The Northern Kentucky Area Development District is seeking public comment on the 2025 updates of the Northern Kentucky Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) plan and action plan. You can view the 2025 draft on the NKADD website by using this link. The comment period will end Friday, August 29, 2025.
The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is a locally-based, regionally-driven economic development planning process and document that creates the space for Northern Kentucky to identify its strengths and weaknesses and brings together a diverse set of partners to generate good jobs, diversify the economy, and spur economic growth. This process engages our partners, including community leaders and residents, the private sector, educational institutions, and other stakeholders, in planning for the region’s future. An effective CEDS will allow us to maximize our economic development potential and engage with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and other federal partners to receive infrastructure and technical assistance grants, such as EDA’s Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs.
The Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) is the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) designated Economic Development District (EDD) and is required by the annual Kentucky Joint Funding Administration (JFA) contract to develop and implement the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the EDA as per EDA’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy guidelines. As the EDD, the NKADD’s responsibilities include:
- Develop a new CEDS every five years with annual updates.
- Report to the Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG) all community and economic development planning efforts for projects directly affecting any phase of new job creation and business/industrial investment.
- Monitor and report action plans and implementation of objectives and strategies as set forth in the CEDS related to natural resources and physical environment.
If you have comments or questions about the updated CEDS, please contact Katie Jo Berkshire Kirkpatrick, Associate Director – Community Development Planning at (859) 692-2482 or katiejo.kirkpatrick@nkadd.org.