New Study Highlights Value of
EDA Planning Districts

By Matt Chase, Deputy Executive Director, NADO and
Zanetta Doyle, Digest Editor

Economic Development districts funded by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) are both effective and essential to local development, according to a new study by the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University, Evaluation of EDA’s Planning Program: Economic Development Districts, by David Fasenfest and Laura Reese.

Economic development districts exhibit a strong ability to leverage EDA funding to secure investments from other sources, according to the study. Districts have also developed an impressive track record of facilitating a comprehensive strategic planning process that provides the critical backbone for economic development planning at the regional level.

The analysis focused heavily on the districts’ experience with the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) process that includes coordinating local and regional plans, identifying and attracting sources of funding for economic development, developing specific projects and providing technical assistance to local communities. Researchers gathered information in a number of progressive steps, including several site visits, a survey of district staff and another survey of CEDS committee members, community stakeholders and local policy officials.

The report revealed that most district planning processes appear strong, district staff leadership is very experienced and highly educated, and districts use and leverage EDA funds very effectively.

It also states that districts place a strong emphasis on capacity building, and these activities appear to be extensive, creative, and are well received by constituents at the local level.

Common technical assistance activities include planning services, data gathering and analysis, grant development and writing, marketing and training. The districts are effective at forming new economic development groups, promoting minority business development and establishing business development loan funds. They also provide a useful forum for regional actors to communicate and coordinate.

The report observes that the CEDS documents produced by the districts are high-quality planning documents that reflect the dedication of both the CEDS committees to crafting a strong statement about the region and the professionalism of the planning district staff. It also reveals that most of the development districts evaluated in the study appear to provide detailed or very detailed descriptions of their regions in the CEDS.

The report addresses several challenges facing districts, noting that the local political environment and the nature of local factors are often barriers to the success of planning district efforts. Funding for districts has been substantially eroded by inflation during the 37 years of the program, and EDA provides only a small, but critical portion of a district’s total budget. Districts also need to market and promote their technical assistance activities more effectively to community stakeholders, including the CEDS process.

In addition, the authors note that there is great geographic diversity among the districts, including a mix of urban and rural, the makeup of the CEDS committee, and attention to pockets of poverty and unemployment. There is some disjuncture between what the CEDS identifies as the region’s challenges and the policies that are actually pursued, because of the availability of project funding.

The report concludes by stating that the EDA-funded “economic development districts have been effective instruments promoting cooperation, coordinating needs assessments, and through the CEDS process, generating the kind of regional planning needed to effectively promote positive economic change.” The full report is available on the NADO website at www.nado.org/legaffair/eddrepport. pdf.

For more information contact: NADO Legislative Representative Zach DeWaters at 202/624-8590 or zdewaters@nado.org. To find out how to obtain copies of the report contact, EDA, 14th & Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20230; or Professor David Fasenfest, Director Center for Urban Studies, Wayne State University at 313/993-9525. The report is also available at www.doc.gov/eda.

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