74 Business View Magazine - August 2016
terms of how they’re administering their programs. We
also have a large training sector that we do on both
the CDBG and HOME programs.” In fact, the NCDA is a
national leader in providing CDBG and HOME training
to grantees. The Association’s CDBG Basics Course
is nationally known for its comprehensive coverage
of the CDBG program and the Association’s cadre of
HOME workshops provides demand-response training
on this very intricate federal program.
Look believes that a primary mission of the NCDA is
to provide opportunities for those members who work
with these federal programs in their own communi-
ties to have a forum where they can bounce ideas off
of one another and help each other understand how
they’re doing things. “We’ve got membership across
the country from New England down to L.A. and from
Seattle down to Miami,” he says. “And each commu-
nity does things slightly differently. We can learn from
each other how best to use these funds.”
In addition to its twice-yearly conferences, the NCDA
also publishes a monthly newsletter, keeping its mem-
bers informed about developments in housing and
community development. Its website, NCDAonline,
provides links to other related sites and allows mem-
ber to communicate more effectively with each other
and the NCDA staff.
The NCDA also educates members of Congress. “NCDA
leads the Community Development Block Grant Coali-
tion that consists of many different national associa-
tions that all support the core Community Development
Block Grant program,” Watson says. “And through that
