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Certified Economic Development Ready Community (CEDR-C™)
Prepare your community for growth with a clear, development-ready roadmap.
Major growth can be an opportunity or a disruption. The right time to engage with CEDR-C™ is before decisions feel urgent. Early preparation helps you clarify priorities, build internal alignment, and establish a clear framework for evaluating future proposals on your terms.
The Certified Economic Development Ready Community program helps you prepare for growth before its impacts are fully felt. This two-phase certification evaluates your current capacity, forecasts future conditions (land use, infrastructure, housing demand, and key policy constraints), and translates that insight into a clear plan for where and how growth should happen.
By the end of the CEDR-C process, you are better positioned to manage growth while protecting your community’s quality of life. You also gain a credible signal to site selectors, developers, and state partners that your community is aligned, prepared, and ready for high-quality development.
What certification signals:
- Development readiness at a community scale
- Aligned land use, infrastructure, and housing strategies
- Local and stakeholder support for future growth
- Credibility with site selectors and state agencies
- A clear framework for evaluating future development proposals
What you receive: Formal certification documentation and a ready-to-share summary you can use with site selectors, developers, and state partners.
Core Service Components
Current Community Assessment (Phase I)
We begin with a comprehensive assessment of your community’s capacity to absorb growth. Using our proprietary Future Impact Simulation model, we forecast population distribution and its implications for housing demand and infrastructure use. This assessment helps leaders understand where current conditions support growth and where gaps need to be addressed before new development advances.
Forecast-Based Planning (Phase II)
Building on Phase I findings, we facilitate collaborative planning sessions that align design, density, and location decisions with forecasted growth. These visual and map-based workshops help translate data into shared priorities. Phase II allows communities to shape where and how growth occurs, rather than reacting after projects are proposed.
Community Certification & Implementation Toolkit
Communities that complete the CEDR-C™ process receive a comprehensive implementation toolkit. This includes a housing needs strategy, customized location recommendations for catalyst sites, and a funding resource matrix. Together, these tools support fiscally sound development and help you move from planning to implementation.
Ready to talk through growth readiness?
Tell us what you’re seeing, and we’ll follow up with the right next step—whether that’s a quick consult, a scope conversation, or examples from similar communities.
The CEDR Difference
Growth readiness is not just technical. It involves trust, timing, and coordination across departments and partners. Our approach helps communities move forward with confidence by grounding decisions in shared data, clear expectations, and local priorities.
1. Scoping & Alignment
We work with you to understand your growth context, development pressures, and decision-making needs. This step ensures the certification process reflects local priorities.
2. Assessment
We analyze existing conditions and model future impacts to clarify what growth will mean for housing, infrastructure, and land use.
3. Planning & Synthesis
We translate data into clear recommendations through collaborative planning and stakeholder engagement.
3. Implementation & Certification
We provide tools, documentation, and certification that help you communicate readiness and execute development plans with confidence.
Real Impact in Georgia Communities
Your CEDR-C Team
Alan Durham
Senior Project Manager
Betsy McGriff, MBA
Project Manager
Grace Barrett, AICP
Project Manager
Claire Breeden
Project Manager
