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Empire State Development announces schedule for REDC's presentations to strategic implementation assessment team

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Fri, Oct 28th 2016 05:40 pm

All 10 regions will present their 2016 proposals and provide progress updates to NYS Review team next week in Albany

Presentations will be streamed live online at www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov

By Empire State Development

Empire State Development on Friday announced the schedule for this year's Regional Economic Development Council presentations to the strategic implementation assessment team, which is led by Secretary of State Rossana Rosado. As in years past, the SIAT will be composed of state officials and outside economic development experts, each of whom have years of experience working on community and economic development projects and planning.

ESD President, CEO and Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, "The REDC initiative has transformed New York's economic development process for the better, spurring investment and creating jobs by relying on those who are on the front lines and know their region best. The work of the SIAT is an essential piece of this process, and their recommendations are always comprehensive and very thoughtful. Gov. Cuomo's vision for a holistic, bottom-up process has, undeniably, been a great success - leading to billions of dollars in public and private investment, and tens of thousands of jobs being created and retained throughout New York state."

On Tuesday, Nov. 1, and Wednesday, Nov. 2, the 10 REDCs will present their round VI proposals to the SIAT in Meeting Room 6 in the Empire State Plaza Concourse, in Albany. Representatives from each region will have up to 30 minutes to provide an in-person presentation to the SIAT, including updates on their strategic plan goals, progress achieved on priorities and projects funded in previous rounds, and outlines of their round VI strategies. The presentations will be followed by up to 30 minutes of questions from the review team.

Rosado said, "The SIAT is ready to begin working to evaluate each region's progress. These comprehensive presentations provide us with valuable recommendations to maximize investment in vital economic development projects, leveraging state, local and private resources to create jobs and encourage economic growth throughout New York state."

Locally, the schedule for REDC presentations is 1-2 p.m. on Wednesday.

The REDC process has transformed New York state's approach to economic development, streamlining the application process and creating a statewide framework for regional economic growth. After five rounds of the REDC competition, nearly $4 billion has been awarded to support more than 4,100 projects that are supporting the creation or retention of more than 200,000 jobs statewide.

By incentivizing the implementation of strategic plans, the Regional Councils, businesses, educational institutions, local governments, not-for-profit groups and other stakeholders are further motivated to work together to accomplish the regional vision they developed collaboratively. The REDC competition emphasizes performance and action to implement strategies, and encourages genuine cooperation among the Regional Councils and representatives of the community, which is critical to achieving successful economic development. 

Since 2011, Western New York REDC has delivered $356.4 million for 429 projects.

Round VI of the REDC initiative will award up to $750 million in state agency resources to economic and community development projects, with all 10 REDCs competing for the designation of being a "Top Performer." Five Top Performers will be selected and will receive up to $25 million in ESD capital grant funding, with the remaining five regions receiving up to $10 million. Additionally, each region will be eligible for up to $15 million in Excelsior tax credits to help attract and grow businesses in the region.

Priorities for the REDCs in 2016 include:

  • Support the downtown revitalization initiative plan, and begin to identify priority projects in the defined community;
  • Implementing strategies through the project pipeline;
  • Training the workforce for today and tomorrow; and
  • Measuring the performance and progress of the strategic plan and CFA projects.

 

The 2016 Regional Council awards will be announced later this year.

For more information on the Regional Councils, visitwww.regionalcouncils.ny.gov.

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