Commerce Department Creating Nation's First One-Stop Economic Development Platform with the Help of NYU Wagner-led Consortium of Experts

NYU Wagner’s Neil Kleiman is leading a consortium of experts who are working to develop recommendations for improvements in how the federal government develops and disseminates information about the various program resources it provides for economic development.

This effort, funded under a grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), will result in program information that is accessible and actionable on the part of state, regional and local applicants that are seeking to advance their own economic-development goals through access to relevant federal programs.

The consortium consists of senior researchers and program administrators from the International City/County Management Association and Jobs for the Future, in addition to Wagner.  Dr. Kleiman is assistant clinical professor of public service, and director of the school’s Innovation Labs.

“There are at least 90 federal programs relevant to economic development, and few are aligned with one another or with state and local government activity,” he explains. “This effort will address the diffuse nature of federal support by creating an easy-to-use inventory of all existing federal programs relevant to economic development.”