International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Announces the Economic Recovery Corps’ Inaugural Cohort of 65 Fellows & Host Communities

International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Announces the Economic Recovery Corps’ Inaugural Cohort of 65 Fellows & Host Communities

Developing the next generation of community practitioners and economic development leaders

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and its partners are excited to announce the first cohort of Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) fellows and host communities. Launched in 2023 through a $30 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), ERC is designed to build capacity in some of the hardest-hit and most economically distressed areas across the United States while cultivating the next generation of economic development leaders. This month, 65 Fellows will commence their two-and-a-half-year field placements with host organizations across the nation. Fellows will spearhead catalytic projects that advance new ways of doing economic development to build more resilient, inclusive, and equitable economies. The ERC program will officially launch with a four-day training and networking event in Portland, Oregon on February 12-15, 2024.

Authorized under the CARES Act, ERC was created to address long-standing economic issues in America that surfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for historically underserved populations and communities. These communities and regions have undergone economic distress that led to vastly different outcomes that continue to impact economic recovery today. By connecting 65 Fellows with communities across the country to deliver intensive capacity building support for 2.5 years, ERC program will help activate regional economic development strategies and promote innovation and knowledge-sharing between urban, rural, and tribal areas across the U.S. to elevate new practices and transform the field of economic development. The program is led by IEDC in partnership with six leading national organizations that represent every facet of America’s economic development landscape.

“This inaugural cohort of the Economic Recovery Corps has the potential to infuse new energy and new opportunities in regional economic development nationwide,” commented U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “We can usher in a new era of economic prosperity that leaves no community in America behind by simultaneously centering to the needs of under-resourced regions and investing in the next generation of economic development leaders.”

Read the full IEDC Press Release here