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Economic Development Programs
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Mission
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The Office of Economic Development (OED), under the auspices of the
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, is guided
by the basic principle that government can help to create an environment
that encourages innovation, rewards risk-taking and promotes equal
opportunity. OED recognizes the extraordinarily diverse range of economic
and community development needs among the nation's individual communities,
which may range from job retention and creation priorities, to new
investments in public facilities and infrastructure and the development
of affordable housing.
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Partnership
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The Office is committed to building new public-private sector partnerships
to address pressing economic development needs, by fostering increased
collaboration between the private development sector, local and state
governments and national and community-based not-for-profit organizations.
OED works with the public and private sectors, as well as not-for-profit
organizations, to provide financial and technical assistance to local
communities to develop and implement their own economic development
and community revitalization strategies. In an effort to lend greater
weight to local economic development priorities, the Office has adopted
a streamlined process for the approval of requests for assistance,
moving significant decision-making authority closer to communities
in need, through our Community Planning and Development field offices.
OED works to continually expand its outreach to communities and
clients that may be unfamiliar with the financial and technical
assistance that is available to help local communities realize their
vision and goals for the new economy. In every region of the United
States, an Economic Development Specialist works closely with state
and local governments and the private and not-for-profit sectors,
providing hands-on assistance and guidance in helping to make local
economic development plans a reality.
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Public Trust
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Equally important to the OED mission is ensuring the proper and prudent
investment of HUD's economic development resources to guard against
waste, fraud and abuse. In exercising its public trust responsibilities,
the Office is dedicated to a fully transparent and competitive process
in the award of economic development funds. OED also closely monitors
economic development projects receiving assistance and provides on-going
technical assistance to recipients to ensure the integrity and success
of the investment of federal economic development funds.
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Sustainable Communities
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OED seeks to encourage and support comprehensive approaches to community
and economic development that emphasize local initiatives, private
sector opportunities and self-sufficiency. The Office's core economic
development programs are designed to serve as a catalyst in spurring
new private sector investment and job creation in communities struggling
to secure the benefits of the new economy. OED programs support sustainable
economic development strategies that leverage investments from other
public and private sources in order to ensure the long-term viability
of local economic development efforts. The Office of Economic Development
views economic development as a means to an end, working to achieve
demonstrable results through the strategic investment of federal economic
development resources and helping to increase private enterprise and
individual opportunity in every community. |