Strategic Planning
The EDC looks toward the diversification and growth of the local and regional economy, by collaborating with leaders in business, government, and the community on various initiatives to promote the positive growth of the business climate within Fresno County.
The EDC helps businesses, private investors and individuals looking to Fresno County for opportunities, understand the different processes and provides a link between the private and public sectors that is essential to a successful project.
One of the strengths of the EDC is in the role of advocate, be it for private projects and or public endeavors. The EDC actively supports coordinated local and regional economic development efforts involved in many areas of our county. For more information on the EDC"s involvement, please contact Lydia Zabrycki, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at lzabrycki@fresnoedc.com.
Legislative Support
As an educational, nonprofit corporation, the EDC does not lobby on behalf of any particular legislative or political agenda. However, as a regional catalyst, collaborator and resource, the EDC does highlight information about public issues important to its region and communities.
Strategic Alliance Agreement
The Strategic Alliance Agreement is a Collaborative Agreement between the EDC and the agencies, organizations and units of government who agree to ensure that economic development programs, services, and associated activities throughout Fresno County are effectively coordinated and executed. Each party to this agreement offers unique and different services and programs associated with economic vitality.
Such services and programs are in the public interest and similarly improve and promote the public health, welfare, and safety of our residents. The parties within the Strategic Alliance Agreement desire to establish a general collaborative framework for the promotion and development of sustaining activities that will build a vibrant economy.
Strategic Alliance Partners are:
- COUNTY OF FRESNO
- CITY OF CLOVIS
- CITY OF FRESNO
- CITY OF KINGSBURG
- CITY OF ORANGE COVE
- CITY OF SAN JOAQUIN
- FIVE CITIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY:
- CITY OF FOWLER
- CITY OF PARLIER
- CITY OF REEDLEY
- CITY OF SANGER
- CITY OF SELMA
- COUNTY OF FRESNO
- I-5 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORRIDOR:
- CITY OF COALINGA
- CITY OF FIREBAUGH
- CITY OF HURON
- CITY OF KERMAN
- CITY OF MENDOTA
- COUNTY OF FRESNO
- TRANQUILLITY IRRIGATION DISTRICT
- GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER - CENTRAL VALLEY OFFICE
- ASSEMBLYWOMAN SARAH REYES
- ASSEMBLYMAN STEVE SAMUELIAN
- CONGRESSMAN CAL DOOLEY
- CONGRESSMAN DEVIN NUNES
- SENATOR DEAN FLOREZ
- SENATOR CHARLES POOCHIGIAN
- CALIFORNIA CENTRAL VALLEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
- CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO
- CEN-CAL BUSINESS FINANCE GROUP
- CENTER FOR ADVANCED RESERACH AND TECHNOLOGY
- CENTRAL CALIFORNIA HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
- CENTRAL CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER
- CENTRAL UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
- CENTRAL VALLEY BUSINESS INCUBATOR
- CLOVIS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
- EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
- FRESNO AREA COLLABORATIVE REGIONAL INITIATIVE
- FRESNO AREA HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
- FRESNO BUSINESS COUNCIL
- FRESNO COUNTY ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
- FRESNO COUNTY FARM BUREAU
- FRESNO COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
- FRESNO COUNTY WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD
- FRESNO METROPOLITAN FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT
- FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
- FRESNO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
- GREATER FRESNO AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
- HEALD COLLEGE
- MALAGA COUNTY WATER DISTRICT
- NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC CO.
- REGIONAL JOBS INITIATIVE
- SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
- SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY COLLEGE
- SBC
- STATE CENTER COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
- UNIVERSITY BUSINESS CENTER
- U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
- VALLEY SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
- WEST FRESNO COALITION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- WEST HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Regional Jobs Initiative
The RJI is based on the idea that regional economies are made up of a series of related industries, or "clusters" that benefit one another. It is a comprehensive private-public effort aimed at creating 30,000 net new jobs in the Greater Fresno Region over the next five years by improving the competitiveness and performance of the region's most vibrant, export-oriented industry clusters:
- Health Care Services
- Agile Manufacturing
- Information Processing
- Logistics and Distribution
- Water Flow Technology
- Food Processing/Technology
- Construction
- Tourism
The EDC adopted the Regional Jobs Initiative in our Five Year Business Plan.
The EDC's focus has always been attraction of new business and expanding existing businesses in the region. Now, through the RJI, we have the support of industry leaders identifying their specific industry needs and creating action plans tailored to those needs, thus enabling the EDC to identify and recruit specific businesses that easily fit into the clusters identified in the RJI Plan.
Continual evaluation of additional economic development opportunities is under review and will be launched as soon as they are identified. To learn more about the Regional Jobs Initiative, visit www.fresnorji.org.
Fresno Area Collaborative Regional Initiative (CRI)
Formally launched in September 2001 in response to the area's chronically poor economic conditions despite profound prosperity throughout California and the United States. Visit the website www.fresnocri.org for more information.
The mission of the Fresno Area Collaborative Regional Initiative (CRI) is to help improve the Fresno region's competitiveness by providing steward leadership in areas critical to success in the knowledge-based, new economy.
The Fresno Area CRI serves as an organizational structure that provides Fresno's "civic entrepreneurs" with a vehicle to capitalize on momentum, actualize change, and realize regional prosperity.
The EDC has a support role in the CRI as a committee member involved in the Knowledge Worker Taskforce. Task Force Challenges:
- Determine best practices for increasing the percentage of Fresno's workforce that is prepared for the knowledge economy.
- Assess our current systems of workforce preparation to determine where we are relative to "success" defined in Challenge 1. Issues to consider are the status of technical education, availability of vocational education, and coordination with other sectors. Exploring new ways to offer education and the depth and breadth of the digital gap are also key issues.
- Ascertain the gap between success and the current status and define the key challenges that will need to be overcome to achieve success.
- Backward map from best practices to determine specific, actionable strategies for moving toward them in a rapid and sustainable fashion.
The guiding principle of the Fresno Area Collaborative Regional Initiative are the Community Values of the Fresno Region, which were developed collaboratively by over one hundred business, education, civic, and grass roots leaders.