Build & Grow Relationships

The best policies are based on data-driven research, using engaged, diverse stakeholders and by fostering thought that motivates people to think regionally. It is a process that CREC has done successfully since 2009, and it has helped expand our client base and grow communities. Clients vary from single municipalities and private-sector firms:

• Cities • Think tanks
• States • National organizations

Client Profile

U.S. Economic Development Administration

As the only federal government agency focused exclusively on economic development, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) plays a critical role in fostering regional economic development efforts in communities across the nation. Through strategic investments that foster job creation and attract private investment, EDA supports development in economically distressed areas of the United States.

Guided by the basic principle that communities must be empowered to develop and implement their own economic development and revitalization strategies, EDA works directly with local economic development officials to make grant investments that are well-defined, timely, and linked to a long-term, sustainable economic development strategy.

Website: http://www.eda.gov

Project Catalogue

Enhancing State and Local EDO Engagement to Support COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency
Start Date: Jul 2021 — End Date: Jul 2023

The U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded a 2-year $1 million grant to the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) to support the State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network through technical assistance, training, and research.  CREC will work in collaboration with the National Association of Development Organizations (representing the EDA-funded economic development districts), the State International […]

International Engagement Ready Communities Initiative
Start Date: Oct 2017 — End Date: Jun 2018

CREC is collaborating with SRI International’s Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy (CISP) and Stone & Associates to produce a rigorous, validated set of tools that can be used by regions across the United States to develop and execute a plan to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and foster export promotion. The IERC Initiative began […]

Know Your Region Training: A Framework for Strategic Economic Development Planning
Start Date: Apr 2007 — End Date: Oct 2008

Working in collaboration with the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), the National Association of Development Organizations, and the State Science & Technology Institute, staff from both the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) developed and conducted a 2-day workshop for regional and community change agents. The goal of […]