Santa Fe-area REDI Summit March 5 Features Lab and State Leaders

Hector Balderas, Northern New Mexico College president, will headline the Regional Economic Development Initiative Summit on March 5 at the Cities of Gold Hotel Event Center, with Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Partnerships leaders and state deputies from tourism, economic development and workforce solutions expected to attend. A REDI news release says the summit will follow the Los Alamos National Lab, Community Partnerships Office’s Community Conversation and aims to convene invited business and community stakeholders from Northern New Mexico.

The summit agenda names Balderas as keynote, Abby Bordner of United Way of North Central New Mexico to present the ALICE presentation, and Miles Conway of the New Mexico Home Builders Association to deliver the Ice Box Challenge wrap up. The release adds, "Attendees will be inspired by keynote speaker Hector Balderas, President of Northern New Mexico College, the ALICE presentation by Abby Bordner, United Way of North Central New Mexico, and the Ice Box Challenge wrap up with Miles Conway, New Mexico Home Builders Association." Acting Secretary of New Mexico Tourism Lansing Adams, Isaac Romero, Deputy Secretary of the Economic Development Department, and Marcos Martinez, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Workforce Solutions, are listed to provide updates.

Organizers frame the March 5 meeting as a working evaluation of the 2023 REDI Plan update. "The purpose of the REDI Summit is to roll up our sleeves and evaluate our progress on implementing the strategies outlined in the 2023 Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Plan update, which aims to fuel job creation, economic growth, and improve standards of living in Northern New Mexico," the news release states.

Background materials on Northern New Mexico’s REDI trace the initiative to an earlier branded planning process. County planning documents note Phase I ran from December 2007 through May 1, 2008 and "included individual, one-to-one meetings with approximately 65 stakeholders in the region (Dec. & Jan.), data gathering and analysis (Feb. & March), a second round of individual and group stakeholder meetings in April to confirm project team findings, and a stakeholder workshop on May 1." Those documents emphasize that "Regional economic development services provided by REDI are meant to complement local economic development efforts, not replace or serve as a substitute for them," and warn that REDI will need private sector financial commitments to overcome unequal local capacities and competition for resources.

At the national level, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership notes it was one of four cooperators selected by the USDA Rural Development Innovation Center in 2018 to launch a national REDI program in 47 rural communities, with peer-learning summits in 2020 and workshops in early 2021. RCAP reports that "In post-event surveys, participants reported that having an opportunity to hear from others their challenges and discuss solutions was the most important outcome," and one participant wrote, "Through REDI, I have learned the value of technical assistance to keep focused on our goals and how to move toward them strategically."

Organizers and materials also caution that the REDI name is used by separate programs elsewhere; Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho operates under the same acronym and is a distinct entity led by Teresa McKnight. Ahead of the March 5 summit, remaining details to confirm include the official venue naming (Cities of Gold Hotel Event Center versus Cities of Gold Event Center), the summit's full schedule and registration rules, and the specific performance metrics that will be used to measure progress on the 2023 REDI Plan. The summit is positioned as a working session to move plan strategies into concrete action on job creation and regional economic growth in Northern New Mexico.