In July of 2020, the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC) to assist with regional economic recovery and resilience-building efforts. The NEGRC recently finalized and adopted the Economic Recovery + Resilience (ER+R) Plan for Northeast Georgia to help guide those efforts. The ER+R Plan was developed through data analysis, surveys, and discussions with local public, private, and non-profit entities involved in economic development and key issue areas, including broadband, housing, and workforce. In total, outreach efforts amassed input from over 350 representatives, from every county in the region, multiple municipalities, regional and state officials, as well as from private and non-profit representatives.
The ER+R Plan includes an assessment of the economic impacts of and vulnerabilities accentuated by the coronavirus pandemic. It then introduces an Action Plan to boost economic recovery and, perhaps most importantly, build economic resilience in the face of future disasters. The ER+R Action Plan identifies five action items and details specific strategies, tasks, and measures local entities should take on in order to work to advance the goals outlined for each. The action items are as follows:
- Improve and expand Broadband Access in the region
- Encourage and provide Quality, Market-Reflective Housing
- Public, private, and non-profit Partnerships to Foster a Skilled & Dedicated Workforce
- Promotion and cultivation of Authentic Communities
- Maintain Competitiveness at state, national, and global levels
If you are a local government representative looking to act upon the above detailed action items or are interested in a presentation on the ER+R Plan, please reach out to Noah Roenitz, NEGRC Economic Resilience Coordinator, at nroenitz@negrc.org,
The full Economic Recovery + Resilience Plan is available under the Documents & Resources section of our website.
