SAP&DC is an Economic Development District (EDD) designated by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) under the Department of Commerce.

As an EDD, SAP&DC is required to maintain an active Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

SAP&DC’s mission focuses on addressing human resource development, encouraging the creation and retention of jobs, and actively seeking to improve the quality of life for residents of the Southern Alleghenies Region (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon and Somerset counties).

An approved CEDS is a requirement for EDA funding of economic development projects.

The CEDS was developed with detailed input from SAP&DC senior staff and well-informed individuals from a wide range of public and professional agencies within the six counties.  Contributors included representatives of economic development and planning organizations, businesses, universities, and county governments.

The 2002 CEDS was recently updated.  EDA recently changed the CEDS format, so the methods used to prepare the 2007 CEDS were significantly different from the previous version.  The 2007 CEDS required more community input, and greater emphasis is placed on regional-level goals for economic development and growth.

The 2007 CEDS focuses on economic trends that have occurred since the 2002 CEDS was prepared.  These trends will guide current efforts to achieve more diversity in regional economic development and growth.  The revised CEDS reflects an evolving strategy that addresses problems that hinder economic development, opportunities for development and goals to sustain economic development and improve the quality of life for citizens.