THIS EDA INVESTMENT WILL FUND TWO INITIATIVES THAT WILL BENEFIT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS (EDD) IN THE 10-STATE EDA DENVER REGION (COLORADO, UTAH, WYOMING, MONTANA, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH DAKOTA, NEBRASKA, IOWA, KANSAS, AND MISSOURI). THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC. IS ADDRESSING THE REGIONAL NEED FOR TECHNICAL TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING BY CONVENING REGIONAL STAKEHOLDERS AND CONDUCTING AN ?EDD TRAINING PROGRAM FOR EMERGING LEADERS.? THE CONVENING WILL OCCUR IN DENVER, COLORADO, IN 2025 AND IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A FORUM FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS, POLICY MAKERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS IN THE 10-STATE FOOTPRINT TO EXPAND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WAYS TO BUILD RESILIENT REGIONAL ECONOMIES. THE EDD TRAINING PROGRAM FOR EMERGING LEADERS IS AIMED TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICAL AND BEST PRACTICE TRAINING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES TO FOR NEW OR RISING EDD EXECUTIVES ACROSS THE REGION. THROUGHOUT THE INITIATIVE, THE TPEL PILOT COHORT (INCLUDING UP TO 10 PARTICIPANTS) AND CONFERENCE ATTENDEES WILL BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH REGIONAL COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LEADERS FROM ACROSS THE REGION AS THEY LEARN ABOUT INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.