West Michigan Celebrates Economic Development Week May 8-14, 2016

West Michigan is celebrating Economic Development Week from May 8-14. Economic Development Week was created by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) to highlight the importance and value of economic development’s role in building vibrant communities.

Economic developers are charged with generating long-term economic growth, creating career opportunities for citizens, and facilitating an improved quality of life. Today, the industry is as complex, challenging, and rewarding as ever.

Economic Development Week brings increased awareness to the industry’s impact on West Michigan’s economic growth. Of the many ways in which economic developers serve our communities, these five encompass much of that work:

1. It helps build strong communities. We retain, grow, and attract primary employers that employ workers at well above average pay rates.

2. It increases the likelihood of the next generation living and working happily here. We partner with K-12, higher education systems, and non-profit organizations to educate our future workforce on positions for today and tomorrow.

3. It accelerates the dreams of entrepreneurs and business startups. We are mentors, coaches, connectors, and counselors aspiring future business leaders.

4. It extends our community’s message to the world. We ensure the positive message of progress in West Michigan makes it to the doorsteps of decision makers employing thousands of area workers.

5. It is the glue that binds the public, private, and non-profit sector together. We regularly elevate our community’s strengths, opportunities, and unify the team on current and future action plans.

To say that economic development is valuable only because it brings jobs and investment to communities does not do this profession justice. At its heart, economic development is about building healthy economies in order to have healthy communities. Economic development strategies span across political election cycles, business fads, and economic ups and downs to ensure long-term, stable growth. It is the responsibility of the economic developer to maintain the “long view” of economic growth.

As West Michigan celebrates economic development week, other communities nationwide will also be sharing and celebrating the value of the profession. This will be the first annual Economic Development Week, created by The International Economic Development Council in commemoration of its 90-year anniversary as the largest professional membership organization for economic developers.

Barry Matherly, the Chair of the International Economic Development Council and the President of the Greater Richmond Partnership said, “We are so pleased that West Michigan is helping to celebrate the profession and the professionals that work hard to create opportunities for all citizens and their communities.”

West Michigan’s economic development efforts are led by a collaboration of 15 regional economic development partners.

About the International Economic Development Council

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is a non-profit membership organization serving economic developers. With more than 4,700 members, IEDC is the largest organization of its kind. Economic developers promote economic well-being and quality of life for their communities, by creating, retaining and expanding jobs that facilitate growth, enhance wealth and provide a stable tax base. From public to private, rural to urban, and local to international, IEDC’s members are engaged in the full range of economic development experience. Given the breadth of economic development work, our members are employed in a wide variety of settings including local, state, provincial and federal governments, public-private partnerships, chambers of commerce, universities and a variety of other institutions. IEDC’s members create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities and improve the quality of life in their regions. http://www.iedcONLINE.org

###