Larry Twele, HCEDA

The Howard County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. (AAEDC) joined with economic development organizations from Charles, Frederick, Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in signing a joint statement on Regional Collaboration among Maryland Capital Region Local Economic Development Organizations to outline their collective commitment to growing a stronger Maryland Capital Region.

Jill Seamon, AAEDC

The genesis for the joint statement began in October 2019 when the six Capital Region economic development organizations began meeting to discuss economic development issues of mutual concern to their 3.3 million citizens, representing more than 52 percent of the Maryland economy.

While the COVID-19 crisis sweeping the nation has created a greater urgency for regional collaboration, the joint statement is an agreement to explore joint marketing and promotion, establish shared rules for ethical marketing, formalize protocols for communications regarding business prospects, evaluate policy changes to address competitiveness, evaluate the joint pursuit of targeted industry sectors and engage other regional economic development partners.

Along with federal and state resources, the six economic development organizations are working collectively to create regional solutions to the economic recovery of the Capital region, a commitment reflected in the addition of language referring to cooperation in addressing emergencies such as COVID-19.

The joint statement was signed by: Lawrence Twele, HCEDA; Jill Seamon, AAEDC; Darrell Brown, Charles County Economic Development Department; Helen Propheter, Frederick County Office of Economic Development; Ben Wu, Montgomery County Economic Development Corp.; and David Iannucci, Prince George’s Economic Development Corp.