Cascades West
Economic Development District

The Cascades West Economic Development District (CWEDD)  is designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to work on economic development efforts in Linn, Benton, Lane, and Lincoln Counties. The CWEDD advocates for, supports, and coordinates regionally significant economic development activities in the Region. Staffed by both OCWCOG and Lane Council of Governments, the CWEDD prepared the 2015-2020 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to guide regionally significant economic development projects and activities over the next five years.

Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)

As part of its 2015-2020 CEDS update and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) requirements, a CEDS Economic Resiliency Appendix was developed. Concurrent with this regional effort, Lane, Linn, Benton and Lincoln Counties have been at various stages of updating their respective FEMA compliant Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans. The CEDS Economic Resilience Appendix sought to incorporate high-level risk and vulnerability information from the mitigation plans into the economic planning context. The CWEDD Board directed staff to investigate opportunities to leverage existing public-private economic development partnerships. The goal of this project is to develop and test a new regional framework for engaging businesses in economic risk reduction and recovery planning.

Click HERE for the CWEDD HMGP Scope of Work

Click HERE to view or download the project presentation.

Other helpful links:
Restore Your Economy Website
EDA Economic Resilience

Public Space Webinar Series

Meeting Agendas and Minutes