Using Community and Economic Development Strategies to Build Disaster Resilient Economies: Webinar Available for Download

[Click here to download the webinar slides as a PDF.]

In the wake of natural disasters, local and regional economies are extremely vulnerable.  Businesses can suffer costly damage, be cut off from supplies, lose sales, and experience disrupted operations.  In some cases, they may even be forced to close permanently.  When businesses and industries fail or falter the communities they serve can feel serious impacts, ranging from a lack of access to goods and services to the loss of income and jobs.

Building the resilience of businesses and regional economies to natural disasters calls for a creative mix of land use, hazard mitigation, capital improvement, economic development, and other approaches.  On April 8, 2014, the NADO Research Foundation hosted a webinar titled “Lessons from the Storm: Using Community and Economic Development Strategies to Build Disaster Resilient Economies.”  Leaders from east central Iowa; Longmont, Colorado; and Springfield, Massachusetts discussed how they are rebuilding and protecting their economic assets, including downtowns and key industries; targeting growth to safe locations and encouraging walkable, mixed-use design; providing recovery funding and preparedness training to businesses; upgrading infrastructure; encouraging economic diversification; and promoting regional partnerships and coordinated planning.

Presenters:
Shawn Lewis, Assistant City Manager, City of Longmont, Longmont, Colorado
Jay Minkarah, President & CEO, DevelopSpringfield, Springfield, Massachusetts
Doug Elliott, Executive Director, East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Moderator:
Megan McConville, Program Manager, NADO Research Foundation

Click here to download the webinar slides as a PDF.

Click here to read NADO’s “Lessons from the Storm” case study series, including this case study about the East Central Iowa Council of Governments’ development of a revolving loan fund to help businesses purchase property and equipment and access working capital after the devastating floods of 2008.

The webinar was supported by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.  Contact Megan McConville at [email protected] with any questions.

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2023 Impact Awards

The primary applicant must be a NADO member. Project partners, both NADO and non-members, can be recognized under "Project Partners" below.

Primary Project Contact:
This person will be the designated point of contact for all future awards-related correspondence and will receive the printed award certificates and other hardcopy materials should the project win an award.

Organization Address

Project Location (if different from Organization Address)

Executive Director

Additional Organizational Information
Please upload your organization's logo which will be included on the winning project award certificate.

Project Information
This title will be printed on the award certificate for winning projects and in all 2022 NADO Impact Award materials and cannot be changed.

Project Summary & Questions
Please craft clear, thoughtful, and engaging responses to the following questions. Use the following sections to tell us how your project has made an impact, such as its use of creative funding mechanisms, efforts to create efficiencies or reduce costs, unique partnership models, and emphasis on building resilience and/or enhancing your region's quality of life.

For award-winning projects, the information provided below may be used verbatim to inform project descriptions that will be published in the 2023 NADO Impact Awards materials and included on the NADO website.

Please submit at least one photo showing your project in action. Please keep file size to a minimum (<2Mb) and use JPEG format. If uploading multiple files, ZIP files prior to submitting. If you have trouble uploading images they can be directly emailed to Brett Schwartz at [email protected] Include the project title they correspond to in the subject line of your email.

Note: Submitted photos may be used in NADO Impact Awards materials and in other NADO published materials with credit to your organization. Please also consider submitting photos for NADO's 2023 Photo Contest, which will be held this summer.


CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUBMIT THE APPLICATION - PLEASE BE PATIENT! IF YOU DO NOT SEE A CONFIRMATION, YOUR APPLICATION WAS NOT RECEIVED.
Your application is not submitted until you are directed to a confirmation page. If you have any questions or are unsure if your application has been submitted, please contact Brett Schwartz at [email protected]

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Joe McKinney serves as Executive Director of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO). Headquartered in Washington DC, NADO provides advocacy, education, research, and training for the nation’s 500+ regional planning and development organizations.

Joe has thirty-one years of experience having served in city, county, regional, national association, and government management since 1991. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a candidate for a master’s degree in Public Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill.

McKinney has provided congressional testimony on numerous occasions regarding the importance of regional development organizations in helping shape the nation’s economic growth. He is nationally recognized for promoting innovative solutions in areas such as planning and economic development, workforce development, transportation and transit, and aging services.

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