Ohio Certified Economic Developer Requirements

Please note – These requirements are being updated for 2025. More to come. 

Ohio Certified Economic Developer (OhioCED) Requirements

The Ohio Certified Economic Developer (OhioCED) credential demonstrates the depth and breadth of an individual’s knowledge and their ability to apply that knowledge to the benefit of their community or organization. It is a voluntary certification for practitioners who choose to demonstrate their advanced knowledge and training.  In addition, the OhioCED designation represents the economic development practitioner’s commitment to advancing the Ohio economy and elevating the economic development profession. In other words, achieving the OhioCED designation certifies that the economic development professional in Ohio is “best in class.” Click here for a list of current Ohio CEDs.

OhioCED Process

To become a candidate for certification, an economic development professional must be a member of OEDA and have successfully completed the Ohio Basic Economic Development Course or have three years of full-time economic development experience.

To achieve certification, a candidate must successfully do all of the following in a three-year period:

• Complete the Ohio Basic Economic Development Course
• Complete all five of the Ohio Economic Development Institute Core Courses;
  1. OEDI – Business Retention and Expansion
  2. OEDI – Economic Development Finance and Incentives
  3. OEDI – Real Estate Development and Financing
  4. OEDI – Site Selection / Site Development
  5. OEDI – Workforce and Talent Acquisition
• Complete the required Core Course Elective Courses
• Complete and pass the Ohio Economic Development Institute Capstone Course

Certification Capstone Course

At the completion of all required courses and electives, certification candidates will be eligible for register for a final capstone project. The capstone project is a culminating experience that represents the application of multiple competencies into a final project specific to the community or communities in which the economic developer works.

An ideal capstone project will integrate aspects of core courses (e.g., real estate, finance and incentives, site selection and development, business retention and expansion, workforce development.) to address a community need or economic development challenge. Flexibility will be provided to participants to ensure the project best meets their community’s needs.

Suitable projects include, but are not limited to, the creation of site development improvement plan, the preparation and execution of a business retention and expansion strategy, the creation of a strategic plan, the evaluation of an economic or community development program within the developer’s community or creation of a workforce development resource guide. Capstone projects will be approved by OEDA and Ohio University and participants will work in partnership with an OEDA mentor on the project.

Please contact OEDA for the a copy of the most recent “OEDI Capstone Course Guidelines” and a timeline of Capstone Course Cohorts. For more information about obtaining certification click HERE.

Maintaining Certification

Once certified, a person must complete 16 hours of approved continuing education each year, eight of which must be from OEDA, to maintain certification.

Are the OEDI courses only for people who want to get certified?

The OEDI, with its five core courses, elective courses and capstone course are the pathway to certification for those choosing to pursue the credential. However, you do not need to be working toward certification to take the courses. Likewise, you do not need to take the full sequence of courses though they are designed as part of a comprehensive curriculum that provides economic developers what they need to know to be successful in Ohio. Do you have to become certified? The Ohio Certified Economic Developer is a voluntary certification for practitioners who choose to demonstrate their advanced knowledge and training. The Ohio CED designation also represents the economic development practitioner’s commitment to advancing the Ohio economy and elevating the economic development profession.

For more information about maintaining certification click HERE.

The OhioCED Certification program is different and separate from the IEDC CEdC certification. Credits from OEDI courses do not count for IEDC credit, although IEDC courses do count for continuing education credit for OEDI courses.