National Technical Assistance
The National Technical Assistance program funds projects that provide technical assistance with a national scope. These projects support best practices among communities trying to solve problems related to economic development goals. By working in conjunction with its National Technical Assistance partners, EDA helps states, local governments, and community-based organizations achieve their highest economic potential. The NTA program supports activities that are beneficial to the economic development community nationwide and includes, but is not limited to, outreach, training, and information dissemination. It can also aid with implementation of economic development, best practices, and proven techniques.
If applying for an NTA investment the applicant must address the following criteria:
- Description of the technical assistance that will be provided to stakeholders;
- Description of how the proposed project increases the economic development capacity of individuals, firms, or communities;
- Discussion of how the project will stimulate economic development in distressed regions;
- Explanation of how the proposed project supports EDA’s mission to lead the Federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing and supporting American regions for growth and success in the global economy; and
- Clear plan for ensuring products/services produced by the project will remain available to the economic development community, and updated as necessary, without continued EDA financial support
National Technical Assistance Project Examples
| Project Title | Grantee(s) | Summary of Project Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Cluster Mapping Tool | Harvard Business School | The U.S. Cluster Mapping site provides over 50 million open data records on industry clusters and regional business environments in the U.S. to promote economic growth and national competitiveness. |
| Community Best Practices in Response to Nuclear Power Plant Closures | Smart Power, Inc. | This project provided technical assistance to Nuclear Closure Community (NCC) stakeholders across the country to increase their capacity for economic recovery after Nuclear Power Plant closures. It resulted in the development of a lessons learned and best practices report and a new educational website for stakeholders. |
| National Technical Assistance for Revolving Loan Fund Operators (RLF) | Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) | This project created an RLF Program training, online learning resources, development of an effective program measurement tools and a network of RLF operators. |
| Rural Innovation Initiative | Center on Rural Innovation | Through the Rural Innovation Initiative (RII) select communities receive intensive technical assistance as they execute an innovation hub strategy: an economic development model that works to educate and train residents in digital skills, employ them in new economy jobs, and empower them to launch the startups that will drive their digital economy. |
| Small Scale Manufacturing & Place- Based Economic Development | Smart Growth America | This whitepaper builds the case for why economic development practitioners should be thinking about working with small-scale manufacturers, how to grow the sector, and the synergies that are created when locating these businesses in downtowns and mixed-use centers. |
| Stronger CEDS, Stronger Regions | National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation | An online resource and training archive for developing Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) including: reports, case studies, videos, webinars, and presentation materials on planning, developing, and implementing CEDS. |