.

Summer 2008 Economic Development Journal Available for Download

Download the latest issue of Economic Development Journal, the premier publication of our profession. Case studies in this issue focus on leveraging private industry intellectual property assets, ways communities are shaping their broadband future, sustainable economic development practices, social capital, and more!

Primer on Globalization

IEDC’s newest membership category, the Economic Development Research Partners, is a think-tank environment which supports practice-oriented research. The Partnership’s first product is the Primer on Globalization (994 Kb PDF), a guide to the transformational forces shaping the economic development needs of US communities. The Primer delineates the opportunities and challenges presented to economic developers by our rapidly globalizing economy.

New to IEDC's Bookstore: Dr. Richard Florida's Who's Your City

It’s a mantra of the age of globalization that where you live doesn’t matter: you can telecommute to your high-tech Silicon Valley job, a ski-slope in Idaho, a beach in Hawaii or a loft in Chicago; you can innovate from Shanghai or Bangalore. According to Richard Florida, this is wrong. As he details in his new book, Who's Your City?, place is not only important, it’s more important than ever.

IEDC Shows Support for Revitalization of New Orleans

IEDC purchased a $100,000 Katrina Investment Deposit (KIDs) with Liberty Bank and Trust Company, showing our unremitting support for the revitalization of the greater New Orleans region. Liberty Bank offers KIDs as FDIC-insured certificates of deposit with a below market interest rate. The proceeds from the difference in rate are reinvested by the bank in the form of loans and related activities to promote rebuilding and investment in Katrina-damaged communities.

IEDC Publications

2006 Salary Survey of Economic Development Professionals

Perhaps your economic development organization (EDO) is looking to hire a new employee. How do know that your offer is competitive, or what benefits should be provided? Or maybe you’re looking to move to a new community. How do you know what someone with your experience, or expertise, can expect to make? IEDC's 2006 Salary Survey Report of Economic Development Professionals can help with the answers.

Free Download: Economic Development and Smart Growth

Economic development success and smart growth can go hand-in-hand. IEDC’s newest publication, Economic Development and Smart Growth, presents eight case studies on communities that incorporated smart growth principles in their development projects and have experienced economic development improvements. Download the PDF for free!

Free Download: "Forty Years of Urban Economic Development: A Retrospective"

In October of 2007, IEDC hosted a reunion of the leading professionals whose careers encapsulate the past forty years of urban economic development. They were tasked with using their experience to reflect upon the past and to look ahead to the challenges facing economic developers today and in the coming decades. Forty Years of Urban Economic Development: A Retrospective (PDF) captures the lessons learned and creates a living history of the participants' experiences to inform the next steps within urban economic development.