“At its core, IEDA is about people—bringing together professionals who are passionate about building stronger communities and giving them the tools, connectivity, and voice to make that happen,” says Jill Ewing, Director of Operations of the Indiana Economic Development Association (IEDA).
Proudly sharing “One State, Many Voices” as its motto and offering a varied and inclusive network that includes economic developers alongside industry partners within utilities, legal, construction, financial, higher education, and more, IEDA buoys Indiana’s unified voice by supporting individuals who are creating the future of the state.
Ensuring that economic development concerns remain at the top of Indiana’s agenda by building partnerships with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, state and federal agencies, and elected and appointed officials, IEDA is committed to supporting Indiana’s vital economic development strategies, boasting a straightforward, fundamental conviction: to create vibrant communities, there must first be investments in the leaders that tirelessly serve those communities.
Member benefits are plentiful, such as ongoing education to learn about industry trends; networking opportunities for the vital sharing of best practices; and direct access to state authorities and legislators. IEDA also serves as a reliable champion for issues that membership believe should be at the forefront of legislative debates.
IEDA was first formed in 1968 as the Indiana Area Development Council when 16 dedicated professional industrial developers came together with a shared vision: to provide continuity and structure to a statewide community development effort. In 1982, IEDA was incorporated as a non-profit organization and expanded into the vital network it is today. Over the years, it has broadened its mission by expanding educational initiatives, taking a more active role in group advocacy, and, since 2005, retaining a specialized lobbying firm to efficiently monitor, create, and advocate for important state legislation.
With more than 400 experts as members, IEDA continues to expand today, taking great pride in its tradition of bringing together and assisting those who drive prosperity across every part of Indiana.
“We’re soon to celebrate our 60th anniversary, and we’re super excited about that,” says Ewing. “From 60 members in 1983 to 450 today, IEDA began as a networking association only but naturally evolved to strategically support membership in the areas of education and statewide advocacy for economic development.”
The association remains true to its networking core, and brings people together in a variety of formats, from conferences to workshops to virtual meetings, covering topics ranging from housing and utilities to data centers, marketing, and best practices for hosting site visits. “We offer three conferences a year for members to gather in person, we do around six webinars, and then we have one smaller professional development opportunity that we usually cap at about 25 people, an intimate deep dive gathering of all things dynamic development where we bring in experts for three days,” Ewing explains.
Later this month, for instance, will see IEDA host its 2026 summer conference, featuring sessions such as The State of BR&E in Indiana: Foundations, Frameworks, and Forward Momentum; From Strategy to Street Level: Real‑World BR&E Practices Across Indiana; AI-Ready Communities: Building Capacity From the Inside Out; Aligning Voices for Talent: How Workforce and Economic Development Win Together; SEA 1 in Practice: What EDOs Need To Know and How To Prepare; and Building the LEDO Voice: Grassroots Messaging That Earns Public Trust. The opening day of the conference also offers a lunch and panel discussion on Women in Economic Development: Real Estate and Economic Development: Insights from Indiana Realtors, offering perspectives from experienced Indiana real estate professionals, a deeper look at how real estate trends impact local economic growth, and opportunities to engage, ask questions, and build connections with fellow professionals.
“IEDA has a recognized legacy of supporting economic developers and partners throughout the state; throughout our history, our programming and resourcing evolve, as they should, to ensure we remain relevant and impactful by intentionally meeting the needs of members across the state,” adds John T. Launius, Senior Vice President and Chief Economic Development Officer. “We’re really proud of the IEDA’s history but couldn’t be more optimistic about the future of the association. I hope the spirit and the mission of the organization never change, but how we support members and what that looks like can and should evolve alongside our members’ needs.”
When it comes to education and training, a broad range of topics are explored, including childcare becoming an urgent priority in the workplace. “We’re constantly listening to our members and those who attend the conferences, workshops, or webinars we put on,” says Ewing. “We’re always engaging and assessing where the value points and topics need to be for our members and that intentionality drives our content and ultimately our value. This member-driven dynamic is key to ensuring we keep things fresh and make sure it’s relevant.”
Changes to IEDA over the years have included a major rebrand in late 2024, complete with a new logo that reflects the association’s energy and impact, including the tagline of “One State, Many Voices,” capturing and emphasizing the statewide reach the association leverages.
The IEDA plays an invaluable role as the home for economic developers in the State of Indiana, and Launius says there is real power and value in the convening of practitioners from around the state. “As a state with a large geography and a diverse range of resources, assets, and industries, it’s critical that we regularly connect and complement regional economic development activity statewide,” Launius shares. “You can feel that connectivity and camaraderie when you go to any of our conferences; there’s an expectation that you will see old friends and partners and make new ones all while elevating the overall quality and competitiveness of the entire state.”
IEDA has a rich history of impactful advocacy work centered around educating elected officials and empowering members with the information and relationships to support their shared priorities. This work is vital, he adds, and an area in which IEDA, through its members, spends a lot of time and energy, ensuring its collective voice is unified and at the table. “This collaborative results-oriented approach requires expertise, patience, and perseverance, all attributes abundantly available through our statewide membership,” Launius says.
Strategically navigating an ever-changing and evolving landscape is one key to success, particularly in light of domestic and international dynamics, where changes are taking place at a “different kind of scale and pace. It positions our advocacy work to be much more active, responsive, and across an even larger area of impact and value to our members,” he says.
Looking ahead, he anticipates ongoing industry and ecosystem shifts around the country—and indeed the world—while IEDA remains steadfast and committed to meeting member needs. “There have been evolving dynamics at the local, state, federal, and international levels for economic developers, and we’re always trying to position Indiana communities as competitive and welcoming environments for businesses and employees,” he emphasizes.
“As economic developers, we have a duty to tell our local, regional, state story of not only our operational advantages but also the quality of people and diversity of perspectives that we embrace. Many of our members have felt a growing need to communicate that narrative externally more broadly and consistently—that we are a welcoming environment and open for business—so we have found ourselves as a professional organization responding to member needs in those areas.”
Responding to those needs has resulted in new areas of involvement such as the U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA program, a federal initiative that aims to increase awareness of the vital role economic development plays in the U.S. economy and to facilitate business investment that creates jobs in the country. SelectUSA has supported more than 270,000 jobs in the United States by facilitating more than $400 billion in investment since its founding.
“This year, the IEDA, alongside state, regional, and local economic development partners, collaboratively and successfully represented Indiana. This effort brought efficiency and energy to our presence while generating hundreds of foreign direct investment contacts and leads for our members,” Launius says of the evolution and type of event IEDA prides itself on embracing.
Collaboration like this is key to success in economic development, he adds. “We can’t just work as IEDA alone. Relationships and trust are imperative to ensuring excellence and accomplishing these types of initiatives. We were honored and proud to meet the needs of our members and bring our marketing and logistics expertise to guide the effort.”
He also stresses the importance of the role volunteers play in the association’s ongoing success. “We are heavily supported and run by a lot of volunteers with very active committees,” he says. “Whether they’re vetting and selecting content for workshops and conferences, developing or monitoring policy priorities, or recruiting and cultivating members, we benefit from the passion and experiences of our membership.
As for accomplishments, one that Ewing is most proud of in the past year and a half is IEDA’s revamping its member engagement committee and dividing it into three subgroups of new members, current members, and prospective members.
“Our New Member Committee welcomes members as they come in with personal phone calls and emails, seeking them out at conferences and inviting them to either dinners or lunches before conferences start so that they can come in, meet people, and not just be walking into a room with no one they’ve ever met,” she says. “We’re constantly having these touch points so they don’t feel like they’ve been forgotten and are never seen or heard.”
The Prospective Member Committee reaches out to non-members who attend conferences to try to pull them in, ensure they stay engaged, and eventually become a member. Finally, the Current Member Group evaluates what to offer to members to ensure ongoing networking opportunities, adding regional networking receptions and giving updates on the association. And the initiative is working.
“We had a 98 percent member renewal rate last year, which I think was amazing,” says Ewing. “We hit our new member goal by 168 percent, and those three groups working together have also increased attendance at our conferences. Seeing those numbers grow helps the association become fiscally sustainable, but it’s also bringing so much more to everybody who’s attending. They’re getting more out of it as well.”
One of IEDA’s biggest challenges, she adds, is the ever-changing profession of economic development, such as the evolution of the need for childcare. “I’ve been with the association for almost 20 years, and childcare never came up,” she says. “It was just not something talked about, and now at every conference we’re talking about it. It’s at the state level at the legislature that we’re talking about it.” IEDA gladly takes on the challenge because it wants to help on every single level, so the more it can do to provide for its members, the better.
Additionally, the association is currently focusing on updated strategic pillars developed through membership engagement and input. These pillars position leadership to strategically evaluate and direct operations and value. This ongoing process means being proactive in different ways, including recognizing different types of member feedback and looking ahead. Ultimately, though, the goal is IEDA making Indiana stronger and more cohesive by empowering professionals through connection, education, and advocacy.
“What’s been a theme, and critical to IEDA’s past and future success, is to take an education-based approach and bring diverse thoughts together,” says Launius. “We want to continue to be the ‘go to’ resource for our members and stakeholders, particularly with some of the emerging topics the industry is facing. We garner credibility on both sides of issues when we take a thoughtful, education-based approach.”
As Indiana continues to compete for investment, talent, and long-term economic resilience, IEDA will remain an essential force in equipping the people who shape the state’s future with information and insights they can trust. By nurturing collaboration across industries, championing informed advocacy, and ensuring members are prepared to meet emerging challenges, the association continues to strengthen not only individual communities but the state of Indiana as a whole.
