Click here to read the 2009 Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.
One Coast, One Future seeks to spark new and renewed growth through cooperative, location-appropriate efforts. The goal is to stimulate economic growth, job creation and individual economic opportunity by linking the lower Fairfield County region's business centers in a new and stronger alliance for their mutual benefit.
Fourteen towns are included in One Coast, One Future (One Coast Region): Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan Norwalk, Stamford, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton
The One Coast Consortium has developed a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) to identify regional projects and goals to submit to the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve for eligibility of possible funding for identified projects. EDA describes a CEDS as follows:
A comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen regional economies. The CEDS should analyze the regional economy and serve as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action, and identifying investment priorities and funding sources. A CEDS integrates a region's human and physical capital planning in the service of economic
development. Integrated economic development planning provides the flexibility to adapt to global economic conditions and fully utilize the region's unique advantages to maximize economic opportunity for its residents by attracting the private investment that creates jobs for the region's residents. A CEDS must be the result of a continuing economic development planning process developed with broad-based and diverse public and private sector participation, and must set forth the goals and objectives necessary
to solve the economic development problems of the region and clearly define the metrics of success.
The Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, has completed a review of the South Western/Greater Bridgeport 2009 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Report and has approved the document. The CEDS report was reviewed and approved in accordance with the requirements described under the EDA guidelines for CEDS. The approval of the 2009 CEDS document does not constitute the approval of any project mentioned in it. However, the continuance of an acceptable and
effective planning process that is approved by EDA staff each year is required to maintain eligibility for funding as outlined in EDA's regulations. Therefore, it is important to continue to define, document, maintain and improved upon your planning process on an annual basis as a requirement for EDA funding. Furthermore, we are required to submit an annual CEDS update due January 30th each year in order to maintain eligibility for EDA financial assistance.