Community & Economic Development
Our Role
Our community and economic development activities provide technical assistance to member communities, and they often work toward infrastructure improvements of some kind. These technical assistance activities take many forms, including identifying funding, grant writing and administration, environmental reviews, GIS mapping services, and local planning services.
Infrastructure
Community development projects include everything from improving traditional infrastructure – like roads, water, wastewater, and stormwater – to outdoor recreation. We have also demolished unsafe structures, executed redevelopment projects, and constructed various community facilities.
Access
Our economic development activities also improve access to capital for small businesses in the region through our revolving loan fund, workforce development, and downtown revitalizations.
Grants
We often help our cities and counties secure grant dollars to build physical infrastructure, like roads or water/wastewater lines, to serve new or expanding businesses that would otherwise put a strain on existing public infrastructure.
EDA Economic Development District
Our status as an EDA-recognized Economic Development District is important for our organization and region. This designation brings in annual revenue, which allows Mid-MO RPC to provide technical assistance services at no charge to our member communities.
The designation requires that Mid-MO Regional Planning Commission maintain an updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region. This document helps guide our community and economic development activities and also serves as a foundational document for any applicant in our region seeking EDA grant funding. All EDA grant applications must comply with the goals and strategies identified in the Mid-MO Regional Planning Commission CEDS.
Economic Development Advisory Committee
We rely on our Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) to ensure that our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) accurately represents the economic development within the region. EDAC meets bi-monthly as a casual working group to discuss economic development issues that impact Mid-MO and beyond. It also serves in a more formal capacity as our CEDS Committee when we update our economic development strategy every five years.
Resources
