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The U.S. Economic Development Administration's investment policy is designed to establish a foundation for sustainable job growth and the building of durable regional economies throughout the United States. This foundation builds upon two key economic drivers - innovation and regional collaboration. Innovation is key to global competitiveness, new and better jobs, a resilient economy, and the attainment of national economic goals. Regional collaboration is essential for economic recovery because regions are the centers of competition in the new global economy and those that work together to leverage resources and use their strengths to overcome weaknesses will fare better than those that do not. EDA encourages its partners around the country to develop initiatives that advance new ideas and creative approaches to address rapidly evolving economic conditions.

Economic Gardening embraces strategies to grow existing second-stage businesses. It is an innovative entrepreneur-centered economic growth strategy that offers balance to the traditional economic practice of business recruitment, often referred to as "economic hunting."

nef (the new economics foundation) is an independent think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being. We aim to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues. We work in partnership and put people and the planet first. nef was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) which forced issues such as international debt onto the agenda of the G7 and G8 summits. We are unique in combining rigorous analysis and policy debate with practical solutions on the ground, often run and designed with the help of local people. We also create new ways of measuring progress towards increased well-being and environmental sustainability.

Welcome to the EDA Know Your Region project. Funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), this research project explores regional and local approaches to economic innovation and competitiveness across the United States. The resources developed as part of the overall project curriculum, as well as the Know Your Region online clearinghouse, are intended to help local officials, economic development practitioners, community leaders and citizens assess local and regional assets, needs and visions in a global context, leading to long-term regional prosperity and sustainability.

The Social Innovation Labs started in 2012 in partnership with the Bush Foundation. In the past two years, more than 1,200 community change makers have participated in 11 lab events. Each lab has had a different theme, but all of them focused on the following overall goal and strategies: Our vision: All Minnesotans thrive in a socially just, ecologically sound, and economically sustainable ecosystem of social innovation. More about our vision: The fruits of the ecosystem and the cultural soil that makes it possible: visioniconStrategies to move toward this vision: 1. Learn new tools and ways of seeing things 2. Advance innovative projects 3. Connect with other change makers Simple rules for the Lab: 1. Bring an open heart, mind, and will  2. Listen to the part, whole, and greater whole 3. Attend to difference, privilege and disparity 4. Tango with different perspectives to seek unexpected sparks 5. Invite a balance of creativity and structure 6. Honor commitments

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA STEWARDSHIP NETWORK In 2008, the Morgan Family Foundation launched the California Stewardship Network as a civic venture, investing $ 1.5 million over 2 years in matching grants to 10 economic regions that agreed to focus on breakthroughs led by stewardship teams composed of business, community and government civic entrepreneurs. While each regional team has developed its own stewardship strategy, all share a common approach. Typically, these strategies are: (1) Data-driven, (2) Based on economic regions and industry clusters, (3) Successful in sustaining the engagement of business, (4) Effective at integrating economic, social, and environmental considerations, and (5) Innovative in their approach to public-private partnerships in implementation. The teams represent the diversity of California ranging from San Diego and Los Angeles in the South to Sacramento Valley, the Fresno Region and the Central Coast to the Sierra Region, Sonoma and Butte Counties and the Redwood Coast near the Oregon Border. These regional groups meet on regular basis and exchange best practices.

the U.S. Economic Development Administration sponsored this project to develop new tools to support strategic economic development planning in rural regions. The goal of this work is to help rural planners assess their region's comparative strengths and weaknesses with respect to fostering innovation-based growth. The project's data and tools, however, can be used equally well in any type of region-urban, exurban, metropolitan or custom-based depending upon need and purpose.

E Emerging Prairie is an organization that focuses on energizing communities through innovative programming and events that move the needle and ignite economic growth for the state of North Dakota. With our values, mission and vision as a guiding force, we strive to support the founders, creators, innovators and community builders across the region to be curious and relentless in their pursuits.

Los Angeles County is an epicenter for innovation in aerospace. From the well-known aerospace and defense corporations like Boeing to the newly emerging space transport companies of SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, many important innovations are taking place right here in L.A. County as we migrate our national space program from the public to the private sector. Join us as we hear from these leaders on how they are transforming the aerospace and space travel industries and launching them to new heights.

"Full exploitation of a technology can take far longer than that. Innovation and technology, though talked of almost interchangeably, are not the same thing. Innovation is what people newly know how to do. Technology is what they are actually doing; and that is what matters to the economy. Steel boxes and diesel engines have been around since the 1900s, and their use together in containerised shipping goes back to the 1950s. But their great impact as the backbone of global trade did not come for decades after that."

The Hamilton Project seeks to advance America's promise of opportunity, prosperity, and growth. The Project's economic strategy reflects a judgment that long-term prosperity is best achieved by fostering economic growth and broad participation in that growth, by enhancing individual economic security, and by embracing a role for effective government in making needed public investments. We believe that today's increasingly competitive global economy requires public policy ideas commensurate with the challenges of the 21st Century. Our strategy calls for combining increased public investments in key growth-enhancing areas, a secure social safety net, and fiscal discipline. In that framework, the Project puts forward innovative proposals from leading economic thinkers-based on credible evidence and experience, not ideology or doctrine to introduce new and effective policy options into the national debate.

The Small Towns, Big Ideas project began in mid-2006, when the UNC School of Government partnered with the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center to identify and document fifty small towns that were implementing successful or innovative approaches to community economic development.

Eleven diverse regions across California have come together to launch the California Stewardship Network, developing innovative regional solutions to the state's most pressing economic, environmental, and community challenges. These solutions require "breakthrough innovation" driven by a "new generation" of civic entrepreneurs-diverse regional teams composed of both established and emerging leaders.

Founded in 1991, Living Cities harnesses the collective power of twenty two of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions to build a new type of urban practice. Together, we are working with cross-sector leaders in cities to develop and scale new approaches to dramatically improve the economic well-being of low-income people. Our investments, research, networks and convenings catalyze fresh thinking and combine support for innovative, comprehensive, local approaches with real-time sharing of knowledge to accelerate and deepen adoption in more places.

Californians know how to innovate, how to be entrepreneurial, and how to use technology to create well-paying jobs. The state's diverse regional economies reflect the nation and world. And our values - including our commitment to sustainability and social inclusion - inspire us to lead and position us to chart a course for parts of the nation paralyzed by economic stagnation and the ensuing political backbiting.

The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation is focused on developing policies and programs to accelerate economic recovery and create stronger communities. We do this by harnessing human capital and facilitating financial capital.

The way we work is changing forever. A host of technologies-from automation to digital platforms for coordination of tasks-are reinventing not just what people do to earn a living but at a much deeper level how we organize to create value. The landscape of labor economics is in upheaval. Solutions won't come from any one agency, discipline, or company. It will take collaboration, broad public engagement, smart policy, and an openness to reinventing old economic models. The IFTF Workable Futures Initiative is a call-to-action for policymakers, platform developers, corporate strategists, activists, and of course other workers of all kinds, to join us in blueprinting these positive platforms for the future of work. The time is now to grapple with the challenges ahead, develop sustainable solutions, and create a future of work that is workable for everyone.

The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) provides essential legal tools -- education, research, advice, and advocacy -- to support a transition to localized, resilient economies. Our work focuses on practices that promote justice and sharing, including barter, local currencies, cooperatives, community enterprises, local investing, cohousing, urban agriculture, and other innovative economic stra...See More