Community & Economic Development
Community Development
From economic development and infrastructure to sidewalks and fire trucks, the Community Development program can assist local communities around the region with establishing projects that seek state and federal funding opportunities. CAPCOG’s goal is to help its communities identify issues and a possible funding to resolve them.
CAPCOG has assisted cities and counties in applying for Economic Development Administration (EDA), Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) funds. It works on various aspects of the grant application process depending on a community’s needs to include identifying grant opportunities, assisting with grant writing, coordinated site visits, and researching and organizing data to support applications.
Get assistance with an EDA grant
CAPCOG provides technical assistance for local governments seeking EDA Public Works Program grants that strive to increase regional economic opportunities. The grant program supplies funds to communities to revitalize, expand or upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry; encourage business expansion; diversify local economies; and generate or retain long-term, private sector jobs. It also can be used for acquisition or development of land and infrastructure investments needed to establish or expand industrial or commercial enterprises. Contact Kaileen McHugh, CAPCOG planning and economic development coordinator.
EDA Letters of Support
CAPCOG, in its capacity as the Capital Area Economic Development District, is pleased to recommend projects serving our region that are being submitted for funding consideration by the EDA. Prior to providing a letter in support of the project, CAPCOG conducts a review to determine if the application is structured correctly per EDA’s requirements and to ensure the project aligns with our adopted Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), also required by EDA.
Please submit by email a brief project summary and a copy of your application at least three weeks before the EDA deadline for submission. This does not apply to those jurisdictions working directly with CAPCOG staff on their applications.
The email should be directed to Charles Simon, CAPCOG Regional Planning and Services director and copy McHugh. Contact Simon with questions.
Partner with CAPCOG
CAPCOG offers a broad set of services that support economic and community development. This includes providing in-depth economic analysis, managing special projects related to regional planning and economic strategy and helping communities devise new strategies for improved competitiveness. To discuss specific projects or available services, contact Simon.
Economic Development
The CAPCOG Economic Development Program supports broad-based, efficient, and sustainable economic growth in the ten-county region. The program provides data and analysis to local economic development organizations, cities and counties to help target economic development efforts throughout the region. CAPCOG also is designated by the Economic Development Administration as the Economic Development District for the region.
Working on behalf of the district, CAPCOG develops the Capital Area Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a five-year plan that establishes regional goals and objectives for economic development. The strategy provides useful regional information, guidance, and perspective to local economic development stakeholders on a city, county, or regional level. It is produced during a year-long planning process that is inclusive of diverse representatives in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors throughout the Capital Area. The strategy intends to provide a conceptual framework for local actors to strengthen the competitiveness, economic resilience, and quality of life in the Capital Area.
Every year after the CEDS is completed, CAPCOG reviews the progress towards the goals outlined in the CEDS and publishes an update and performance report.
CAPCOG provides valuable tools and resources relating to economic development. From periodic reporting on economic trends to in-depth analysis and benchmarking, CAPCOG’s timely tools and information help jurisdictions, developers, community leaders and other stakeholders keep up with changes in the regional economy and prepare for tomorrow.
Specialized Economic Development Reports
CAPCOG is often commissioned to draft reports on a variety of topics related to economic development, planning and resiliency. Previous reports can be found on the CAPCOG Publications page.
The Disaster Resiliency & Recovery in the Texas Capital Area, The Economic Impact and Local Response to the 2015 Memorial Day Disaster Event report is one of CAPCOG’s latest economic development reports. It summarizes much of the available disaster data in an effort to quantify the economic impacts of the disaster event.
Data Request
CAPCOG is committed to providing the region with the information needed to make informed planning and policy decisions to include demographics, workforce data, information for site selectors, and more. Most available data can be found in the Data and Maps and Central Texas Regional Data sections, but if CAPCOG can help provide other regional data or analysis to your organization, let us know. Contact Kaileen McHugh, CAPCOG planning and economic development coordinator.