RNTA Current Projects

The following list includes current RNTA projects. For completed research and tools, please reference the EDA Research Reports and the Tools for Economic Development. To learn more about these RNTA projects, please contact rnta@eda.gov.

Research and Evaluation Projects

  1. Developing A University Center Cohort

    Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University Economic Development Association (UEDA)
    This project will build a supportive cohort of EDA-funded UCs and connect them to a broader ecosystem; gain an understanding of the key challenges and opportunities facing UC program directors and the communities they serve, especially in their efforts to advance equity and resilience; elevate successful approaches to advancing equity and resilience in the context of the UC program; organize and disseminate content featuring successful approaches by UCs; promote the use of these approaches and tools by UCs and other partners within UEDA's affiliated economic development networks; and produce a technical report summarizing the UC program outcomes and impacts.

  2. Argonne National Laboratory

    Argonne National Laboratory
    Through this partnership, the Argonne National Laboratory will help EDA develop a data driven understanding of impacts from current grants and identify future areas of opportunities for funding through analysis of current economic conditions.

    1. National Economic Research and Resilience Center (NERRC)
      Through the Research and National Technical Assistance Program, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has funded an interdisciplinary economic research center at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), The National Economic Research and Resilience Center (NERRC). The NERRC provides innovative and transparent economic data access, research, and analysis to support and strengthen economic development and resilience in communities across the nation.

  3. Enhancing Rural Innovation

    Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
    This project is focused on the need to better understand the drivers of rural innovation, examples of successful regional and rural innovation ecosystems, policies in advanced economies that promote this innovation, and how rural areas are or should be preparing for near-term global economic transformations.

  4. Understanding Impact: EDA Evaluation

    Urban Institute
    This purpose of this project is to conduct a program evaluation of infrastructure and non-infrastructure EDA grants from 2010 – 2019. Using the knowledge from this evaluation, Urban Institute will produce a series of policy briefs highlighting important findings and develop an immersive narrative microsite that supports EDA’s mission.

National Technical Assistance Projects

  1. Economic Future of Nuclear Host Communities Technical Assistance

    Smart Growth America (SGA), Nuclear Decommissioning Collaborative (NDC), NADO Research Foundation (NADO RF), the Center on Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)
    This project funds a technical assistance program to increase issue awareness, build local capacity, and better prepare nuclear closure communities (NCCs) and their economies for a post-nuclear power plant future. For more information, please view their website.

  2. Enhancing State and Local EDO Engagement to Support COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency

    Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation (NADO - RF), State International Development Organizations (SIDO), Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI)/American Manufacturing Communities Collaborative (AMCC)
    The award will be used to develop best practices in economic development integration and alignment, provide training and other technical assistance to new state economic development staff, and conduct outreach to incorporate international engagement strategies into local comprehensive economic development strategies (CEDS). For more information, please view the award announcement.