Share your thoughts on the draft plan for a renewed vision for the county's economic development strategy.

The County of Humboldt Board of Supervisors adopted Prosperity! 2018, the county’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) on November 13, 2018. Prosperity! 2018 is a guide for economic development in the Humboldt County Region for 2018-2023. It is a flexible plan meant to be a way for the region to work together to collaborate on the best uses of public and private funds to enhance the economy of the county.

View the 2018 CEDS document.

The adopted, final version of the CEDS is an amended version of the draft which was made available to the public for comment from September 11, 2018 through October 23, 2018.

The final version incorporates changes made in response to comments received from the public during the comment period.  The additional feedback helped staff and the CEDS Strategy Committee modify recommended strategies. Major changes were the re-write of the Executive Summary, more defined strategies and several projects added to the projects list.

The adopted document was submitted to the US Economic Development Department (EDA) on November 30, 2018 for their review and approval.

SUMMARY

In the past, the CEDS document has focused on several “industry clusters.” Industry clusters are related by industry, geography, shared workforce needs, transportation issues, or other factors. Certain clusters, named the “Targets of Opportunity” gained attention because they each fit a number of criteria including providing good jobs, sending exports outside the region, and producing growth over time.

The Targets of Opportunity were:

1. Diversified Health Care

2. Specialty Food, Flowers & Beverages

3. Building & Systems Construction

4. Investment Support Services

5. Management & Innovation Services

6. Niche Manufacturing

In addition to the six industries above, two additional industries that did not fit all of the criteria were selected for additional focus: Tourism and Forest Products.

Previously the CEDS focused on identifying and taking advantage of strengths and opportunities related to the clusters, while addressing, as much as possible, weaknesses and threats. The 2018 CEDS process was initiated with a focus on these still-promising industry clusters. However, stakeholder and community input consistently revealed that the region’s most pressing economic issues and promising opportunities cut across industry clusters. These include enhancing our workforce, addressing transportation and infrastructure limitations and more. As a result of these findings, 2018 CEDS is organized around cross-industry themes and strategies

CONCLUSION

County staff will work with key stakeholders, community partners and the citizens of Humboldt County to implement the strategies outlined in Prosperity! 2018.

Continued public participation is encouraged. To obtain a hard copy of the CEDS or supporting documents, please contact the Humboldt County Economic Development Division at (707) 445-7745 or email Kenneth Spain at [email protected]