The Camoin Associates team showed up in full force at the International Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) annual conference in Denver in September 2024.
It was a special event for Camoin Associates as it marked the firm’s 25th anniversary. In addition to celebrating with clients and colleagues, the team spent time meeting economic developers from all over the globe and sharing experiences and insights, presenting at and attending sessions, and learning about new products and services in the economic development industry.
Here are takeaways from the Camoin Associates team.
Rachel Selsky, AICP, CEO
Economic Development Plays Diverse Roles In Supporting Economic Opportunity
I had the honor of presenting at this year’s conference on the topic of wrap-around services as an economic development strategy. The session was organized by two powerhouse economic developers who happen to be friends and clients of ours: Heather McDaniel from Tompkins County, NY, and Jolene Schalper from Great Falls, MT. I was thrilled to see the significant interest the session generated, with over 50 attendees.
During our discussion, we conducted a poll to understand how economic development organizations (EDOs) are currently engaging with wrap-around services. The results revealed a diverse landscape, with EDOs playing various roles, from taking the lead to partnering and supporting these initiatives. As with most aspects of economic development, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, but it’s encouraging to see so many organizations actively involved in delivering these services in some capacity.
When we delved into specific needs, participants identified several key areas where wrap-around services were most crucial in their regions. Access to childcare emerged as a top priority, closely followed by housing, workforce training, and transportation services.
The session reinforced my belief in holistic economic development and underscored the critical role of addressing these foundational needs when creating sustainable economic growth in our communities.
Christa O. Franzi, CEcD, Vice President and Director of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Comes to the Forefront
Entrepreneurship-led economic development, the concept of building a community around entrepreneurship and small business creation, has officially (finally) moved into the consciousness of mainstream economic development.
From Victor W. Hwang’s keynote supported by the full Right to Start team, to incredible sessions on best practices and emerging trends in the field, it was clear to me that entrepreneurship is no longer seen as a niche or secondary approach to economic development. It is increasingly respected as a powerful and necessary tool for creating resilient, dynamic economies.
I walked away energized, and ready to put what I learned into action.
Dillion Roberts, Director of ProspectEngage™
Technology Investment on Display
One of the main takeaways I had from IEDC this year was that the economic development profession and the overall economic development environment are more dependent on technology than ever before. The success of economic developers and how that success is defined is becoming increasingly reliant on technology.
As someone who sells a technology platform to EDOs (ProspectEngage™), I was impressed by the large amount of investment in software technology happening with EDOs.
At this year’s conference, many different software providers exhibited their platforms, sponsored the event, and conducted sessions and workshops. The technology represented included AI, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, website tracking tools, podcasts, site selection, data visualization, economic impact analysis, incentives, FDI data, and many others.
AI seems to be the trendy and hottest topic, especially how we can continue to integrate AI into strategies and our day-to-day work as economic development practitioners and how data from these tools can be used to help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders.
There were multiple presentations on how technology is being used in creative, never-before-seen ways within our industry, which was extremely exciting to see. It will be interesting to see where these trends take us in the future, and it will be something I keep my eye on.
Jim Damicis, Senior Vice President
Strength Through Diversity
I have been attending IEDC conferences for the past 15 years and have always come away with many insights on the current and emerging state of economic development. In the past five years, many of my takeaways have been based on the growth and integration of technology into the profession, including the growth of CRM systems, platforms, and AI. Technology growth and integration continued to be evident at the 2024 conference in Denver.
However, this year, what really struck me was how diverse the economic development profession has become from multiple perspectives.
First was in the many different ways people at the conference came to work in the economic development profession, which is a question I always try to ask folks I meet at the conferences.
While a relatively traditional path to an economic development career is via business and economics degrees or direct experience, I met people who followed both degree and non-degree paths, who were just getting their start in entry-level positions, who had long work histories in other industries, and who had backgrounds in completely different programs including liberal arts, environmental sciences, technology, humanities, and more. Additionally, and consistent with Christa Franzi’s observations above, others indicated they came to economic development as entrepreneurs or small business owners.
Second was the diversity of geography of those in attendance, including a mix of rural and urban as well as US-based vs. globally based.
Third, was the diversity of the people. This includes what seemed to be a majority of participants being women, persons of color, a variety of ethnicities, LBGTQ+, and persons with disabilities. This was reflected in the people I engaged with and was the focus of specific meetups and sessions that occurred throughout the conference.
All of this was refreshing and encouraging. Economic development is about creating economic opportunities for community and individual wealth creation through business and job growth. In order to be equal, it must be based on strategies and actions designed by people with all kinds of backgrounds and perspectives. This is reflected by IEDC participation and the work being done in communities and regions across the globe. I look forward to these trends continuing.
The Camoin Associates team looks forward to attending IEDC’s 2025 annual conference in the great City of Detroit!
