One of the ways Kentucky is steadily upgrading the talent it has competing in the field for economic growth is with its annual Kentucky Institute for Economic Development training, which took place in Lexington on August 5-8 on the campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Twenty-five participants from across the state spent three and a half days in courses that provide foundational knowledge and skills to build careers in the economic development field. The KIED program is required coursework to apply for the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) certified economic developer (CEcD) exam. There are about 1,500 CEcDs globally, but Kentucky has only about 15.
KIED is one of 25 U.S.-based basic economic development courses accredited by the IEDC and provides a broad overview of economic development’s many components, said Stephen Taylor, development director with the London-based Kentucky Highlands Investment Corp.
“As a member of the KAED Foundation Board that oversees KAED’s educational offerings, I consider KIED the association’s premier professional development training event,” Taylor said.
Kentucky Association for Economic Development has about 500 members and all city elected officials in Kentucky are non-voting members through an agreement with the Kentucky League of Cities. KAED President/CEO Terri Bradshaw estimates more than 400 regular members are working daily in economic development at the local or state level. This includes some Labor and Workforce Cabinet personnel and university staff who work with projects.
Chambers of commerce that are the only development organization in their community join in, as do county judge-executives who do not have a development staff and quite a few who work with utility companies and in transportation (railroads, airlines).
Annual KIED sessions have attracted out-of-state attendees and a few foreign participants. Annual cohorts are capped at about 30 but often get twice that many applicants.
Attendees at KIED this year included the Lewis County judge-executive, county and city-level economic development directors/managers, an independent real estate agent, energy-sector representatives, several Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development staff, and a Kentucky League of Cities staff member. The spectrum of attendees indicates the importance of economic development to communities of all sizes and economic sectors.
The conference has been a first professional step for thousands of economic developers and elected leaders. The event encourages attendees to network with industry peers and experts, explore the fundamentals and emerging concepts of comprehensive economic development, and transform into an influential local leader.
The course is designed to meet the needs of professionals and volunteers relatively new to the development field. Attendees learn best practices needed to prepare their communities for business retention and expansion, business attraction, and growing an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The courses focus on the development, organization, and operation of economic development activities in both the public and private sectors.
The KIED faculty is comprised of seasoned practitioners and consultants recognized for their experience and expertise across economic development’s practice. Topics are taught by local and national economic developers in partnership with the University of Kentucky and Murray State University to ensure the best instruction is offered to provide participants with the skills and network to accelerate economic development in their communities.
Kentucky Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel and BCTC President Greg Feeney kicked off the conference with enthusiastic welcomes. That was followed by sessions on managing a local economic development organization, ethics and marketing strategies.
Day two covered retention and expansion of existing business, instilling innovation in the small-business sector and the importance of growing the right workforce for business needs.
The third day had sessions on ways to approach the financing needs of development, the always-important real estate issues, and the role of community and neighborhood development.
The final day’s program covered the latest information and strategy on technology and broadband internet—which in today’s world is essential infrastructure—and how to create an effective strategic plan for successful economic development. Community Ventures shared its insights during a field trip to The Met, a redevelopment project on the east side of downtown Lexington in which CV played a major role.
In today’s ever more techy marketplace, the 2024 KIED cohort heard that the nine main factors for technology-based economic development are:
Presence of research institutions
- Access to capital
- Support for entrepreneurial development
- Foreign direct investment
- Educated and talented workforce
- State and local commitment
- Established technology structure
- Broadband infrastructure
- Quality of place
They got the nuts and bolts of assembling an effective strategic plan, too, from Chris Wooldridge, director of the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Development at Murray State University, and Daryl Smith, ombudsman with LG&E and KU. Elements include a realistic appraisal of resources, constraints and opportunities, forming a clear mission with shared vision among participants. Next is goals toward the mission, with an action plan that outlines clear indicators of success.
