CDRPC Adopts New, Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

At its meeting today, the Capital District Regional Planning Commission (CDRPC) approved a new Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the four-county Capital District.  CDRPC is responsible for developing and maintaining a continuing planning process for Regional economic development pursuant to federal guidelines set forth by the Economic Development Administration.  Among those responsibilities is the preparation and adoption of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) every five-years.

The region’s CEDS is the result of a continuing economic development planning process which includes broad-based and diverse public and private sector participation. It identifies the goals and objectives necessary to address our region’s economic development challenges and identifies the metrics of success. The CEDS also provides the region with a useful benchmark by which a regional economy can evaluate opportunities with other regions in the national economy.

“This strategy is a new direction for our economic development district,” said Sean Maguire, Director of Economic Development for the Commission.  “We’ve gone beyond providing an inventory of conditions and assets for the region.  We’ve now added additional components including a resiliency strategy to guide the region’s recovery in the face of a disaster or major economic event.”

The region’s federal Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is designed to bring together public and private sectors in the creation of a plan to strengthen and diversify a regional economy. The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Capital District: 2018-2022 has been developed by analyzing the regional economy and based on that information, serves as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources.

Other changes include goals and objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.  This strategy also evaluates how it aligns with the work of the state’s Regional Economic Development Council.

More information about the economic development district, including the 2018-2022 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy can be found here.