Any organization with an economic development mission limited to a defined city, state, or region is invited to submit an entry. Entries from both U.S. locations and locations outside the U.S. are welcome. (Entries must be presented in English, however.)

Each organization may submit only one Economic Development Deal for consideration. An Economic Development Deal is defined for this purpose as any one of the following:

• A project or effort that resulted in the relocation/expansion of a company to a location served by the entering organization;
• A project or effort that resulted in the expansion of a company already within the territory served by the entering organization;
• A project or effort that resulted in the demonstrable retention of a company that would have otherwise left, in whole or in part, the territory served by the entering organization;
• Any combination of the above.

A "company" as used above is defined as any organization, whether public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, whose presence creates jobs, increases the tax base, and otherwise stimulates the local economy. To qualify for a Deal fo the Year Award, the company in question must have announced its final decision to relocate, expand, or stay put no earlier than July 1, 2007.