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Breaking regional cycles of poverty is a challenge for both rural and urban communities throughout the United States. The structural forces that have kept persistently poor places in poverty are complex, interrelated, and together poorly understood. There is an urgent need to identify and assess the root causes of economic marginalization in these communities to create better policies to help overcome the cycles of persistent poverty.

Regional development organizations, such as EDA-designated Economic Development Districts (EDDs), have scored significant achievements in facilitating the recovery of their area economies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. There remains, however, a disconnect between how regional and state economic developers align their strategies for economic growth to maximize impact.