Why does nobody know how EDCs work?
When I first announced that we were producing for cities and economic developers, 5 people called me asking what an EDC was.
I knew people didn’t understand government, and much less municipal government. But over this last year, I’ve been amazed.
For the EDCs and cities whose social media we manage, we regularly get comments like: “Fix the potholes”, or “we want a new pool”. My personal favorite: “what even is a city manager?”
There is an epidemic failure in our cities to understand the functions of economic development for a bunch of reasons.
First, Ideal growth in Luling, TX looks very different than it does in Cedar Park, or Taylor, or Marble Falls. As a result, it can be really hard to identify what success looks like. Second, every city has it’s own quirks. You can never tell where the responsibilities of, say, the chamber of commerce ends, and another group begins.
Here’s what I think matters: When we’re making content for EDCs and cities, I have three key things I want to convey:
Resource availability - What resources are available to business owners big and small, and how they can access them.
What’s happening in the community - events, news, and accessible information about the future.
Engagement opportunities - how can they play their part in the growth and progression of their community.
I’ll leave you with this last anecdote: I had a property owner tell me that they applied for a grant because they listened to one of our podcasts - and that made my day.
To my friends in municipal government and Economic Development: Many of you work really hard, and provide incredible services. My dream is that one day, your efforts will be common knowledge.
If you want to learn more about how DSE Media helps, check us out HERE.
