Participants from NADO and NACo having a small group discussion on public-private-partnerships

On September 19, the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) hosted a White House forum, “Building Blocks for Economic Development and Job Growth.” Representatives from NADO and NACo traveled to Washington, D.C. from across the country to meet with key members of the Administration including officials from the White House, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Economic Development Administration, and others to discuss how federal, state, and local coordination can be improved. 

Participants also tackled issues like lessons learned from public-private partnerships to support infrastructure-led economic development, building resilient regions, connecting local communities and regions with global markets, and how to attract and retain a talented workforce.

Randy Kelley, Executive Director of the Three Rivers Planning and Development District (MS) and Kelley Deutmeyer, Executive Director of the East Central Intergovernmental Association (IA) represented NADO on the local panel and provided key insights and examples on the critical role regional development organizations play in economic development and job creation in local communities across the nation. Visit NADO’s Facebook page to see additional photos from this special event.

The NNMI proposal calls for the establishment of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation (IMI) funded through a one-time infusion of $1 billion in mandatory funding to the Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and carried out over a period of 10 years. Each IMI would be comprised of stakeholders from industry (including large companies and small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises), academia, federal agencies, and state government entities. According to the proposal, each IMI is to be competitively selected, serve as a regional hub for manufacturing innovation (as well as part of the national network), and have a unique focus area (e.g., an advanced material, manufacturing process, enabling technology, or industry sector). The NNMI would be managed collaboratively by NIST, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, and other agencies. Click here to read a report by the Congressional Research Service on the Administration’s NNMI proposal.