Every 5 years as required by the Economic Development Administration, Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development board creates a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.  This strategy, also known as a CEDS, is similar to a municipal comprehensive plan in several important ways. The CEDS is a process requiring public participation and the integration of community feedback through a variety of means: reviewing existing publicly approved plans & strategies,  public outreach sessions, and accepting comments and revisions during comment period.  Like a comprehensive plan for a municipality, the CEDS will describe existing terrain, land-use, and infrastructure conditions as it relates to current and future economic conditions in the area.  The CEDS will outline migration trends, education & employment levels, as well as population density information as it relates to the workforce (a key economic driver).  The CEDS will describe patterns in the regional economy and industry mix, as well as anticipated impacts of anticipated trends (local, state, national and global). 

The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy is intended as a guide for appropriate investments in the region’s economy and workforce.  The guidelines in a CEDS are based on data gathered through the  ‘planning’ processes outlined above within the context of other approved federal and state plans from important federal agencies, like: FEMA, HUD, USDA, _____, ____, ____, NYS ESD and more. 

The fundamental question answered by a CEDS is “given the current conditions in our area, goals of the region’s residents, and given the strategic limits set by federal agencies, then, what potential actions ae possible and which actions should be promoted to improve economic conditions in the region for the betterment of all?” 

STC’s Staff will review and incorporate the guidelines from the following plans and strategies into the 2025-2030 CEDS drafts: _______________________________; if you think we have left out a notable resource- please send an email to Vehlen@stcplanning.org with a link to the document you’d like to share, or comment on STC’s CEDS Facebook post with your thoughts.   

STC’s Staff will review the data from many sources to compile the necessary background information about the region’s economy.