Accredited California Economic Developer (ACE) Program
Certification Program for California Economic Developers
The Accredited California Economic Developer (ACE) program is a certification program offered through a partnership between the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) and the California Academy for Economic Development.
The ACE program prepares participants to effectively create, manage and implement economic development programs in California’s unique environment. At the end of successful completion of all program requirements, the participant will earn ACE certification, which can help set them apart in their field.
Pathways to ACE Certification
Further details about the various pathways towards ACE Certification, including related fees, are provided below.
- Successfully complete Introduction to Economic Development Certificate Program (“Keys Course”)
- Keys Course Fee (member/non-member): $900/$1,000
- 100% attendance and completion of the summary exam at the end of the training is required to receive Certificate of Completion
- Successfully complete Advanced Institute
- Advanced Institute Fee (member/non-member): $1,300 / $1,500
- Attendance of each class and a passing score for each class day’s exam is required to receive Certificate of Completion
- Meet the relevant experience requirements
- Submit a Qualifications Form (to be provided to all those that complete the Advanced Institute). The candidate’s qualifications will be reviewed by the ACE Advisory Committee and considered for approval to sit for the exam.
- See the Work Experience Requirements section for more specifics on qualification criteria.
- Pass the ACE Exam
- ACE Exam Fee (member/non-member): $200/$250
- A panel of senior economic developers will evaluate the candidate’s performance on the submitted written report and presentation to determine a pass or no-pass result. Those that do not pass the exam on the first attempt may retake the exam at no charge.
- See the ACE Exam Process section for more specifics on the format and timeline of the exam.
- Re-certify every three (3) years
- ACE Recertification Fee (member/non-member): $150/$150
- In order to encourage active engagement with the California economic development profession, ACEs are required to re-certify every three years.
- See the ACE Recertification Process section for details on the criteria that qualify for recertification.
Total Certification Fee (member/non-member): $2,400 / $2,750
- Obtain approval to waive the Keys Course
- Submit a Keys Waiver Request Form to helen@caled.org by the deadline date to be considered for approval. In order to be eligible to request a waiver for the “Keys Course”, at least one of two criteria must be met:
- A minimum of 6 years of experience in economic development and/or closely-related field is required:
- Provide a summary of experience (including dates and relevancy of work in economic development) + a reference (name and contact details)
- Experience is within the past 10 years
- Successful completion of the Basic Economic Development Course (BEDC) in another state:
- Provide course certificate or letter on course provider letterhead confirming successful completion of coursework
- Acceptable BEDC course are those accepted by IEDC
- A minimum of 6 years of experience in economic development and/or closely-related field is required:
- Keys Course Waiver Fee (member/non-member): $100/$100
- Submit a Keys Waiver Request Form to helen@caled.org by the deadline date to be considered for approval. In order to be eligible to request a waiver for the “Keys Course”, at least one of two criteria must be met:
- Successfully complete Advanced Institute
- Advanced Institute Fee (member/non-member): $1,300 / $1,500
- Attendance of each class and a passing score for each class day’s exam is required to receive Certificate of Completion
- Meet the relevant experience requirements
- Submit a Qualifications Form (to be provided to all those that complete the Advanced Institute). The candidate’s qualifications will be reviewed by the ACE Advisory Committee and considered for approval to sit for the exam.
- See the Work Experience Requirements section for more specifics on qualification criteria.
- Pass the ACE Exam
- ACE Exam Fee (member/non-member): $200/$250
- A panel of senior economic developers will evaluate the candidate’s performance on the submitted written report and presentation to determine a pass or no-pass result. Those that do not pass the exam on the first attempt may retake the exam at no charge.
- See the ACE Exam Process section for more specifics on the format and timeline of the exam.
- Re-certify every three (3) years
- ACE Recertification Fee (member/non-member): $150/$150
- In order to encourage active engagement with the California economic development profession, ACEs are required to re-certify every three years.
- See the ACE Recertification Process section for details on the criteria that qualify for recertification.
Total Certification Fee (member/non-member): $1,600 / $1,850
- Successfully complete Introduction to Economic Development Certificate Program (“Keys Course”) or have an approved Keys Course Waiver
- Obtain approval to waive relevant Advanced Institute course(s)
Submit an Advanced Institute Course Waiver Request Form to helen@caled.org by the deadline date to be considered for approval. For each Advanced Institute course requested to be waived:- Provide course certificate or letter on course provider letterhead confirming
successful completion of coursework - Acceptable course providers may include APA, OUEDI, IEDC, NDC, ULI
- Course taken within past 5 years
- Include course description (comparable to Advanced Institute course)
- Note: Only up to three (3) courses may be waived. Navigating the Regulatory Environment and Entitlement Process in California is not eligible for waiver.
- Provide course certificate or letter on course provider letterhead confirming
- Obtain approval to waive relevant Advanced Institute course(s)
- Successfully complete non-waived Advanced Institute courses
- Advanced Institute Course Waiver Fee (member/non-member): $50/$50 per waived course
- Advanced Institute Fee (member/non-member): $300/$350 for each Advanced Institute Course
- Attendance of each class and a passing score for each class day’s exam is required to receive Certificate of Completion
- Meet the relevant experience requirements
- Submit a Qualifications Form (to be provided to all those that complete the Advanced Institute). The candidate’s qualifications will be reviewed by the ACE Advisory Committee and considered for approval to sit for the exam.
- See the Work Experience Requirements section for more specifics on qualification criteria.
- Pass the ACE Exam
- ACE Exam Fee (member/non-member): $200/$250
- A panel of senior economic developers will evaluate the candidate’s performance on the submitted written report and presentation to determine a pass or no-pass result. Those that do not pass the exam on the first attempt may retake the exam at no charge.
- See the ACE Exam Process section for more specifics on the format and timeline of the exam.
- Re-certify every three (3) years
- ACE Recertification Fee (member/non-member): $150/$150
- In order to encourage active engagement with the California economic development profession, ACEs are required to re-certify every three years.
- See the ACE Recertification Process section for details on the criteria that qualify for recertification.
Total Certification Fee: Varies based on number of courses waived/registered
- CEcD’s seeking waiver of Advanced Institute courses:
- Submit an Advanced Institute Course Waiver Request Form, meeting the criteria below, to helen@caled.org by the deadline date to be considered for approval:
- Provide certificate or letter on IEDC letterhead confirming successful certification and current standing
- Must be in current standing on CEcD requirements
- Note: Only up to three (3) courses may be waived. Navigating the Regulatory Environment and Entitlement Process in California is not eligible for waiver.
- Submit an Advanced Institute Course Waiver Request Form, meeting the criteria below, to helen@caled.org by the deadline date to be considered for approval:
- Successfully complete non-waived Advanced Institute courses
- Advanced Institute Fee (member/non-member): $300/$350 for each Advanced Institute Course
- Attendance of each class and a passing score for each class day’s exam is required to receive Certificate of Completion
- Request to sit for the ACE exam
- Submitting a Qualifications Form is not necessary as work experience requirement is met with a CEcD
- Pass the ACE Exam
- ACE Exam Fee (member/non-member): $200/$250
- A panel of senior economic developers will evaluate the candidate’s performance on the submitted written report and presentation to determine a pass or no-pass result. Those that do not pass the exam on the first attempt may retake the exam at no charge.
- See the ACE Exam Process section for more specifics on the format and timeline of the exam.
- Re-certify every three (3) years
- ACE Recertification Fee (member/non-member): $150/$150
- In order to encourage active engagement with the California economic development profession, ACEs are required to re-certify every three years.
- See the ACE Recertification Process section for details on the criteria that qualify for recertification.
Total Certification Fee: Varies based on number courses registered
ACE Certification Requirements and Exam
Candidates who express interest in going through the ACE exam process must first meet the relevant experience requirements below and provide detailed summary of experience in Qualification Form (to be provided to candidates who have completed the Advanced Institute). The ACE Advisory Committee will review the candidate’s provided experience material and determine eligibility for approval to sit for the ACE exam.
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- Completion of at least four years of paid professional experience (public and/or private sector) in the field of economic development. Please provide resume, summary of experience, and two references.
- The resume and summary of experience provided must demonstrate experience in 4 out of 8 economic development core areas below. Please provide a summary of project work for each core area, as well as your role in the work*:
- Business attraction: How to market your community
- Developing an economic development strategy
- Basic and advanced financing techniques – business & project finance
- Business retention and expansion techniques
- Business Creation: entrepreneurship support systems and programs
- Real estate development and reuse
- Community economic development strategies
- Managing an economic development organization – public, private, or nonprofit
*To assist you in understanding the level of detail required in your summary, here is an example of a statement demonstrating experience in the core area of business retention:
In my role as economic development director for County of XXXX, we created a business retention program to show our existing businesses that we value their presence and contributions to our county. Every Thursday, county staff would partner with a county supervisor and the local chamber to visit local businesses to thank them and see if there was anything we could do to assist them. My role was to develop the program, create the methodology for who to visit along with the talking points for the visitation team. I managed two staff that implemented the program and worked with them to identify the program’s metrics for success for eighteen months.
Successful completion of the ACE Exam requires comprehensive knowledge of economic development through work experience, as well as the content covered in the Keys Course and the Advanced Institute. The format of the exam is a case study which includes a written report (e.g. staff report or memo) and presentation to be prepared by the candidate on a specific economic development scenario. The case study must address at least four of eight core economic development areas and tie into the community’s economic development strategic plan and the economy at large, as well as share how the economic development activity in the scenario improves residents’ quality of life.
The ACE candidate will be given between two and three weeks to prepare the written report and slide deck presentation detailing how they plan to approach and resolve the scenario. The candidate will present this material to panelists on the scheduled exam appointment date via an online platform. This appointment is scheduled in a one-hour time slot, but generally lasts about 30 minutes with a 20-minute maximum given for the presentation followed by a Q&A with the panelists. An important part of the exam includes the interactive Q&A period where the panelists will request further detail and/or question the candidate’s approach, which the candidate will need to defend.
ACE exams are typically held each year in November or December. In early Fall, CALED staff reaches out to potential candidates that have met the Advanced Institute requirement to check for interest in submitting qualifications for review to sit for the exam. If you have any questions about this process, you may reach out to Helen Schaubmayer at helen@caled.org
ACE Recertification Process
In order to encourage active engagement with the California economic development profession, we require that ACEs re-certify every three years.
To meet this requirement, we ask that each cohort of ACEs complete at least two of the below before the given expiration date, which is three years after the ACE’s original certification date and each recertification date thereafter.
- Continuous CALED membership since time of earning ACE.
- Register and participate in 3 live CALED Webinar Wednesdays. Visit https://caled.org/events-and-webinars/ for more information.
- Complete one IEDC full-day training course (must be approved by The Academy).
- Attend the CALED Annual Conference.
- Leadership in CALED (holding office or serving on a committee).
- Present at a CALED conference.
- Write a CALED Journal article.
- Other criteria that may meet the requirement (upon advance approval).
In addition to at least two items from the above, recertification would require payment of a recertification fee of $150 every three years to cover The Academy’s program administration costs.