The International Economic Devleopment Council

journey that has brought it to where it is today. “The IEDC began in 1926 as the American Industrial Development Council (AIDC),” says Finkle. “At the time, the AIDC was affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce but eventually changed its name to the American Economic Development Council (AEDC). In 1967, the HUB (Helping Urban Businesses) Council was formed, which changed its name to the Council for Urban Economic Development (CUED) the following year. It was affiliated with the National League of Cities and U.S. Conference of Mayors.” AEDC and CUED were independent membership groups doing economic development attracting, creating, retaining, and expanding jobs. In 2001, the two organizations merged to form the International Economic Development Council. Along the way, the IEDC has worked with various partners at an international level and a local State, Regional and Provincial level. Some of its international partners are the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA), Center for Local Economic Development (CENLED), and the Chinese Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA). Its local partners include regional partners like the Mid- America Economic Development Council and the National Association of Development Agencies, among other state and provincial economic development associations. The IEDC discharges its economic development mandate primarily through member capacity building via a range of services that include the Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO), Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), and Economic Development Research Partners (EDRP) programs. The latest addition, the Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP) program, has been developed with the Kauffman Foundation, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), and THE INTERNAT IONAL ECONOMI C DEVELOPMENT COUNC I L