10/01/2009
12 Communities Selected For Louisiana Development Ready Communities Pilot Program
Program offers customized support for
economic growth and competitiveness
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana Economic Development recently
selected 12 communities to complete an intensive six-month pilot
program that will help prepare each community to effectively
compete with out-of-state communities for good jobs, business
development projects and capital investment.
"This program represents the next step in our efforts to enhance
the competitiveness of our local communities," said LED Secretary
Stephen Moret. "By equipping these 12 communities with the
resources they need to compete at the local and national level, we
are helping them become better places in which to live, work and do
business."
The 12 communities selected include Arcadia, Northwest Region;
Crowley, Acadiana Region; DeRidder, Southwest Region; Houma, Bayou
Region; Jena, Central Region; Mansfield with Grand Cane, Logansport
and Stonewall, Northwest Region; New Iberia, Acadiana Region;
Pineville, Central Region; Slidell, Southeast Region; Vivian,
Northwest Region; West Monroe, Northeast Region; and Zachary,
Capital Region.
During the first week of October, each community will be
introduced to its resource team of experienced community and
economic development professionals, receive resources and
preliminary training, as well as begin the community assessment
phase of the program.
"The state has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing economic
development at the local level," said Tom Ed McHugh, executive
director of Louisiana Municipal Association. "Our partners at LED
have aggressively promoted community development and invested
heavily in a system that will help Louisiana's communities become
more competitive."
Twenty-five communities applied for the pilot program. Each
community's application was scored on the following criteria:
completeness of application, a resolution by the governing body to
support the program, a description of the community's previous and
current community and economic development experience, letters of
support from local and state leaders and overall commitment to the
aggressive pilot program schedule.
The communities were then reviewed through a competitive process
led by the Louisiana Development Ready Communities selection
committee, which includes representatives from utility companies,
Louisiana Association of Planning Districts, Institute for Economic
Development and Real Estate Research at the University of New
Orleans, and LED.
In August, LED launched the Louisiana Development Ready
Communities program, as an extension of its Web-based resource,
LouisianaCommunityNetwork.com. The program includes a four-part
process on community assessment, strategic planning, leadership
development and marketing development.
For more details, contact Skip Smart at 225.342.4321 or smart@la.gov, or visit LouisianaCommunityNetwork.com.
