Help Develop the Strategies That Will Shape Southern Vermont’s Economic Future: CEDS Public Input Sessions Announced
Southern VT: Community volunteers, municipal leaders, business owners, and others are invited to attend a series of sessions to review and discuss the proposed 2024-2029 Southern Vermont Zone Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that will take place around the region on September 25 and 26. Attendees will be asked for their feedback on the proposed objectives and strategies that will help shape the next 5 years of our region’s economic strategy.
Meetings take place on Wednesday September 25 at noon at the Manchester Town Office and at 6 pm in Bennington (Fire Station Multipurpose room). On Thursday, September 26, meetings will take place in Wilmington at 8 am (Town Hall); in Brattleboro at noon (Brooks Memorial Library); and in Bellows Falls at 6 pm (Opera House Lower Theater). There is also an option to join a virtual meeting at 6 pm on Monday September 30th. Learn more at SoVermontZone.Com.
The CEDS is a federally recognized, regionally led 5-year plan that is designed to build our region’s economic resilience and prosperity. Implementation of the plan is undertaken by multiple public, private and non-profit entities across Southern Vermont. The implementation of objectives and projects from the 2019 SoVermont Zone CEDS and the 2014 Windham Region S.M.A.R.T. CEDS have received national and international recognition for programs like the Southern Vermont Economy Project, BDCC’s Welcoming Workplaces, and the Pipelines and Pathways Program. Input from a wide spectrum of local residents is critical to developing and shaping this important strategic plan, and the vision of the SoVermont Economic Development Zone: “In 2030, the Zone will be home to a resilient, creative, and inclusive community in which businesses and people thrive and prosper.”
The initial objectives and strategies within the CEDS are developed by examining existing CEDS strategies and relevant demographic and economic data; researching trends and projections; interviewing a wide range of stakeholders, including employers and community leaders; and meeting with the SoVermont CEDS Committee. This work is done in conjunction with the Windham and Bennington County regional development and planning organizations and is being led by Camoin Associates of Saratoga, NY.
In the regional meetings on September 25th and 26th, these partners will review progress made on strategies and objectives from the prior 2019-2024 CEDS, and share the 2024-2029 draft with proposed goals, strategies and objectives to guide our regional community and economic development efforts for the next 5 years.
To learn more about the CEDS, review the proposed draft, and to RSVP to attend one of these meetings and get the full event information, please visit https://www.sovermontzone.com/ceds or contact Laura Sibilia: lsibilia@brattleborodevelopment.com or (802)257-7731 ext. 217
About the Southern Vermont Economic Zone
The Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone was created by act of the Vermont Assembly during the 2015 legislative session as a result of continued population and tax receipt decline. It comprises the geographic areas served by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation and the Bennington County Regional Commission. Work has been ongoing since 2015 with a Zone Committee report chaired by Wayne Granquist of Weston, the annual Southern Vermont Economy Summit held each May, and the USDA-funded Southern Vermont Economy Project sponsoring training sessions across Windham and Bennington counties for economic and workforce development entities. In 2019 the first SoVermont CEDS was completed and approved by the EDA. A proposal for federal designation of the zone as an EDA Economic Development District is underway.
About the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)
A CEDS is a federally prescribed process for creating a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. A CEDS brings together public and private sectors to analyze the regional economy, establish regional goals and objectives, and to identify investment priorities and funding resources. In addition, many federal and state granting programs look to a region’s CEDS when considering funding. The Windham Region’s federally approved CEDS was completed in 2014 by SeVEDS and is being implemented by the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC) and other regional partners. The 2019 5-year update also includes Bennington County and all of the towns in the Southern Vermont Economic Development Zone. For more information or to review ongoing CEDS project submissions please visit: https://www.sovermontzone.com/ceds
