News Listing

On Thursday, March 11, President Joseph Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) into law. This historic and sweeping legislation provides additional relief to address the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, public health, State and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

Small businesses have always faced persistent barriers in accessing capital. This problem has been greatly exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses have seen even greater inequities and challenges.

In 2018, EDA’s Lee Shirey helped organize the Wisconsin Tribal Technical Tour, which brought federal, state, and local economic development leaders to Wisconsin’s 11 federally recognized tribal communities. The goal was to connect tribes with resources that address tribal economic and community development needs.

This month, the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Research and National Technical Assistance program awarded a $900,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN) and sub-awardee, the National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation (NADO RF). This project will focus on incorporating inclusive economic recovery actions into regional economic strategies through the development of a National Community of Practice and partnership with six Economic Development Districts (EDDs).

Keeping up with technology can be a challenge even for those who use it on a day-to-day basis. Older adults often face additional challenges in a world that is increasingly dependent on new forms of technology.

When economic development practitioners need to learn what’s driving innovation in their region or how their community compares to surrounding areas, they use StatsAmerica’s Innovation Index 2.0. This easy-to-access tool provides planning officials a convenient means of identifying the innovation capacity of their region to help them craft effective development strategies.

The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED) at Rutgers Business School is working to make inclusion in the innovation sector a focal point. CUEED is driven by recent studies with some sobering statistics, including that fact that less than 1 percent of all high-growth technology startups are led by Black or Latinx entrepreneurs. Minority-owned businesses are also 34.7 percent less likely to receive an investment from the $48 billion VC industry.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, about 80 aspiring beauticians attended classes at Dymond Designs Beauty School in downtown Detroit to learn about cosmetology, esthetics, manicuring, and natural hair cultivation.