Economic Development Districts of Idaho (EDDI) – EDDI Disaster Recovery Initiative

Challenge

The sharp downturn in economic activity precipitated by the global COVID-19 pandemic brought the need for recovery and resiliency planning into sharp relief for communities, regions, and states in 2020. Faced with the immediate need of helping member communities deal with recovery planning from the current economic upheaval, and the prospect of dealing with economic downturns, climate change, and other disruptions going forward, the Economic Development Districts of Idaho (EDDI), sought and were awarded a grant under the federal CARES Act.

Response

Under the grant, the EDDIs engaged TIP Strategies to assist in the preparation of the EDDI Disaster Recovery Initiative, which encompassed the five planning regions for which an economic development district had been designated. As part of the work, TIP prepared several deliverables, including a Foundation and Framework document. Developed in response to feedback from the EDDIs as well as an analysis of existing background plans, reports, surveys, and best practices from around the nation, this document provided a foundation for the future development of district-specific economic recovery and resiliency plans. The Foundation and Framework includes an economic recovery and resiliency plan outline, guidance on primary data sources, a resiliency framework, and a scan of the statewide economic development network. As part of the project TIP also facilitated train-the-trainer sessions (designed to build capacity on topics including working with data, communication and engagement strategies, and how to use the plan template) and provided a template for the member districts to use in preparing their own recovery and resiliency plans.