The strategic blueprint for the region is called a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and is required by the EDA to convey the Economic Development District’s priorities. The CWCOG is responsible for developing and updating a CEDS that identifies the public infrastructure, projects, and programs needed to support local economic development. The CEDS identifies strategies for improvements in various business and job sectors of the region and includes trends, indicators, and projects that address the region’s economic development goals. The CEDS is required to be updated every five years in conjunction with our many partners throughout the economic development district. A CEDS update will be completed annually that includes economic updates, trends, indicators, and projects that support the CEDS five-year goals, objectives, and strategies.
The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Update is an annual update to the current five-year CEDS document that addresses progress and changes made throughout the year and includes updated demographic information and performance measures for the CEDS objectives.
The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Resilience and Recovery Update is a targeted update on the Resilience and Recovery needs of Cowlitz & Wahkiakum Counties. This update works in conjunction with the current April 2021 CEDS update to the five-year CEDS document. The events of 2020 highlighted the importance of incorporating resiliency into economic development planning for governments at all levels. The current COVID-19 pandemic is just one in a series of setbacks that the region has struggled to recover from. Armed with the knowledge of how the pandemic has shaped the regional economy over the past two years, this plan is designed to guide economic development recovery efforts for Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties and build a resilient economy that can withstand future changes in economic cycles.
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy – Resiliency and Recovery Update: Small Business Resiliency Toolkit
As part of the recent CEDS Resiliency and Recovery Update, the CWCOG produced a toolkit aimed at helping small and medium-sized businesses establish practices that would build resilience into their business endeavors, as well as connect them to local resources that could assist them with their questions and strategies.
The toolkit contains space for noting thoughts and responses, as well as space for assigning a timeframe to particular tasks or outcomes. There are two versions of the toolkit available for download. One which is more suited to printing and physically writing in, and the other more suited to working on digitally. They contain the same material and will both be periodically refreshed.
- Small Business Resiliency Toolkit – Version One: Download Version Better for Printing
- Small Business Resiliency Toolkit – Version One: Download Version Better for Working Digitally
Lower Columbia Investment Network
See the LCIN Page for more details
Lower Columbia Investment Network – Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (cwcog.org)