East Central Intergovernmental Association
East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) is the regional Council of Governments for the eastern Iowa five county region of Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, and Jackson counties. All 71 municipalities in the five county region are members. ECIA was formed to develop regional solutions for local governments facing similar problems. Since 1974, ECIA has provided services and programs ranging from community and economic development to housing assistance and transportation planning. As a regional entity, and in partnership with individual communities, ECIA has worked on a number of sustainability initiatives including community revitalization, greenspace development, local foods, and more. Working with the IISC will allow ECIA to continue to serve numerous Iowans, from rural to urban communities.
![ecia.jpg ecia.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/2022-09/ecia_0.jpg)
Projects
![dsc01622.jpg dsc01622.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/dsc01622.jpg?h=f03d1f75&itok=QBalocOl)
Attracting Young Families to Jackson County
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the School of Urban & Regional Planning developed strategies and recommendations to position and market Jackson County as a top choice in the region for young families making residential location decisions.
![img_4911.jpg img_4911.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_4911.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=2P06AXvw)
Cedar County Vision Plan
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning created a Vision Plan to support Cedar County's efforts to earn Great Places designation through the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
Concurrent with the development of the Cedar County Comprehensive Plan, students developed a Cedar County visioning document to support an application for Iowa Great Places designation, a competitive program administered by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
![img_4874.1.jpg img_4874.1.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_4874.1.jpg?h=d318f057&itok=UvzeeJAH)
Cedar County Comprehensive Plan
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning created a Comprehensive Plan for Cedar County.
![Law and planning students at the capital building in Des Moines Law and planning students at the capital building in Des Moines](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/law_students.jpg?h=4521fff0&itok=KLfkQ0f0)
Community Blight to Community Benefit: Revitalizing Eastern Iowa through a Land Bank
Clinic law students, who are second or third year students at the University of Iowa College of Law participating in the Community Empowerment Law Project (CELP), explored strategies, through a legal lens, to decrease blighted properties and increase affordable housing in Eastern Iowa. In particular, they examined whether a Land Bank might be a feasible strategy in Iowa.
![Students test video equipment in the IDEAL lab Students test video equipment in the IDEAL lab](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_5859.jpg?h=4521fff0&itok=g90nBm5U)
Community Storytelling Project - Grant Wood Loop
Students from a variety of disciplines taking Community Development in the Upper Midwest produced videos that tell stories from the Grant Wood Loop, located in eastern Iowa, through their own experiences in the region and interviews with local residents.
![Delwood Elementary School Delwood Elementary School](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_1819.jpg?h=7867c5e2&itok=MSedYdAU)
Delmar Community Vision Plan
In a report to the Delmar Economic Development Group, a graduate student in the School of Urban & Regional Planning completed an independent project that provides recommendations and identifies resources that help achieve a community-driven vision for the City of Delmar.
![DeWitt Referral Center DeWitt Referral Center](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/drc.retail.area_.2.jpg?h=52d3fcb6&itok=Yau2r3Ny)
DeWitt Referral Center Retail Management Recommendations
Through a graduate assistantship from the Tippie College of Business, an MBA student worked alongside IISC staff to develop recommendations for retail inventory management policies and procedures for the DeWitt Referral Center, a non-profit organization that serves a resource for local families experiencing hardship or crisis.
![Lake Delhi Final Presentation Lake Delhi Final Presentation](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_5742.jpg?h=4521fff0&itok=OniuVVtr)
Lake Delhi De-Centralized Wastewater Treatment Alternatives
Environmental Engineering students evaluated decentralized wastewater treatment alternatives for three sites in Lake Delhi, a popular recreational area in Eastern Iowa, demonstrating various designs and solutions that could be considered throughout the Lake Delhi community.
![Civil Engineering students Civil Engineering students](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/pocket_neighborhood_students.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=ATKQhCR7)
Maquoketa Pocket Neighborhood Design & Engineering
As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created the design and management of a pocket neighborhood for a site near Maquoketa, Iowa for the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA).
![Delmar Storytelling Video Recording Delmar Storytelling Video Recording](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_4205.jpg?h=0d27ee61&itok=f7Od9ZaX)
Delmar Storytelling and Community Development
Graduate students in the School of Urban & Regional Planning course Community Development in the Upper Midwest worked with 4th-6th graders from the Delwood Community School District in Delmar, IA to produce videos and books that tell the story of the community through interviews with longtime residents.
![Meghann Foster Strategic Communications Class Meghann Foster Strategic Communications Class](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/dsc00946.jpg?h=f03d1f75&itok=dnn_WSg1)
ECIA Communications Plan
Students from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication created a strategic communications plan for East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) that established internal standards for communicating to members and residents in their region.
![Edgewood Museum site visit Edgewood Museum site visit](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/bw1.jpg?h=94b28deb&itok=0_sg62Jn)
Edgewood Historical Museum Project
In a report to The Edgewood Museum Corporation, students in Heidi Lung's "Museums in the Digital Age" class recommended appropriate methods to digitize historical artifacts for a new community museum and developed a comprehensive communications plan for the organization.
![business_students_visit_with_lost_nation_community_leaders_on_10.15.16.jpg business_students_visit_with_lost_nation_community_leaders_on_10.15.16.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/business_students_visit_with_lost_nation_community_leaders_on_10.15.16.jpg?h=81c029a9&itok=Y5rzz7ZM)
Lost Nation Downtown Revitalization Study
Students in the Entrepreneurial Management Institute: Business Consulting class conducted research and made recommendations on best competitive practices to attract entrepreneurs and small entrepreneurial businesses to locate in downtown Lost Nation.
![Maquoketa Art Experience final presentation Maquoketa Art Experience final presentation](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_3147.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=d5mgMgYu)
Maquoketa Art Experience Marketing
Students from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication created a strategic marketing plan to attract artists and art enthusiasts to the Maquoketa Art Experience, a non-profit organization with a physical community space in downtown Maquoketa.
![Maquoketa City Council Maquoketa City Council](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_4363.jpg?h=0d27ee61&itok=bC87eLfJ)
Maquoketa Branding and Marketing
Students from the Tippie College of Business Marketing Institute created an integrated marketing communication plan that includes the new branding for the City of Maquoketa.
![Site visit to Preston for Pocket Neighborhood Site visit to Preston for Pocket Neighborhood](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/dsc00808.jpg?h=7964483c&itok=W-WAM7Ju)
Pocket Neighborhood Design & Management
As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created the design and management of a pocket neighborhood for the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA).
![Petal Project Focus Group Petal Project Focus Group](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/pei_focus_group.jpg?h=66f4b17e&itok=VVKUqBjy)
Prosperity Eastern Iowa: Program Evaluation & Plan
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning provided an update to the program structure and plans for The Petal Project, one of Prosperity Eastern Iowa’s (PEI) flagship economic development programs.
![img_1810.jpg img_1810.jpg](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_1810.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=4yJuUC06)
Regional Brownfields and Social Vulnerability
In a report to the the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA), a student in the Geographical & Sustainability Studies: Senior Project Seminar class completed an independent project that evaluated spatial relationships between Brownfields sites and public school buildings, using free and reduced lunch rates as an indicator of vulnerability.
![Brownfields Group in Clinton Brownfields Group in Clinton](/sites/iisc.uiowa.edu/files/styles/widescreen__768_x_432/public/2022-09/img_2063.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=pcPqwKmb)
Regional Brownfields Inventory and Land Bank Feasibility Study
As part of their capstone project, second-year graduate students from the University of Iowa’s School of Urban & Regional Planning developed a process to inventory and prioritize brownfield sites on behalf of the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA), and conducted a feasibility study for a regional land bank.