Community Readiness for Economic Development

Unless your community is ready, it will not get the economic development deal. Ok, so some times you just get lucky, but more often than not, the results you achieve are a function of your preparedness to grow and develop. That is what experience shows in the world of economic development.

Getting ready for economic development is no simple job. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the task, but there are some common principles that seem to be shared by the community-readiness efforts we see out there. These include:

1. Communities must be proactive about economic development. A reactive startegy is no strategy at all. The community's attitude toward growth and development matters. Nowadays, communities are more selective about what type, where and how growth occurs within their borders and in the surrounding areas.

2. All communities are ready to develop and grow in certain ways now. They are doing some things right that can be built upon in future readiness efforts.

3. All communities have areas in which they need to improve their readiness. Even the most advanced communities have something to learn.

4. Readiness is a continuous improvement process, in much the same way that companies view quality improvement.

5. Increasingly, communities are trying to work together with other communities in their home region to get ready for economic development. Communities share their regional economy in common. That is the tie that binds them together. Communities do not grow and develop in a vacuum--the regional context is important to their success.

6. Common issues receiving attention from a community capacity-building standpoint include: leadership; planning; infrastructure; workforce, real estate and sites, incentives and development financing; image and marketing; handling business prospects and providing them with what they need; local and regional collaboration; networking with allies and other helping resources, and finally monitoring trends and developments that shape the local economic climate.

What are some communities and regions doing to increase their "capacity" to stimulate and support economic development?

Some communities have worked with the International Economic Development Council's (IEDC's) accredited EDO program to ensure that their economic development organization is equipped with the right programs, resources and strategies to get the job done. Some examples include: Tulare County EDC (CA), Danville Area ED Corp. (IL), Fond de Lac County ED Corp. (WI), Muncie-Delaware County ED Alliance (IN), Tyler ED Corp. (TX).

Some states, like Oregon, have instituted programs to help their communities get ready to meet the challenge of economic development. Some states, like North Carolina, help communities to build capacity to tackle specific issues, like downtown revitalization. States like Wyoming offer Business-Ready Community Grant and Loan programs. Arizona conducts a special economic development readiness program for rural communities. Iowa offers special help to communities in getting ready to develop specific industry sectors (industrial development, commercial development and tourism development).

Utilities play an active role in community readiness. For many years, FirstEnergy Corp. has operated a Minuteman program to help communities get ready for economic development. Cinergy Indiana is very active in helping Hoosier communities build capacity for economic development.

Universities play a role in community economic development readiness. One good example Georgia Tech's Economic Development Institute. Another example is the Economic Development Administration's (EDA's) University Center program that funds 69 universities across the country to help urban and rural communities build new competitive advantages for economic development.

Regional ED organizations are also playing a role in strengthening the capacity of local communities to get ready for economic development. The Greater Cleveland Growth Association and the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce are collaborating to help communities become more business-friendly through their year-old Business-Friendly Communities Program. Both the Greater Phoenix Economic Council and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance work on many fronts with their local communites to ensure they are included in regional economic decision-making and that they have the resources to get future economic development results.

Community readiness for economic development is always important, but it is even more important today because:

1. Competition among communities and nations has grown for businesses and jobs.

2. The world is changing very rapidly and staying in synch with the "opportunity-side" of the economy is an ongoing task.

3. If your community intends to remain an attractive place to live, work and play, then you must work on an ongoing basis to strike a balance among these three objectives. This balance will come only if you work at it.

Stay tuned. We continue to monitor this important area.