SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
September 23-24, 2016, Cleveland OH (prior to 2016 IEDC Annual Conference)
The Urban Sustainability Director’s Network (USDN) and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) will conduct a joint Sustainable Economic Development Workshop on September 23-24 (before the start of the 2016 IEDC Annual Conference) in Cleveland OH. This workshop will bring together Sustainability and Economic Development professionals from a diverse range of municipalities to:
- Better align and coordinate the work of municipal Economic Development and Sustainability professionals.
- Craft a common language, agenda, metrics, and purpose for simultaneously building resilient communities and resilient economies.
- Provide strategies for building sustainable economic development and green jobs at the local level.
- Identify specific projects that leverage the skills and resources of Economic Development and Sustainability professionals to work toward common Sustainable Economic Development goals.
Sustainability and Economic Development professionals interested in being part of this groundbreaking work are invited to apply for one of the 50 available seats. Funding for this Workshop is provided in part through a grant from the USDN Innovation Fund. Therefore, there is no registration fee, and hotel and travel expenses for USDN core and associate members will be reimbursed. All others must pay their own expenses.
Participants will be selected based on a letter of application with priority given according to the following criteria:
- Local government sustainability and economic development agency staff, with priority for IEDC and/or USDN members.
- Two-person teams from the same jurisdiction, including a Sustainability professional and an Economic Development professional will be given priority, but single applicants from a community may be accepted based on the application responses as noted below.
- A diverse mix of community sizes and regions will be sought.
- No more than 10 seats will be available for representatives of partner organizations, such as professional organizations, non-profits, and consultants.
No later than Friday, July 8, at 4 pm CST, submit a letter of application to Hildy Kingma, AICP, Director of Economic Development and Planning, Village of Park Forest IL at , answering the following questions (include these questions in the letter of application). The letter should be no more than two (2) pages long (Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1 inch margins):
- Provide a brief description of your municipality (population, location) or partner organization (location, who does the organization serve).
- Describe your community/organization’s sustainability commitment, such as a statement of goals, plans in place and activities related to sustainability. Have the sustainability and economic development functions worked together? If yes, describe. If not, why not?
- Describe your interest in using the results of the convening in your community or organization.
- Who will attend? Are the proposed participants members of IEDC, USDN or both?
- If not attending as a pair from your community, explain why not and how your community can effectively use the results of the convening, including how you will reach out to community partners in sustainability and/ or economic development.
- Do you or your community/organization have Sustainable Economic Development projects or experience that you are willing to share with the group in a presentation or group format? If yes, explain. Note, that this is not mandatory for participation.
A team from USDN and IEDC will make the final selections. Applicants will be notified no later than Friday, July 22, if they have been selected to attend this groundbreaking workshop. If you are attending the IEDC Annual Conference, you are encouraged to register for that Conference before the Early Bird Conference rates expire on July 15. However, travel plans should wait until you know if you will be attending this pre-conference workshop.