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Over the last 18 months, the U.S. government has relentlessly focused on an industrial strategy designed to revitalize the nation’s manufacturing base, strengthen critical supply chains, and position U.S. workers and businesses to lead and compete globally. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is a linchpin of the government-wide effort to invigorate and sustain a historic recovery in domestic manufacturing, committing a major portion of its $3 billion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding toward catalyzing projects and initiatives leading to good-paying, manufacturing jobs.

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARPA) allocated the Economic Development Administration (EDA) $3 billion in supplemental funding. This investment is assisting communities nationwide in their efforts to recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic by accelerating the process of economic recovery and by improving the resiliency of local economies to future economic challenges.

On September 2, 2022, President Joe Biden announced the 21 winners of EDA’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. It was the culmination of more than a year’s work, which began with 529 applications from all across the country.

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recognizes the need for more resources to improve technical assistance and capacity building in underserved populations and communities’ representation in local economic development. Therefore, last year, we elevated ‘equity’ as our top investment priority.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration’s $500 million Good Jobs Challenge is making once-in-a-generation investments in 32 high-quality, locally led workforce systems to dramatically transform America’s communities. The goal of the Good Jobs Challenge is to create workforce training programs in communities that will help workers secure jobs in growing, essential industries, and accelerate regional economic development following the pandemic. To further this work, this month, EDA’s Research and National Technical Assistance program is announcing a $592,783 grant to Research Improving People’s Lives (RIPL) — a national social impact non-profit based in Providence, Rhode Island — to develop and implement Return-on-Investment (ROI) metrics that will help a broad range of stakeholders, including policymakers, assess the Good Jobs Challenge on equity outcomes. This grant is funded through EDA’s ARPA Research and Networks Funding Opportunity.

The United States economy is built on innovation, a fact affirmed in 2009 with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which set out to provide “investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances.” The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act further committed the United States to the development of an economy primed to lead in the global marketplace through the creation of new industries and the application of cutting-edge technology in traditional enterprises.

Since designating the first Economic Development District (EDD) in 1969, the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) network of EDDs has grown to more than 390. These locally governed, multi-jurisdictional entities are both critical drivers of regional planning efforts, and important interlocutors between the federal government and local communities.

In March of 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. This historic legislation was designed to enable American communities to respond to and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. In the American Rescue Plan, Congress allocated an unprecedented $3 billion to the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in supplemental one-time funding and required EDA to disburse all awards by September 30, 2022, in order to meet the urgent needs of American communities. This notable economic development opportunity required EDA, its partners, and most importantly, leaders across the entire economic development community, to take transformational and expeditious action.