OEDI Announces Virtual 2021 Basic and Core Course Offerings

The Ohio Economic Development Institute (OEDI) has announced the 2021 schedule of economic development basic and core courses.  In addition to the Ohio Basic Economic Development Course, OEDI has scheduled the five Core Courses, which cover the basic skills for economic development professionals, including Real Estate Development, Finance and Incentives, Business Retention and Expansion and Site Development and Attraction, and Workforce and Talent. All courses in 2021 will be conducted online.

In recognition of the challenges offered by the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, OEDI will be reducing the fees for all the 2021 courses. Registration will open in January 2021.

In addition to the Core Courses, OEDI will once again be conducting the Ohio Basic Economic Development Course, which covers a broad range of topics for those who are new to the profession or who want to get a quick Update. The 2021 Ohio Basic Economic Development Course will take place online April 6 through April 29.

OEDI also conducts elective courses which cover a wide range of economic and community development topics. The schedule for 2021 Elective Courses will be released soon.

Following is the schedule of Core Courses for 2021, along with course descriptions.

Ohio Basic Economic Development Course                          April 6 – April 29, 2021                        On-Line

The Ohio Basic Economic Development Course (OHIO BEDC) is an intensive training experience for economic development practitioners, community leaders, local government officials and others committed to building healthy economies for their communities. The Basic Course is the can’t miss education opportunity for those who are new to the profession, have new economic development responsibilities, or will be an economic development decision maker as an elected or appointed official.

2021 Core Course Schedule

Real Estate Development and Financing                              March 18 – 19, 2021                           On-Line

This course will provide students with the basic steps of real estate development and an understanding of how a deal progresses from concept, to market analysis, financing through to completion. This understanding will help the ED professional recognize the challenges (and often barriers) to advancing a new development in their community.

Site Selection / Site Development                                        May 27 – 28, 2021                              On-Line

The course will provide students a hands-on understanding of site development and the site selection game. The Site Development part of the course will focus on the process of how to make sure that that the community has sites that are competitive, including working with engineers, utilities, engineers, land planners, and creating a site that is competitive. The Site Selection section will be a thorough walk thru of the competitive site selection and attraction process.

Economic Development Finance and Incentives                  June 24 – 25, 2021                             On-Line

This course will provide students with a strong understanding of the finance and incentive programs that are utilized by economic development practitioners in Ohio, including both public and private sector financing sources, how the programs are utilized in practice, along with incentives such as property and income tax credits and abatements, grants at the state and federal levels.

Workforce and Talent Acquisition                                        July 22 – 23, 2021                               On-Line

The Workforce and Talent Course provides students with techniques to meet the job needs of both new and existing businesses. The course covers the changing demographic and economic dynamics of the workforce, best practices in Ohio and around the nation, JobsOhio workforce and talent programs, effectiveness partnerships, the importance of data, and how local communities can leverage their resources into effective workforce programs.

Business Retention and Expansion                                       August 26 – 27, 2021                          On-Line

This course will focus on both the program and practice of working with existing companies in Ohio, assisting them with financing and incentives, and working with the JobsOhio Retention and Expansion program. The course will also cover establishing and managing an effective Retention and Expansion in a community, aligning with Jobs Ohio, collaboration with nearby communities.

Background: The Ohio Economic Development Institute (OEDI) is a unique professional development program designed to meet the specific needs of Ohio’s intermediate and advanced economic development professionals.  Developed in partnership with JobsOhio and Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, OEDI offers high quality, state-specific continuing education opportunities.

The Ohio centric curriculum prepares professionals and the organizations they serve to be successful and win in the highly competitive state and global economic environment. The Core Courses are also required for achieving the Ohio Certified Economic Developer (Ohio CED) credential. In 2021, all courses will be conducted virtually. Core Courses generally also carry some APA and CLE credit.