FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Kristen Gorski
November 11, 2021 (860) 960-6136
CEDAS Announces 2022 Best Practices in
Economic Development & Land Use Planning
Applications Now Accepted for 2022 Certification
Connecticut Economic Development Association (CEDAS) has announced the 2022 Best Practices in Economic Development & Land Use Planning Certification Program. The Best Practices Certification Program requires an application to be completed by the municipality documenting various economic development and land use practices, policies, and programs taking place at the local level. The application contains four components: Communications & Marketing; Coordination & Collaboration; Organizational Capacity & Strategy; and Policies & Programs.
“CEDAS is excited to launch the 2022 Best Practices Program in support of improving the economic development and land use planning landscape across Connecticut. This program has been widely utilized as a high-level standard for improving process and practice since our launch in 2019. We encourage participation in this year’s application process and look forward to many more communities receiving accreditation for their innovative and dynamic work in these disciplines,” said Kristen Gorski, President of CEDAS.
CEDAS created the Best Practices Certification Program in 2019 to 1) encourage best practices in municipal economic development and land use to spur continuous improvement and, 2) to create an open resource library of model development examples that can be used by municipalities to update their policies and practices. The CEDAS Best Practices Certification Program is intended to drive communities to pursue excellence in land use and economic development practices and to recognize the communities that have established best practices. In pursuit of these best practices, planners and economic developers can use this program to engage community stakeholders in discussions about how to achieve higher standards and develop creative, community-specific ways to implement them.
In 2019, the inaugural year of the Best Practices Program, twenty-four Connecticut municipalities were certified. “The Best Practices Program enabled Groton to formally gain recognition for positive advancements, but it also challenged us in helping to identify future improvement goals,” said Paige R. Bronk, AICP, Community & Economic Development Manager of the Town of Groton. “Our Best Practices award is proudly displayed in a prominent location, so the public understands we earned this important credential in 2019. It also serves as a reminder to all that Groton needs to continuously focus on improvement in this competitive world.”
The 2022 Best Practices Program is sponsored by The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce (Presenting Sponsor), Advance CT, and the City of Stamford (Program Sponsors). The deadline for applications is January 15, 2022. More information can be found at https://www.cedas.org/Resources/CT-Best-Practices-In-Land-Use-and-Economic-Development/.
Connecticut Economic Development Association
CEDAS is Connecticut’s premiere association for economic development professionals, providing a forum for the economic development community and sponsoring educational programs and seminars to benefit those in the field. CEDAS members include municipal economic development professionals, practitioners and local economic development commissioners, state and regional economic development professionals and practitioners, private sector businesses, and educators from colleges and universities.
CEDAS works closely with the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), Advance CT, and other statewide organizations to foster sustained economic growth within the state through its support of legislation, exchange of information and its co-sponsorship of economic development events. More information is available at www.cedas.org.
For more information contact:
Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker, Co-Chair, Best Practices Committee
203-676-8437
kim@ctmainstreet.org