About the Program

Meeting This Moment

IEDC and its partners are building a nationwide corps of diverse, cross-sector talent with the skills and expertise to help activate regional economic development strategies that promote connectivity, innovation, and knowledge-sharing between urban, rural, and tribal areas across the U.S. in a way that elevates new practice and transforms the field of economic development.

View the ERC one-pager for an overview of the program here.

OUR GOALS

ACCELERATE

CAPACITY

To build capacity in under-resourced communities to accelerate locally driven economic development and drive more equitable economic outcomes.

DEVELOP

TALENT

To build a pipeline of the next generation of economic development leaders equipped with the skills and practice to promote a new era of economic prosperity where no one gets left behind.

EQUIP

To build a pipeline of the next generation of economic development leaders equipped with the skills and practice to promote a new era of economic prosperity where no one gets left behind.

What Are We Doing?

Over the course of the 2.5-year (30 month) fellowship, selected host organizations will receive technical assistance, planning, and capacity-building support from an ERC Fellow who will be based in their community or region. Those fellows will also receive specialized training throughout the program to meet the needs of the communities they are serving, and will participate in a cohort learning model designed to elevate the needs of distressed communities and drive research on the model’s impact.

IEDC and its partners will place up to 65 Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) Fellows in economic development and related organizations in under-resourced communities throughout the nation. Hosts will reflect the entire community and economic development field spectrum, from city and county government to regional coalitions, economic development organizations, economic development districts (EDDs), and entrepreneurial technical assistance providers. Fellows will be experienced early to mid-career professionals, equipped to help identify and advance innovative, locally-driven initiatives to build stronger, more resilient, and inclusive economies.

This new initiative has the potential to shift the practice of economic development nationwide in an unprecedented manner — by centering the concerns of under-resourced regions while simultaneously investing in a cohort of diverse practitioners and leaders equipped with the skills necessary to usher in a new era of economic prosperity that is equitable and sustainable.

Two Way Learning and Exchange

Over the course of the 2.5-year (30 month) fellowship, selected host organizations will receive technical assistance, planning, and capacity-building support from an ERC Fellow who will be based in their community or region. Fellows will also receive specialized training throughout the program to meet the needs of the communities they are serving and will participate in a cohort learning model designed to elevate the needs of distressed communities, scale impact, and drive change.

Stronger, More Resilient Communities

IEDC and its partners will connect up to 65 Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) Fellows with economic development and related organizations in under-resourced communities throughout the nation. Hosts will reflect the entire community and economic development field spectrum, from city and county government to regional coalitions, economic development organizations, economic development districts (EDDs), and entrepreneurial technical assistance providers. Fellows will be experienced early to mid-career professionals, equipped to help identify and advance innovative, locally-driven initiatives to build stronger, more resilient, and inclusive economies.

Equitable & Sustainable

This new initiative has the potential to shift the practice of economic development nationwide in an unprecedented manner — by centering the concerns of under-resourced regions while simultaneously investing in a cohort of diverse practitioners and leaders equipped with the skills necessary to usher in a new era of economic prosperity that is equitable and sustainable.

WORDS FROM OUR PARTNERS

Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC), explains the vital role localities, municipalities, and cities play in the Economic Recovery Corps’ mission to rebuild, strengthen, and develop sustainable, resilient cities of the future.

Discover how the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network (RAIN) is working with IEDC to transform communities across the country “for years to come” and how they will play a critical role in actualizing change from RAIN CEO Caroline Cummings.

Find out how the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) plans to build up communities still feeling the effects of the COVID pandemic and prepare them for future unexpected situations from NADO Research Foundation Executive Director Joe McKinney.

Listen in as Matthew Chase, CEO of the National Association of Counties, discusses how their partnership with IEDC and EDA will create opportunities and elevate underserved communities and counties through the Economic Recovery Corps.

Hear from Matt Dunne, Founder and Executive Director of the Center on Rural Innovation, about his insights on working with IEDC and EDA to build rural tech economies nationwide.