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BDI News from NCEDA Fall Conference

For Immediate Release

BDI News from the NCEDA Fall Conference

BURKE COUNTY, N.C. (October 22, 2015) – Burke Development staff this week participated in the 2015 North Carolina Economic Development Association Fall Conference in Asheville. Attended by professionals from across the state, the conference featured various presentations and updates from statewide and regional economic development organizations. Wednesday morning’s session began with a legislative update. North Carolina’s JDIG (Job Development Investment Grant) incentive was recently re-funded by the legislature for $20 million through 2019. The JDIG is a key tool for developers across the state as the primary incentive fund used to compete for recruitment of projects and industry. Information and advice was also shared for how to better foster grassroots participation from your community and elected officials to support economic development legislation. Susan Fleetwood, Chief Economic Development Liaison for the NC Department of Commerce, presented an update on the NC Jobs Plan, which was developed over a six-month period and outlines 86 action items related to growing the NC economy. These include initiatives to support innovation and entrepreneurship, including the refunding of the NC One Small Business Program, attraction of foreign direct investment, creating a competitive business climate, talent and retiree attraction, and education and workforce development. A panel of members from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) International Team shared information on what is being done to attract foreign direct investment to the state. These Investment Directors represent NC in target markets across the globe including China, Japan, Europe, Canada and Korea. They discussed impressions that companies in these countries have about North Carolina, as well as which countries are emerging markets for U.S. foreign direct investment. The conference concluded with updates from NC’s regional economic development partnerships. Discussion centered on how the partnerships have changed since the legislature’s decision to de-fund the organizations and transfer to a public/private partnership. While Burke County is currently not represented by a regional partnership, Burke Development is exploring alternatives to ensure the County is represented in a regional or sub-regional group.   About Burke Development, Inc. Burke Development, Inc. (BDI) is a nonprofit organization supported by private and public funding that is charged with accelerating economic growth in Burke County. BDI works with industry leaders, site selection consultants, government agencies and other entities to facilitate expansion strategies for existing businesses and recruit target industries to Burke County. For more information about BDI visit www.BurkeDevInc.com.

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Contact: Alan Wood 828.764.1818


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