Certified Downtown Professional

Developing your Toolbox for Developing (Funding, Resources, & Tools I)
This class will provide downtown development professionals with a working knowledge of the powers and programs available to either facilitate development by the authority or to incentivize development by the private sector.

Ethics & Managing Different Stakeholders
This class examines the importance of ethical conduct in the administration of a downtown development professional’s public duties and discuss ethical dilemmas that often confront them. Participants will gain knowledge, understanding and skills to communicate and cooperate effectively when managing different stakeholders.

Partnerships & Community Engagement Purpose
This class aims to teach downtown development professionals the value of partnerships, empower them to identify gaps in support, and illustrate how by working together with the board and local government can grow impactful community engagement. By the end of this session, downtown development professionals will have the skills to build partnerships, grow relationships, and lead confidently, with the understanding that together, we can accomplish more than we can alone.

Downtown Development Authority Law
This class helps is designed to provide understanding to the downtown development professional on the creation of DDA’s, the relationship between DDA’s the local government, geographic and functional boundaries of the DDA, organizational and operational structure of the DDA, along with the ethical and legal implications of such.

Event Planning, Implementation, and Marketing
This class will provide attendees an overview of the benefits of various types of events; how to effectively plan events and use social media to market downtown; and understand the economic impact of events in downtowns while learning from practitioners with real life examples.

Planning and Land Use for Downtowns
The purpose of this class is to acquaint downtown development professionals with Georgia’s comprehensive planning requirement and the basics of zoning ordinances. Downtown professionals will participate in the city’s planning process, ensure downtown has appropriate zoning, and focus on implementing the comprehensive plan for downtown.

Downtown Preservation & Design
This class will help the downtown development professional gain a working knowledge of historic preservation objectives and benefits; basic methodology and best management practices; and tools utilized for guiding context-based decisions.

Fundamentals of Organizational Development and Management
The purpose of this class is to provide a high-level overview of the foundational components that make up good organizational development by providing downtown development professionals with an understanding of the value of each component and the role it plays in good organizational practices.

Role of a Downtown Professional
This class will provide an overview of the downtown professional role and help empower downtown development professionals to gain objective and credible recognitions for their dedication and knowledge. It will delve into how to provide a program with clear expectations, a high level of partner confidence and credibility among elected officials and local leaders.

Business Development & Support
This class will facilitate a deeper understanding of how market analysis can be used to enhance business development, identify critical components of a business plan for greatest success, and how to guide prospective entrepreneurs to community and regional resources.

Strategic and Master Planning
Downtown development professionals will learn a system for establishing a common direction for their organization to help guide future activity. This class introduces the principles and methods of strategic planning for downtown development authorities and master planning for downtown districts.

Effective Communication and Public Speaking
This class will demonstrate how to maintain positive workplace relationships by improving specific interpersonal, group, and organizational communication skills. Practical and interactive exercises will provide the opportunity to reflect on their communication skills and become more effective communicators at work. Downtown development professionals will learn how to better convey their messages when speaking to groups and presenting ideas, concepts, projects, recommendations and reports. Participants will gain skills in developing presentation content, and delivering an effective presentation.

Real Estate Development and Finance
This class will demonstrate and discuss the types of downtown development projects and best practices for anticipating and overcoming barriers that may occur in these projects. Downtown development professionals will become equipped to facilitate economic development projects from start to finish.

Funding, Resources, and Tools II
This class will provide downtown development professionals with an in-depth understanding of how to use funding, resources and tools for a variety of development projects.