• ABOUT ECDI
  • Staff
  • Mission and Goals
  • AU Outreach
  • Extension
  • Contact Us
• EDUCATION
  • Intensive Course
  • AL Prosperity Forum
  • AL Community Leadership Network
  • Graduate Minor
• COMMUNITY SUPPORT
  • Strategic Planning
  • Forums / Roundtables
  • Tourism and Retiree Attraction
  • Rural Alabama Initiative
• ECONOMIC DATA
  • Economic and Fiscal Impact Analysis
  • Economic Trends and Forecasts
  • Community / Regional Profiles
  • Workforce Trends and Projections
• RESOURCES
  • Issue-Specific Resources
  • Resource Directory
  • Publications
  • ECDI Blog
  • Calendar
  • News and Updates
  • Links
  • Action Newsletter
  • Information for CECs

Overview

With over 20 years of experience in economic and community development education and almost 1,000 alumni across Alabama, ECDI is the state’s leading provider of economic and community development education.

Building upon the success of its annual two-week Intensive Economic Development Training Course, ECDI introduced the Alabama Prosperity Forum (APF), a series of short courses focusing on areas in which Alabama economic and community development professionals have expressed a desire for more training.

For each Alabama Prosperity Forum course, ECDI assembles leading economic and community development practitioner-experts to share innovative ideas and best practices based upon proven success.

During each course, participants are given opportunities to ask questions and engage in constructive dialogue about the challenges, possibilities and potential of specific components of the economic development process.

Format
ECDI provides each participant with a course CD containing faculty presentations and reference materials. Participants can view presentations on a personal laptop or on the screen in front of the classroom.

Who Should Attend
Individuals from numerous professional backgrounds and various economic sectors find ECDI's training courses to be highly beneficial. Some of our most common course participants include: economic developers, Chamber of Commerce officials, state and local elected officials, community leaders, utility company representatives, and community and regional planners.

2009 APF Courses
All 2009 courses will be held at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center (Click here for directions). The registration fee for each course is $225. CLICK HERE to register for one or more APF courses.

"Going Green:" Sustainable Economic Development, June 18-19, 2009. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

Strategies for Workforce Development, December 10-11, 2009. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

Previous Courses

Essentials of Economic Development, March 5-6, 2009. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

Strategies for Small Town Success, May 1-2, 2008 at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

2008 Strategies for Retail Development, March 12-13, 2008 at The Marriott Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

Education and Workforce Development: Making the CONNECTION, November 15-16, 2008 at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.

2006 Strategies for Retail Development, April 18-19, 2006 at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. CLICK HERE to go to the course website.