Guest Blog from Andre Temple

Guest blog from Dr. Andre Temple, who is a member of the first class of the IPS Leadership Academy.

The Tennessee Certified Economic Developer (TCED) Program, administered by the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, provides high quality training, continuing education and professional development opportunities to Tennessee’s economic and community development practitioners and community leaders. The TCED program is tailored to give participants broad-based knowledge of economic opportunities and trends, core components, and tools required to compete in today’s global economy, with a focus on economic development in Tennessee. Upon completion of the TCED course curricula and certification requirements, participants are awarded the Tennessee Certified Economic Developer certification, indicating that they have developed core competency in the principles and practices of economic development in Tennessee. The TCED program offers a series of economic development courses in locations across the state or online. The Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course (TBEDC), an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) certified 24-hour course, is considered the anchor course for the certification program; however, it is not a pre-requisite to other course offerings. Other course requirements include six specific subject matter core courses (10-hour courses) and an elective course*. In addition to completing the required courses, participants will need to complete a paper or capstone project and presentation, which applies knowledge gained in the program. Course offerings are structured such that a TCED candidate can complete certification requirements within a two-year period. To maintain certification, participants will need to complete a minimum of seven hours of training in each calendar year. The required courses and a tentative schedule of upcoming courses are presented below. REQUIRED COURSES FOR TCED CERTIFICATION* TN Basic Economic Development Course (24 hours) TN Business Retention and Expansion Course (10 hours) TN Strategic Planning for Economic Development Course (10 hours) TN Economic Development Finance Course (10 hours) TN Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Course (10 hours) TN Marketing and Attraction Course (10 hours) TN Managing Economic Development Organizations Course (10 hours) Elective Course (7 hours)