International Economic Development Council (IEDC) – Board Retreat Facilitation (Virtual)

Challenge

With more than 5,000 members, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is the largest membership organization of its kind. IEDC represents economic development professionals across a range of communities, organizational settings, and practice areas as they work to promote economic well-being and quality of life. Faced with the impending departure of its longstanding CEO, the organization sought to understand the implications of that transition, explore how current economic and social trends may influence the organization’s future, and create a framework for moving forward while maintaining IEDC’s leadership role in the profession.

Response

To assist in this process, IEDC engaged TIP Strategies to facilitate its 2020 Strategic Planning Virtual Board Retreat. The planning process was kicked off July 2020 and was followed with breakout sessions and a wrap-up event in August 2020. In its background research and the facilitations, TIP’s work focused on the response of IEDC and local economic development organizations in addressing current events, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated recession, as well as IEDC’s role in responding to broad trends. Examples of the latter included discussions and actions related to social justice issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement; the relationship between equity and economic development; and the implications of accelerating trends in retail, remote work, and demographic shifts. Using the firm’s national trends research and input from the retreat, TIP developed recommendations around five focus areas: providing leadership development, fostering talent, supporting economic opportunity, driving economic transformation, and promoting IEDC.