Members of the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) are transforming their campuses into engines of economic prosperity. Colleges and universities:
- Develop talent with the 21st-century skills needed to support high-growth businesses
- Support networks of entrepreneurs, high-growth businesses, and regional innovation clusters
- Develop quality, connected campuses that become entrepreneurial hotspots and magnets for new people and businesses
- Support the sophisticated strategies and collaborative leadership needed to link, leverage and align the many assets within a regional economy
- Provide leading edge research and analytic tools to enable civic leaders to understand their economy and make decisions quickly to promote collaborative investments
UEDA advances best practice sharing through its Award of Excellence program (View the 2011 Awards of Excellence winners). The UEDA Awards recognizes leading edge initiatives and encouraging their adoption among UEDA members. Categories of Economic Development Excellence are:
Talent Development
This category recognizes initiatives that promote the development of 21st-century skills. The category emphasizes the importance of educational attainment and workforce development to economic prosperity.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
This category focuses on initiatives designed to support startups, high-growth companies and clusters within a region.
Community-Connected Campus
This category focuses on the physical development of quality, connected campuses and their surrounding communities. College and university campuses can play a vital role in stimulating regional economic development.
Collaboration and Leadership
This category recognizes innovative efforts by colleges and universities to support the development of collaborative economic development strategies and the leaders required to implement them.
Research and Analysis
This category focuses on the capacity of colleges and universities to provide new forms of research and to design the next generation of analytic tools for community, economic and workforce development practitioners.
Applications for 2012 award nominations will be released and accepted beginning in March.
