Sarasota EDC earns 'gold standard' of industry recognition

The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County recently scored a big win, earning accreditation from a leading worldwide industry association.

The recognition, a measure of excellence formally named an Accredited Economic Development Organization, comes from the International Economic Development Council. The Sarasota EDC is one of 95 global economic development organizations to earn the accreditation, according to a release. There are eight others in the group in Florida, including the Pasco Economic Development Council and the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, according to the IEDC’s website. 

“The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County displays the professionalism, commitment, and technical expertise that is deserving of this honor,” IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle says in the statement. 

The AEDO program is a comprehensive peer review process that measures economic development organizations against commonly held standards in the profession, the release states. The program consists of two phases: a documentation review and an onsite visit. Each phase is designed to evaluate information about the structure, organization, funding, programs and staff of the candidate economic development organization.

Courtesy image

“This designation represents the gold standard in economic development accreditation, and we are incredibly proud to have achieved and maintained this level of excellence,” EDC President and CEO Erin Silk says in the release. “The AEDO recognition underscores our team’s commitment to best practices and delivering exceptional value to the businesses and communities we serve. It reinforces that Sarasota County competes at the highest level, both statewide and nationally.”

Maintenance of the AEDO status is required every three years and is accomplished through documentation submission and/or onsite visits by a team of the AEDO subcommittee.

The EDC of Sarasota County is a 501(c)(6) a public-private partnership of business and government leaders and is the designated economic development partner for Sarasota County, the Cities of North Port, Venice, and Sarasota and the Town of Longboat Key.