North Central Washington Economic Development District is One of Six Selected for Technical Assistance

New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN) has selected North Central Washington Economic Development District (NCWEDD), among 5 other organizations across the country to receive technical assistance. The NGIN is a grant initiative by the federal Economic Development Administration to focus on inclusive economic development.

"The technical assistance is going to be broken down into two different areas," said Alyce Brown, executive director. "The first one is analytical and will be looking at the economic impact of the coronavirus."

This part of the process will also study how to post-COVID economic growth activities that can be provided across the region with inclusivity in mind. The second portion of the assistance will help aid NCWEDD build internal capacities to implement recommendations and build up partnerships for wider inclusion.

"There was a lot of interest. It was highly competitive," said Brown. "When you look at North Central Washington, it isn't just the coronavirus that impacted our area, it was the wildfires as well. It was really telling that it wasn't an option for us to talk about inclusivity, it was something that was going to have to continue moving forward in order to keep residents here to build resilient communities."

Other organizations chosen for the opportunity were from Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri and Georgia. Over 260 organizations throughout Washington state applied for the grant.