Economic Development Administration Update

As a new fiscal year begins, NADO is pleased to be continuing publication of the Economic Development Digest through a cooperative agreement with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and continuing support from the US-Forest Service.

Campbell and Rusinko Sworn In
Arthur C. Campbell of Chattanooga, Tennessee was appointed by President Clinton and sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Previously, he was the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the US-Department of Agriculture. In addition, Ella Wong-Rusinko, a longtime congressional staff aide and former top official at EDA, was sworn in as Alternate Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Previously, she was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs, Program Research and Evaluation.

Arthur Campbell Sworn In As Assistant Secretary for Economic Development

Eco-Industrial Center
The US Department of Commerce recently announced the award of a $175,000 grant to facilitate job growth and sustainable industrial expansion in the nation’s most economically distressed communities by supporting the creation of the National Center for Eco-Industrial Development. The center will work to promote industrial ecology; establish eco-industrial parks, and expand use of environmentally benign manufacturing processes and techniques that will maximize a community’s development potential while preserving the environment.

The center will be run cooperatively by the University of Southern California and Cornell University, through a grant awarded under a Memorandum of Understanding between EDA-and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

New National Center for Eco-Industrial Development

The technical assistance grant will allow the center’s researchers to develop national training programs; initiate a consortium of university researchers working on eco-industrial development; develop a website; provide technical assistance; and prepare web-based resource manuals.

According to Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Arthur C. Campbell, "Eco-industrial development can be used to turn brownfield sites and other underutilized areas into economic boons for surrounding communities. The National Center for Eco-Industrial Development will help both urban and rural areas attract new industry and jobs while protecting the environment."

Evaluation of Planning Program
This project will evaluate the impact of funding of Economic Development Districts (EDDs) under EDA’s Planning Program. It will examine how well the program helps communities build long-term economic development capacity, whether the strategies developed are realistic and responsive to the specific economic development needs of the areas served, how effective the technical assistance provided by the EDDs is to their member jurisdictions, and how effectively the EDDs implement their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies. The evaluation will use a representative sample of EDD grantees, make site visits to the sample EDDs, convene a panel of stakeholders, make recommendations for improving the program, prepare a report of findings, and conduct briefings and training workshops.

The evaluation will be performed by four researchers from Wayne State University: Dr. David Fasenfest, Dr. Lyke Thompson, Dr. Robin Boyle, and Dr. Laura Reese.The one-year project should be completed in fall 2001.

Base Redevelopment Study
EDA recently released From Barracks to Business: The M.I.T. Report on Base Redevelopment, a nationwide study of how local communities responded when the federal government closed their bases. Using a case-study approach, M.I.T. researchers learned how communities organized themselves to take on redevelopment, confronted economic challenges, managed the redevelopment process and learned how to be effective.

The Local Redevelopment Authorities put in place to deal with base redevelopments have done a great deal as catalysts for economic growth. Examples include the conversion of former military airports to civilian use; the development of community colleges and other job-related educational institutions; and the development of new universities and campuses for colleges and graduate schools, and centers for new technologies.

For more information about EDA-programs, contact EDA-at (202)-482-2309 or (202) 482-4085 or visit them at www.doc.gov/eda.

October Index | Back Page | Next Page