The Northwest Iowa Planning and Development Commission is a regional governmental organization whose mission is to provide community and economic development and job training services for a nine county area. The agency's full time, professional staff assists the member counties and municipalities in such areas as community planning and zoning, federal and state grant preparation and administration, economic development planning activities, general governmental technical assistance, Workforce Investment Act/Workforce Development, school to work, and PROMISE JOBS administration. In effect, the NWIPDC staff functions as an extension of member governments' staffs, providing the specialized services and technical assistance that would not be financially feasible for each governmental entity to provide on its own.

The region served by the NWIPDC includes the counties of Lyon, Sioux, Osceola, O'Brien, Dickinson, Clay, Buena Vista, Emmet and Palo Alto. Membership is voluntary and currently includes all nine counties and 79 municipalities.

The NWIPDC's policy council is made up of one city, one county, and one private representation from each county. This representative is designed to help keep the agency aware and responsive to its members' needs and concerns.

The NWIPDC also serves as the regional planning affiliate for the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. This designation means that agency staff assists area governments with the complexities of region transportation planning.