Frequently Asked Questions

How and when will my CEDS plan be delivered?

You will receive your plan as a color PDF download via email, usually by the next business day.  

How can I access my CEDS plan?

Besides receiving your CEDS plan download link via email, you can view previously ordered plans on your Account page, by clicking on the Order number to access the corresponding plan download link.

Where do you get your information for these plans?

Acorn is a proprietary large language model driven by AI technology to crawl regional economic development data sets, along with comparable communities’ programs and outcomes, to produce strategy plans supplemented with current demographic and labor data.  Our cutting-edge economic development planning, crafted by seasoned economic developers and enhanced with the precision of artificial intelligence, represents a groundbreaking approach in the field.

This model has been trained on a diverse range of sources from the Internet, books, journals, and other texts up to April 2023.  Acorn identifies patterns during training, including comparable communities’ programs and outcomes, to provide comprehensive recommendations that are balanced and from diverse perspectives.  Nevertheless, our reports should be used as a starting point.  We encourage clients to perform additional research and conduct community stakeholder feedback to validate and ensure that the recommendations and action plan meet their specific needs and standards.

Each of our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Plans also include the latest demographic and economic overview data for your community.  The latest data comes from government sources, as summarized here, with data visualization charts and graphs provided by Lightcast.

Where can I manage my subscriptions?

You can view and manage your subscriptions from your Account page,  From your subscription admin page, you can view and update contact information, billing information, and pause or cancel plan subscriptions.  All subscriptions are pre-paid annually. Customers can cancel/pause their subscription after the second billing cycle.

What are my subscription options?

Customers can elect to receive: (1) a new, updated plan annually with updated economic overview statistics, or (2) a new, updated plan annually with updated economic overview statistics delivered quarterly (4x per year).

Can I order an editable Word version of the plan narrative?

Yes, after purchasing a plan you will have the option to purchase the plan narrative in editable Word format as an additional purchase here.

 

Can I order my plan's data graphic files for social media, newsletter, and website insertion?

Yes, after purchasing a plan you will have the option to purchase the plan's data graphic files for social media, newsletter, and website insertion here.  It will come as a ZIP folder containing PNG image files.