How to Apply

For 50 years, the U.S. Economic Development Administration has partnered with distressed communities throughout the United States to foster job creation, collaboration and regional innovation.

EDA grants help to fulfill regional economic development strategies designed to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship, advance regional competitiveness, create higher-skill, living-wage jobs, generate private investment, and fortify and grow industry clusters.
In April 2015, EDA issued a Federal Register Notice announcing some proposed improvements to our forms as part of overall enhancements we’re making to the grant application process.

On October 27, 2015, those changes went into effect with the publication of the FY2016 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO).

To apply to this funding opportunity, please visit: grants.gov.

Here are a few key changes of note:

• Say goodbye to the ED-900 as you know it! We have heard from our applicants and stakeholders that the previous form is confusing; it is not clear which sections need to be completed for a given program. We’ve taken that feedback and created a suite of shorter forms that can be mixed and matched to fit the needs of the different program solicitations. When you apply for a given program, you will only see the forms you need for that program.
  
• New proposal form to assess viability of potential projects under our Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs. Under our previous process, you had to submit a full application to determine whether or not your project meets the technical and merit requirements needed to receive funding. That’s all changing! EDA is introducing a short proposal form where potential applicants can describe their project to ascertain whether or not it is responsive to the FFO and reflective of the essential criteria necessary for EDA’s competitive consideration. If your proposal is determined to be responsive, you’ll be asked to submit a full application for competitive consideration of funding. And, an EDA staff member will be assigned to provide feedback on your proposal and assist you with future applications.
  
• No more quarterly application deadlines. Instead of quarterly application deadlines, EDA will accept applications at any point and will work closely with applicants to provide feedback and responses on funding decision in a timely manner. In addition, EDA will now accept project proposals before requiring full applications. For potential applicants, this means much less time, expense and paperwork up front.
  

Why have we made these changes? EDA is continually seeking to improve our processes to make the applicant experience easier and the review process more efficient. We hope you will share your experiences with us so we can keep improving.

EDA staff in our six regional offices is available to answer questions and help you through the application process. Please direct inquiries to the regional office contact with jurisdiction over your state.