Localizing Impact: Communities and The Future
Inspiring Economic Development through Innovation, Inclusion, and Emerging Technologies
About the Symposium
Hosted by the Yale School of Management’s Economic Development Club, the Symposium brings together students, practitioners, policymakers, and private-sector leaders to discuss how localized action can drive national progress.
As global systems undergo turbulence and funding priorities shift, the future of economic development is increasingly shaped at the local level. This year’s Symposium explores how cities, states, tribal nations, and regions are charting their own course—reimagining funding models, revitalizing downtowns, forging international partnerships, and building resilient, innovation-driven economies. The program focuses on how localized leadership can seize emerging opportunities amid policy uncertainty, with particular attention to diversification, infrastructure transformation, and community-led innovation clusters that link development to global investment trends.
What to Expect
The Symposium provides a platform for exchanging ideas, building cross-sector partnerships, and shaping the future of economic development. Participants can look forward to a dynamic, full-day program featuring:
Keynote Address with a renown leader shaping the next era of economic development policy
Thematic Panels that cover insight about local infrastructure development strategies, workforce program futures, financing, and community-led innovation
Spotlight Session about innovation ecosystem development in Connecticut
Student and Recent Graduate “Lightning Talks” about regional policiy and programs inspiring localized economic development
Networking Breakfast, Lunch, and Reception connecting students, faculty, and practitioners from across the region
Who Should Attend
The Symposium welcomes all:
Economic Development Practitioners: state, regional, international and tribal leaders driving new models of growth
Investors and Industry Executives: those advancing innovation in clean energy, social impact, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, and place-based finance
Students and Researchers: individuals exploring intersections of business, policy-making, finance, innovation and technology
Nonprofits and Community Builders: anyone dedicated to equitable, sustainable local transformation
Why It Matters
As the global economy transitions toward new systems of energy, data, and infrastructure, the capacity of local institutions will determine how inclusive and resilient growth becomes. The 2026 Symposium creates a forum to align innovation-based strategies with local execution, transforming ideas into investment and collaboration into impact.
“...economic development strategies have to be more sophisticated and sustainable than smokestack chasing—convincing large corporations to do business in a state or region—and site development. I wanted to learn how to invest in the dynamism of both a people and a place; connect workforce strategies with access-to-capital initiatives; and develop new, resilient, economic clusters. ”