Charlottesville, Virginia, September 15, 2023 – The Thomas Jefferson Regional Planning District Commission (TJPDC) invites all employers in Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson Counties and the City of Charlottesville to take a survey about the local business environment. The survey is part of a collaborative regional planning effort that TJPDC is leading, along with various partners across the region. The TJPDC will be preparing a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) plan that establishes a vision for the region’s economic development programs and projects over the next five years. In order to best inform the strategies going forward, we are engaging employers and other key stakeholders to fully understand the issues and opportunities facing businesses throughout the region. Your responses to the survey will support the identification of the greatest areas of need within the current business climate and directly aid in the development of strategies to address the needs. The study will seek to identify challenges in the business climate through data-driven analysis and strategize ways to tackle these challenges through ambitious, but practical solutions. “The TJPDC is pleased to be engaging the region’s for-profit, non-profit, and public employers to seek invaluable input to develop of the region’s first Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) plan. Feedback from employers in the private, social, and public sectors will help inform strategies that address our region’s specific needs, which will ultimately make our regional economy more resilient,” says Christine Jacobs, Executive Director. The online survey is open through October 15th and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It can be accessed at: https://camoin.surveysparrow.com/s/TJPDC-CEDS-Business-Survey-/tt-r8wXF3msrXKJZxHPZuLKNt The TJPDC is asking all private, non-profit, and public employers in the region to take the survey so it can collect the most accurate data possible, establish employer needs, and help bring in the best partners to conduct this work. For more information about the economic development study and strategy and to learn how to get involved, please visit: https://tjpdc.org/our-work/economic-development/ About the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC) The TJPDC is a regional planning agency that offers a broad range of services in the areas of transportation, community development, housing, economic development, land-use/planning, environmental programming, as well as legislative services. The TJPDC serves the member governments within the Planning District, to include the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. The TJPDC currently houses the region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and coordinates a wide variety of short-range and long-range urban and rural transportation, planning, environment, housing, and community development projects.