May 1, 2025
Inc. magazine published a feature on Economic Gardening and how communities can grow jobs by supporting existing businesses instead of chasing relocations.
The article from Inc. Magazine – April 2025, revisits Littleton, Colorado’s response to major layoffs in the 1980s and explains how Economic Gardening equips second‑stage companies with advanced research tools—market and GIS mapping, competitive intelligence, SEO analysis, and trend data—to help them find new customers and scale.
Inc. article notices that Economic Gardening creates new jobs at a much lower cost per job than traditional recruitment deals, making it an attractive option for entrepreneurship-led economic development practitioners looking to maximize impact with limited resources.
Read “What Is Economic Gardening?” on Inc.com →
May 9, 2024
The Oman Business Forum, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP), hosted a session on Economic Gardening on April 30, 2024. The event, part of the Tejarah Talks series, occurred at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in Muscat, Oman, and was titled “Economic Gardening: Nurturing & Cultivating Second Stage Companies.
This discussion focused on strategies to support the growth of second-stage companies, emphasizing job creation and sustainable economic development. It highlighted the importance of providing these businesses with essential resources, such as strategic information and connections, and discussed the role of supportive public policies in nurturing their development.
For more details about the event, visit the Oman Business Forum website.
Oct 3, 2023
What does it take to change how an entire profession thinks about economic growth? Migrating to an Entrepreneurship-led strategy.
For Chris Gibbons (on LinkedIn), founder of the National Center for Economic Gardening, the journey began in 1987, when a 7,000‑job layoff in Littleton, Colorado led to a simple but radical question: instead of recruiting outside companies, what if communities focused on growing the businesses they already had through entrepreneurship-led economic development?
In the IEDC Economic Development Journal article, Chris traces history and the roots of how Economic Gardening — and the broader movement it sparked — grew from a grassroots experiment on Colorado’s Front Range into an internationally recognized strategy embedded in policy, practice, and institutions across the globe.
Download the full article below to explore this important history in Gibbons’ own words: Download: IEDC Economic Development Journal (Volume 22, Number 3) & “The Entrepreneurial Revolution in Economic Development”
Originally published in the IEDC Economic Development Journal (Volume 22, Number 3, Summer 2023). Reposted by NCEG with permission.
Jan 8, 2022
The Redevelopment Institute- “dedicated to rebuilding America through promotion of best practices, education, and technical assistance”, recently featured Chris Gibbons and Economic Gardening on its website and podcast.
Sep 1, 2021
Strong Towns founder Chuck Marohn and Chris Gibbons “explore how cities can grow an economy using a truly entrepreneurial approach”. Visit the Strong Towns website to listen to this engaging discussion.
Aug 14, 2021
Chris Gibbons was recently featured on the Pathways to Rural Prosperity Podcast hosted by Don Macke. Chris and Don discuss Economic Gardening, its history, and how it’s making a difference to growth companies.
Jul 11, 2021
Chris Gibbons was recently interviewed by Dell Gines of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Read the full article here: The Economic Gardener: An interview with Chris Gibbons. 
Mar 28, 2021
Economic Gardening was recently featured in an article from the Bangkok Post titled ‘Planting the seeds of development’. Read the article here.
Mar 28, 2021
Chris Gibbons, found of the National Center for Economic Gardening was recently featured on episode of the ‘Are We Here Yet?’ podcast.
Visit this page to listen to the podcast via your favorite podcasting app.
Mar 23, 2021
NCEG tracks economic development news as it pertains to Economic Gardening, below are several articles we have come across recently that we feel are worth your time.
