Over the past couple years, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has advertised record capital investment numbers.
In 2022, it reported new investments of $22 billion and in 2023 another $29 billion. These are both record years for the IEDC. Still, more than one state official has lamented that taxpayers don’t seem to grasp how big these numbers are, and how important they are to Indiana.
That’s a good question, worth exploring.
The IEDC was formed during Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration as a privatized development group overseen by a board of business and elected leaders. It is small, fewer than 100 folks, and it performs a dizzying array of activities from managing the READI Grants to helping businesses navigate state regulatory agencies.
Recently, the agency began taking on a role as a real estate developer. That decision warrants a separate column (along with months of legislative hearings). Otherwise, the IEDC has been a model development agency for close to two decades.