Grant

August 19 - 23, 2019

  • EDA announced 11 investments from August 19-23, 2019, totaling $1,703,355, which is matched by $1,601,462 in local investments. These investments include the following: (1) $822,855 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance projects to help communities design and implement strategies to adjust or bring about change to their economy in response to structural damage to their underlying economic base; which includes one project for $633,555 that will help create 35 jobs; (2) $191,000 in three Partnership Planning projects to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy process; and (3) $689,500 in five Technical Assistance University Center projects to make the varied and vast resources of universities available to the economic development practitioner community.
    • $822,855 in three Economic Adjustment Assistance projects, matched by $777,212 in local investments, as follows:
      • $633,555, matched by $646,712 in local investment, to the Ben Franklin technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia/Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, to fund the development of a new life sciences regional innovation cluster to support the Philadelphia region’s life science sector. The project will assist in the implementation of a technical assistance program to help fill commercialization gaps and leverage expansion of technology workforce programs among community colleges and universities. This investment will work to address the economic challenges and special economic needs of the life sciences industry, which will help facilitate new business formation, job growth, and long-term economic diversification in the region. The grantee estimates that this investment will help create 35 jobs.
      • $99,500, matched by $101,500 in local investment, to the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, Ridgway/Elk County, Pennsylvania, to fund the Regional Broadband Vertical Asset Inventory study to determine the viability of using existing vertical assets to expand a broadband network into rural areas of northwestern Pennsylvania and test existing lines for speed. Results of this study will provide essential information to support the region’s effort in building a broadband system to diversify its economy, which will help sustain and grow businesses throughout the region.
      • $90,000, matched by $29,000 in local investment, to the Greater Louisville foundation, Inc., Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky, to support the development of a comprehensive economic development assessment for the region served by the Greater Louisville Foundation, Inc., which comprises 15 counties in the metropolitan area. The study will focus on resources in the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the innovation pipeline, to help identify the capacity and core competencies of various organizations, design a coordinating mechanism to ensure consistency and collaboration, and streamline the process by which the private sector assesses these services.
    • $191,000 in three Partnership Planning projects, matched by $134,750 in local investment, to support the development and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) process. The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy.
    • $689,500 in five Technical Assistance University Center projects, matched by $689,500 in local investment, to support a five-year University Center (UC) program, which is a competitively-based partnership between EDA and academic institutions that makes the varied and vast resources of universities available to the economic development practitioner community.