ABOUT

The CEDS (Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy) is a pre-requisite for the federal designation as an Economic Development District and must be updated every five years.

Although East Central Iowa’s last CEDS was updated in 2018, regional leadership led by the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) decided to advance the timeline due to the impacts of COVID-19.

According to the EDA’s regulations and guidelines, a CEDS must incorporate the concept of economic resilience (the ability to avoid, withstand, and recover from economic shifts, natural disasters, the impacts of climate change, etc.) and meet the following general criteria:

It is developed with broad-based community participation
It is readily accessible to regional stakeholders
It is usable to stakeholders as a guide to the regional economy and for action to improve it
Seen through the lens of economic resiliency, the four required elements (Summary Background, SWOT Analysis, Strategic Direction/Action Plan, Evaluation Framework) logically build upon each other to result in a coherent, targeted document.

A CEDS is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS is the result of a regionally owned planning process designed to build capacity and guide the economic prosperity and resiliency of an area or region.

- Economic Development Administration (EDA), 2015

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?

ENVISION EAST CENTRAL STRATEGY COMMITTEE

This project has been guided by a local ‘Envision East Central Iowa Strategy Committee’, established by East Central Iowa Council of Governments.

This committee was made up of numerous partner organization, many of which have committed to participate in the implementation stages. The initiative was hosted by the ECICOG (East Central Iowa Council of Governments).

STRATEGY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jasmine Almoayyed, VP Continuing Education, Kirkwood Community College
Mary Audia, Executive Director, Washington Economic Development Group
Jennifer Banta, President & CEO, United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties
Mackenzie DeRoo, Director of Advocacy, Greater Iowa City, Inc.
Karey Chase, Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of East Central Iowa
Eric Engelmann, Partner, ISA Ventures
Karla Twedt-Ball, President & CEO, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
Cady Gerlach, Executive Director, Better Together 2030
Dennis Jordan, Director of Customer, Community & Economic Development, Alliant Energy
Jeff Kueter, Director of Corporate Engagement, University of Iowa
Karen Kurt, Executive Director, East Central Iowa Council of Governments
Adam Lindenlaub, Assistant Director Community Development & Planning, City of Cedar Rapids
Derek Lumsden, Executive Director, Jones County Economic Development
Doug Neumann, Executive Director, Cedar Rapids Economic Alliance
Kate Robertson, Executive Director, Benton County Development Group and Iowa County Community Development
Hailee Sandberg, County Director, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

THANK YOU TO OUR STRATEGY COMMITTEE MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS!

Assorment of Committee Member organizations, from top left to bottom right. United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties, City of Iowa City, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Cedar Rapids City of Five Seasons, The University of Iowa, Jones County Economic Development, Iowa City Area Development, Benton Development Group, Benton County Iowa, Johnson County, Washington Economic Development Group, Linn County, Kirkwood Community College, Marion Economic Development Corp. United Way of East Central Iowa, County of Washington Iowa, Johnson County, and East Central Iowa Council of Governments.

BE PART OF SHAPING EAST CENTRAL IOWA'S FUTURE

We are forming action teams to work on each of the key Strategic Pillars and priority actions. If you are interested – let us know!

Action Teams