In a nutshell
The longstanding EDC will dissolve, but transition into the newly created Fort Bend Business Partnership in the new year, a division of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, with the goal of strengthening connections and advancing economic development in the county, according to a Dec. 16 news release from the council.
Through the FBBP, members of the FBEDC’s executive committee will collaborate with the chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, which represents the largest stakeholders or investors in the chamber, a FBEDC spokesperson said in an email.
What they're saying
FBEDC chair Jared Jameson, who will transition to FBBP chair, said in the release that transitioning the EDC's assets to the chamber "signifies a strategic consolidation of Fort Bend County's business and quality growth initiatives."
“While I am disappointed that the FBEDC's role is ending, I am optimistic about the enhanced efficiency and stronger private sector voice this change will foster in Fort Bend County,” he said in the release.
The backstory
The FBEDC, a public-private partnership, was founded in 1986 and focused on promoting economic development agreements between potential employers and developers, as well as cities and the county, officials previously said.
The decision to shift into the chamber comes a year after FBEDC officials announced the council was considering dissolving, which was due to the FBEDC’s board of directors disagreeing with a strategic planning firm’s recommendation on how to reorganize the almost 40-year organization.
The FBEDC and Fort Bend County’s development department hired planning firm TIP Strategies to create the five-year strategic plan to study ways to refocus the county’s economic development efforts and make recommendations, Community Impact reported.
Earlier this year, the county and FBEDC formed an ad hoc committee to make recommendations on how to move the FBEDC’s board forward under the five-year strategic plan.
The details
The spokesperson said the following things will change as the FBEDC transitions into the FBBP:
- Cities and Fort Bend County will be the new primary contacts for commercial brokers, site selectors and developers interested in locating projects in the county
- Marketing efforts will fall on local governments, as the FBEDC previously managed the countywide marketing program
Additionally, the FBBP will need to pick up other tasks previously run by the FBEDC, such as advancing infrastructure, deregulation initiatives and education advocacy, the spokesperson said.
“The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce is honored to carry forward the vital work of the Fort Bend Economic Development Council, preserving its long-standing legacy and impact to quality growth and business excellence in Fort Bend County,” Qiara Suggs, chair of the Fort Bend Chamber, said in the release.
What's next?
Current FBEDC members will gain membership to the FBBP through April, when they can then choose to rejoin the organization, the spokesperson said.
"To effectively represent business interests in Fort Bend County, it is important to create scale and limit government funding where possible," they said. "We hope businesses throughout Fort Bend County join the FBBP as the primary convener of countywide business concerns. As we approach one million in population, we must create our own business organization like the Greater Houston Partnership, here in Fort Bend County. The FBBP and integration of the FBEDC is the beginning of such an effort."
