In case you or your staff missed NADO’s February 7 webinar providing an overview of the 2013 Washington Policy Conference: NADO on the Hill, a recording of the webinar and presentation slides are now available. View the slides here (PDF), or watch the recording above.

Information provided during the webinar included:

• What is new about the Washington Policy Conference from previous years
• How to set up introductory meetings with your members of Congress and staff
• How to cultivate new relationships with elected officials
• How will NADO assist you in setting up these meetings

In case you or your staff missed NADO’s December 11 webinar addressing the fiscal cliff and the potential impact on regional development organizations and local governments, a recording of the webinar and presentation slides are now available. View the slides here (PDF), or watch the recording above.

Shai Akabas, senior policy analyst from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank that promotes bipartisanship and works to address key challenges facing the nation, provided an in-depth look at the fiscal cliff and the impact that it could have on the economy as a whole, as well as federal government spending and programs.

Loren Adler and Shai Akabas, senior policy analysts from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank that promotes bipartisanship and works to address key challenges facing the nation, will provide an in-depth look at sequestration and the impact that it could have on the economy as a whole, and federal government spending and programs.

Questions that will be addressed during the webinar include:

• How did we get here?
• What is sequestration?
• When will sequestration occur?
• How will sequestration impact regional development organizations and local government?
• How would sequestration affect programs like EDA and HUD CDBG?
• What are the politics surrounding sequestration and the likelihood of it being eliminated or replaced?

Spaces for the webinar are limited.  RSVP today by clicking here.

On Thursday, June 7 at 2 p.m. EDT, the NADO Research Foundation will hold Lessons Learned from Irene: RPC Involvement in Recovery of Vermont’s Transportation Network.  Two regional planners from organizations in Vermont will discuss the steps the state’s regional planning commissions took to address the devastating results of intense rainfall occurring from Tropical Storm Irene. This webinar will focus on how the lessons learned in Vermont can help other regional planning and development organizations be a valuable asset in future disaster recovery for transportation infrastructure. The event is approved for 1 AICP CM credit.

Then, on Tuesday, June 12 at 1 p.m. EDT, The National Association of Counties (NACo), in partnership with the NADO Research Foundation, is hosting Framing the Issue: Communication Strategies for Planning Processes.  During this interactive online training, participants will learn techniques to develop effective community engagement techniques for their planning programs. Presenters will share recommendations for getting the message out via traditional and social media, and strategies for communicating with the general public. Participants will engage in interactive role-play exercises to test these new skills. NADO and NACo are applying to offer AICP CM credits for this webinar.

Registration for all of these webinars is free but must be completed in advance.

Christine Frei, Executive Director of the Clearwater Economic Development Association (CEDA) in Lewiston, Idaho presented on four of the partnerships that have been used to increase small manufacturing in her region.  CEDA has leveraged a partnership with the Northwest Intermountain Manufacturers Association on a number of projects including:

• Solidworks in the High School – exposes local students to manufacturing related occupations to encourage a rural workforce of manufacturers
• Snake River Boat Builders Export Program – which has provided viable foreign markets for the welded-aluminum jet boat manufacturing cluster in the region
• Ende Machine and Foundry/Craigmont Business Park – worked with a local manufacturer and helped establish the first lost foam foundry in the Inland Northwest; and
• American Manufacturer Network – helps increase military preparedness and create manufacturing business opportunities resulting in job creation in the Pacific Northwest.

Michael Eisensmith and Alain Ouellette from the Northern Maine Development Commission spoke about how their region has utilized partnerships with local businesses to create a network that led to increased investments and opportunities for their region. The Aroostook Partnership for Prosperity was essential in establishing goals and inventorying the indigenous assets that would offer northern Maine the best opportunities to meet regional economic development goals. Through Mobilize Northen Maine and their Jobs Accellerator Initiative, NMDC worked with APP to foster innovation in manufacturing natural resources and expand the renewable energy industry cluster found in their region.

To access the video recording of the webinar: Click Here!

To access the presentations slides click the following link:

Asset-Based Strategies and Partnerships

This webinar explored the unique challenges and opportunities affecting coalition building in rural and small town settings. The discussion covered such topics as building consortiums, reaching out to diverse stakeholder groups, crafting communications strategies, and grant management. Speakers included Joe McKinney and Ron Townley of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council (Asheville, NC) and Cheryal Lee Hills and Stacey Stockdill of the Region Five Development Commission (Staples, MN). A recording of the webinar is available below, or by clicking here.

View the NADO power point presentation.

The webinar also featured three case studies from Denny Coleman of the St. Louis County Economic Council, Tish Hass Williams of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce (MS), and Janet Thigpen of the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board (NY). In addition, Carrie Mulcaire of IEDC provided a basic overview of available post-disaster recovery resources from IEDC and RestoreYourEconomy.org.

Click Here to watch the entire presentation. (Windows Media Player)

Speaker Powerpoints:

• Joshua Barnes, EDA Disaster Recovery Coordinator (pdf)
• Denny Coleman, President & CEO, St. Louis County Economic Council (pdf)
• Tish Hass Williams, Executive Director, Hancock County Chamber of Commerce (pdf)
• Janet Thigpen, Flood Mitigation Specialist, Southern Tier Central Planning & Development Board (pdf)
• Carrie Mulcaire, Director of Federal Grants, IEDC 

On September 8, the NADO legislative team provided a federal policy and legislative status report to NADO members through a national conference call.  The purpose of the call was to provide NADO members with the latest news from Capitol Hill, the Obama Administration and the federal agencies.  The team gave an overview of the federal policy and budget outlook for the remainder of this year, including an update on the Debt Deal, the Congressional Super Committee, the FY2012 appropriations process and a transportation update including the latest on the extension of SAFETEA-LU and FAA programs.

To access a summary presentation of the call, click here.