Federally Designated Economic Development Regions: An Overlooked but Important Partner in Extension Programming

Success Story

Nationally, there are 320 federally designated multi-county economic development districts, closely affiliated with the U. S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). These districts are a powerful, but often overlooked, partner for Extension. Purdue University, including Purdue Extension, has been working to develop a strong partnership with the 14 districts within Indiana, and with their statewide association, the Indiana Association of Regional Councils (IARC).

This presentation will focus on (a) the development and nurturing of this relationship (b) the programmatic opportunities and applied research efforts being pursued and (c) how county based Educators are participating, including their involvement in regional council governance.

Special attention will be given to recent funding received from EDA designating Purdue as a "university centers", and how Extension is intimately involved in the university center program of work. This program of work includes (a) applied research to identify regional economic competitiveness (b) technical assistance and network development for Indiana's Certified Technology Parks (c) the creation of a statewide network of certified community development specialists and (d) targeted technical assistance to businesses and industries in a 5-county pilot region.

Lessons learned and how other states can benefit from Purdue's experience will be emphasized.