Developing Strong Projects
- 1. Economic Development Administration (EDA) INVESTING IN AMERICA’S COMMUNITIES
- 2. ▪ Your EDR is your EDA best friend! ▪ Eligibility Own – Operate - Maintain ▪ Budgets (424 = Engineering Report = Construction Budget Narrative) ▪ Label Attachments Clearly ▪ Signatures Stay Consistent (Authorized Representative) ▪ Engineering and Environmental Reports Are Completely Filled Out TIPS & TRICKS
- 3. ▪ Your EDR is your Best Friend ▪ Give background. How did this project come together? ▪ Leveraging local/regional assets ▪ Sustainability ▪ Complexity – Don’t Make It Too Hard ▪ Support Letters/MOUs/Intergovernmental Agreements ▪ KISS ▪ Sustainability PROJECT NARRATIVE
- 4. Equity Recovery & Resilience Workforce Development Manufacturing Technology-Based Economic Development Environmentally-Sustainable Development Exports & Foreign Direct Investment EDA’s Investment Priorities 5
- 5. EDA’s American Rescue Plan Grant Programs
- 6. Invest in economic plans, research to assess the effectiveness of EDA's programs, and support stakeholder communities around key EDA initiatives Statewide Planning, Research, & Networks $90 million Statewide Planning: $59M Research & Networks: $31M $1 million planning grants to each state and territory • Research & Evaluation: Fund projects to study the implementation of EDA’s American Rescue Plan programs; identify valuable strategies, data, and trends; and inform future EDA grant-making • Communities of Practice: Fund the launch and operations of communities of practice across key groups of EDA stakeholders (UCs, RLFs, EDDs, etc.) and other American Rescue Plan programs (Build Back Better Regional Challenge, Good Jobs Challenge, etc.) 13
- 7. Transportation hub Mid-size town Small industrial town Entrepreneurship Cluster ($25M) Build Back Better Regional Challenge $1 Billion Mid-size coastal town Capitol city University town Major city Services Cluster ($50M) Manufacturing Cluster ($80M) University town Capitol city Major city Major industrial town Major city Projects can include: Planning | Infrastructure | Workforce | Entrepreneurship 14 Transform economically distressed communities through substantial investment in regional growth clusters • Proposals should include regional coalitions, industry support, and high-impact projects with a shared vision for a regional growth cluster • One key coordinating entity per region • 3-8 projects per regional cluster • $100M to the Coal Communities Commitment
- 8. Phase II: 20-30 regions from Phase I regions awarded implementation grants from full project cluster applications Total: ~$25-$100M per region Phase I: 50-60 regions awarded technical assistance grants to finalize plans for project clusters Total: ~$500,000 per region Build Back Better Regional Challenge Two-Phased Approach 15 $100M Coal Communities Commitment
- 9. Accelerate communities impacted by COVID-related travel and tourism decline through block grants to states and competitive grants Travel, Tourism, & Outdoor Recreation $750 million State Grants: $510M Challenge: $240M • Award allocations to each state and territory based on economic development indicators in the leisure and hospitality industries • Can fund destination marketing, but cannot fund economic diversification projects • Assist communities that suffered economic injury because of job losses in travel, tourism, or outdoor recreation sectors • EDA prefers projects that directly support the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation sectors; but will consider diversification projects • Cannot fund local destination marketing 16
- 10. Economic Adjustment Assistance $500 million Invest in infrastructure, technical assistance, planning, and revolving loan programs through competitive grants available to every community • Most flexible American Rescue Plan program; intended to fund non-construction and construction activities not already part of another Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). • A wide range of technical, planning, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and public works and infrastructure projects are eligible for funding under this program. • EDA encourages application submissions based on long-term, regionally oriented, coordinated, and collaborative economic development or redevelopment strategies that foster economic growth and resilience. This includes plans aimed at building stronger regional economic links between urban centers and rural areas. 17 $200M Coal Communities Commitment
- 11. Good Jobs Challenge $500 million Get Americans back to work by establishing or strengthening regional systems to train workers with in-demand skills through employer-driven training models that support participants with wrap-around services and employer commitments to hire 19 Program Implementation Funding for non- construction projects to provide workforce training and connect workers with quality jobs, including wrap- around services Program Design Funding to develop skills training curriculum and materials, secure technical expertise to train workers, and secure employer commitments to hire System Development Funding to help an organization establish and develop workforce systems and sectoral partnerships
- 12. • Beneficiaries: unemployed or underemployed workers from underserved communities, incumbent workers from underserved communities with opportunity for upskilling and increased wages • Capital expenses, such as equipment purchase and training facility leases, are permitted. However, construction activities are not allowable; any workforce program that requires construction can and should apply to other NOFOs, such as the Economic Adjustment Assistance NOFO • Disbursement of funds gated upon successful completion of each phase of workforce program development benchmarks Good Jobs Challenge $500 million Get Americans back to work by establishing or strengthening regional systems to train workers with in-demand skills through employer-driven training models that support participants with wrap-around services and employer commitments to hire 20 Program Implementation Program Design System Development
- 13. Questions? Visit www.eda.gov/arpa to learn more about the American Rescue Plan programs and find contact information for each. APRIL CAMPBELL Economic Development Representative – Arkansas U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration Cell: 512-667-0496 Email: acampbell@eda.gov