Economic Gardening Media
The National Center for Economic Gardening has earned national and international recognition for pioneering the economic gardening approach to entrepreneurship-led economic development. Below you’ll find media coverage, podcast appearances, CEO testimonials, and awards that reflect three decades of proven results.
Awards, Recognition, Achievements
International Economic Development Council
National League of Cities
U.S. Economic Development Administration
SBA Report to the President
( Chapter 6: Economic Gardening)
fDi Intelligence / Financial Times of London
University of Minnesota
Harvard Innovation in Government Awards (finalist)
Invited seven times to present at Harvard University
Presented at North/Central/South America’s Competitiveness Conference
Presented at European Innovation Council Conference
Hosted six delegations from Japan
Invited to speak in 7 foreign countries
Radio interview with National Public Radio (NPR)
Radio interview with ABC Australia
Over 3,000 media stories including articles in Governing magazine,
BusinessWeek, Nation’s Weekly, Business Expansion Journal,
Stanford Social Innovations Review, ICMA and Forbes Japan
Inquiries from over 800 communities
Over 8,000+ social media followers
Over 100,000 hits in Google
In the Words of the CEO’s

It was a flyer for me. I had no idea how useful it would be. I wanted to get smarter about what we were doing. I was skeptical at the beginning. It felt wonky, but then I watched the videos and it got me thinking differently about the business. I saw that smart people were accessing resources that are difficult for me to access and providing great information. As things posted I realized how helpful and meaningful the information was. I enjoyed the process and it gave us good information that has gotten us thinking in new ways.

The digital information provided has changed the way we market. We are going to do less tradeshows and will be utilizing social media and other digital networks for marketing. We are changing the way we are messaging and communicating. We have email addresses of prospects we can directly market to. We would not have been able to make these changes without the insight we learned in the program.

You have an outstanding, solid, organized approach to doing this work. It was tremendously insightful and helpful. I am very excited about this information which has given us an idea of action steps we can take to grow our business.

We’re very impressed with the program. It is extremely comprehensive in its approach. Market research opened our eyes to a classification system for higher education that we weren’t aware of prior to entering the program. They also pointed us to some existing research reports that have been extremely valuable for us. We are averaging between 200 – 300 PPC contacts per month, and our daily website traffic has increased significantly Year-over-Year. We are getting more face-to-face meetings with the right people – the decision makers. We definitely will recommend this program to other businesses.

The Economic Gardening (EG) process provided us with a massive amount of data that was tailored to our business. The leads that were produced were highly targeted and appropriate for us to explore. The process even opened our eyes to an additional market that fit with our business model, and we have made sales to companies in this sector. EG was well worth the time investment.

My experience with Economic Gardening was one of the most beneficial endeavors this year! It truly opened my eyes to the dynamics in the marketplaces we were interested in and helped me understand market triggers that will help in business development. The angles and approaches that were taken by the team was phenomenal. It let me take a step back and think strategically about how to engage and go after new clients.
Podcasts
Economic Gardening Explained: Chris Gibbons on the Redevelopment Trailblazers Podcast
In the Redevelopment Trailblazers podcast, National Center for Economic Gardening founder Chris…
Strong Towns features Economic Gardening & Chris Gibbons
In its feature “ This Is How You Grow a Local Economy ,” Strong Towns / Charles Marohn explore how…
Pathways to Rural Prosperity Podcast with Don Macke & Chris Gibbons
Chris joins Don Macke of E2 to explore how sophisticated market research can strengthen an…
The Economic Gardener: Chris Gibbons with Dell Gines
In this featured conversation, Dell Gines of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City interviews…
Chris Gibbons featured on the ‘Are We Here Yet?’
In this episode of the Scott M. Graves Associates, SMG’s Are We Here Yet podcast, hosts Scott…
Resources
The Economic Gardening Book – Available for Download!
“Economic Gardening” tells the story of Littleton, Colorado’s original “grow your own” economic…
Stop Buying Jobs. What Research Shows for Entrepreneur-led Efforts.
State and local governments spend tens of billions each year wooing companies to move with tax…
Articles About EG
Economic Gardening Featured in Inc. Magazine
For economic developers, Inc. magazine’s “What Is Economic Gardening?” is a timely reminder that chasing relocations with incentives can easily become a race to the bottom, while…
The Rise of the Entrepreneurial Era: How Economic Development is Changing
What does it take to change how an entire profession thinks about economic growth? Work with existing companies and with an entrepreneurship-led strategy In 1987, Littleton, Colorado responded to a…
Redevelopment Institute features Economic Gardening
The Redevelopment Institute works to rebuilding America through promotion of best practices, education, and technical assistance. Soon after Leslie Parrish of the Redevelopment Institute interviewed…
The Economic Gardener: Chris Gibbons with Dell Gines
In this featured conversation, Dell Gines of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City interviews Chris Gibbons, founder of Economic Gardening®, on how communities can grow jobs by growing their own…
News
Economic Gardening Mentioned at the Oman Business Forum
The NCEG’s participation in the Tejarah Talks series marks a significant milestone for entrepreneurship-led economic development as a globally recognized strategy. The session demonstrated that…
Economic Gardening featured in Bangkok Post (Thailand) article
Economic Gardening was recently featured in an article from the Bangkok Post titled ‘Planting the seeds of development’. Read the article here.
Sacramento’s Economic Gardening Pilot program cited on SmartCitiesDIVE
Sacramento’s Economic Gardening 2.0 initiative shows how a major city can use Economic Gardening alongside traditional attraction efforts to grow its economy from within. Through recurring cohorts,…