Tools for Economic Development

Through the Research and National Technical Assistance Program, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) funds the development and dissemination of new tools for economic development practitioners and policymakers to utilize to help make informed development decisions.

Economic Partnership Alliance Playbook

A practical guide that combines insights, downloadable tools, and case studies to help economic and community leaders build stronger partnerships and unlock economic growth across the country. Funded by EDA, this digital playbook is a product of the Economic Partnership Alliance, a national initiative led by New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN) in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition (HBCU CDAC).

You can learn more about the Alliance on the tool here: https://www.allianceplaybook.newgrowth.org/about

To learn more about NGIN, visit their website here: https://newgrowth.org/

Economic Development District (EDD) Interactive Map

The NADO Research Foundation has created this interactive Economic Development District (EDD) map that provides information about each EDD’s service area, website, contact information, and EDA regional office. It also includes two search functions: one that allows the user to quickly identify which EDD serves any address or location and one to search the map by the name of the EDD.

EDA-Census Poverty Status Viewer

The EDA-Census Poverty Status Viewer was developed by the U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with the Economic Development Administration, to display Persistent Poverty Counties and High Poverty Areas. Using EDA’s methodology, the tool displays areas of persistent poverty based on FY 2023 designations. High Poverty Area estimates are determined using the 2019 – 2022 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

View the most recent list of Persistent Poverty Counties (XLSX).

National Technical Assistance & Capacity Building Resources (PDF)

EDA makes investments to support regional economic development. Check out some of EDA’s national technical assistance and capacity building resources that are helping regions to capitalize on this historic opportunity to build competitive regional economies that work for all. Resources are organized in this flyer by (1) Digital/Geographic Tools, (2) Best Practices/Toolkits, and (3) Technical Assistance/Training.

Regional Clusters Tool

The global economy is moving away from production to value-added production and specialized services, and further to the knowledge economy. Data and metrics are needed to understand competitive industry clusters, and skills and knowledge present in the labor force. The regional clusters provide a framework to understand the regional economic competitiveness in industries and occupations.

This tool allows users to explore the data and maps for industry clusters, skills-based occupation clusters, and knowledge-based occupation clusters throughout the US at the county level and at the Economic Development Districts (EDD) level. Industry clusters reveal the economic competitiveness of the EDD, which can inform Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) planning. Skills clusters reveal competitiveness in occupations or the labor force in terms of skills. Knowledge clusters reveal competitiveness in occupations or the labor force in terms of knowledge and expertise.

For questions, comments, or concerns, please email [email protected].

USACompetes

Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness
USACompetes is a one-stop resource for state, regional, and local economic officials and provides users with resources to develop an international engagement strategy to aid regions in successfully competing in the global economy. This website continues to be updated with videos and research to better engage users.