Blog

In brief, Chmura’s findings describe the immediate impacts of the pandemic as sharp and temporary.Based on this projection, Dr. Chris Chmura explains what recovery will look like across different regions, industries, and occupations. Overall, the month of June has shown early signs of national economic recovery but the impacts felt during March and April were so significant that positive gains are still considered marginal.

On June 1 2020, IEDC hosted a webinar entitled “Maximizing Return On Your Community's Higher Ed Presence” where experts discussed the role Higher Education Institutions (HEI) occupy as communities strengthen their quality of life scorecards, build talent, diversify their economic base and plan post-COVID19 recovery. These institutions are community anchors capable of offering a range of ways to support talent, innovation and place objectives of economic development, so universities and economic developers discussed how to strengthen partnerships and possibilities that result in better business attraction and retention, entrepreneurship, and quality of life.

The economic crisis that has ensued from the pandemic shutting down parts of the economy is having unprecedented consequences for employment. 

On Friday, May 29, IEDC hosted a webinar entitled “Applying for EDA Funding Made Possible Through the CARES ACT”. During the session, Joy Wilkins, CEcD and Principal at Serving Communities, explained the ins and outs of applying for funding and developing a successful application. Paul Raetsch, former Director of the EDA Philadelphia Regional Office, moderated and led the discussion during a Q+A with Wilkins and IEDC VP of Knowledge Management and Development, Frankie Clogston, PhD.