Selected Federal Agency Announcements and Related for the Week of February 25, 2019

The following is a selection of recent announcements gleaned from various federal sources and colleagues, and is provided to EDA’s Economic Development Integrators to increase our awareness of complementary resources for economic development. Special thanks to ETA and other federal partners for sharing content included below.

Also visit the following links on our updated EDI webpages at www.eda.gov/edi for additional information about federal resources that are available to support comprehensive regional economic development strategies, including:

Click here to view all weekly federal announcement posts.

Contents

Funding & Resource Announcements

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

EDA 2019 Regional Innovation Strategies Program. Apply by April 4.

EDA is now accepting applications for the 2019 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program funding. The RIS Program, operated by EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE), again offers funding through two competitions:

  • FY19 i6 Challenge—awards up to $750,000 for projects that increase regional capacity to accelerate the translation of innovations, ideas, intellectual property, and research into products, services, companies, and jobs.
  • FY19 Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grant Competition—up to $300,000 for projects that create, launch, or expand equity-based seed funds or that create networks and tools that enable capital to flow into high-growth startups in all parts of the U.S.

All applications to the 2019 RIS Program competitions must be submitted no later than 11:59pm Eastern Time on Thursday, April 4, 2019. For information on eligibility and how to apply, interested organizations are encouraged to visit EDA’s Regional Innovation Strategies webpage for more info.

 

ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

NEW: Technical Assistance for Rural Economic Development Plans. Apply by Apr 5

The Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative application is now available for rural communities and regions to apply for free technical assistance to develop, and implement, economic development plans. Download the application or request it here at [email protected]

USDA is partnering with four of its partners, known as cooperators (National Association of Counties, Rural Community Assistance Partnership, McClure Engineering Company, and Purdue University Extension/ Community & Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky) to provide technical assistance that will enable a rural community, or region, to create economic development plans. This assistance is designed to assist communities to develop evidence-based assessments; quantifiable goals; plans to improve the local and regional economy; and metrics to track implementation and progress. Rural communities with 50,000 or fewer people are eligible to apply. USDA and REDI Cooperators will score, review and select applications on a competitive basis. More info at www.rd.usda.gov

  • Application Deadline: April 5, 2019. Letters of Interest Due (Optional): March 8, 2019.

 

NEW: HUD Guidance on Submitting FY19 Consolidated Plans and Annual Action Plans

HUD has released Notice CPD-19-01: Guidance on Submitting Consolidated Plans and Annual Action Plans for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. As with past year’s Notices, this CPD Notice advises grantees not to submit their FY 19 Action Plan or Consolidated Plan until grantees have been advised of their actual allocation amounts. The Notice also contains waivers for the CDBG and HOME program to allow grantees to incur pre-award costs in certain circumstances prior to submission of their plans. This year’s Notice contains one new section, providing interim guidance to grantees wishing to incorporate assistance for designated Opportunity Zones into their Consolidated Plan process.

View Guidance on Submitting Consolidated Plans and Annual Action Plans for FY 2019.

 

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

NEW: USDA Capacity Building Grants for Land Grant Universities. Apply by Apr 18

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is seeking FY19 applications for its 1890 Institution Teaching, Research and Extension Capacity Building Grants (CBG) Program The 1890 CBG is intended to strengthen teaching, research and extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences by building the institutional capacities of the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, including Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University, and Central State University (per Section 7129 of Pub. L. 113-79). CBG supports projects that strengthen research and extension programs in need areas of studies and experimentation, extension program development support systems, and others. The CBG also support integrated project grants. Applications submitted to CBG must address at least one of the following NIFA strategic goals: sustainable bioenergy; food security; childhood obesity prevention; or food safety. See RFA for details.

Request for Applications

Apply for Grant

Closing Date: Thursday, April 18, 2019

Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-CBGP-006696

Estimated Total Program Funding: $18,000,000

 

Forest Based Economies in Northeastern States. LOI due March 15.

NBRC has announced a new opportunity for regional approaches to economic development under the Regional Forest Economy Partnership. The NOFO allows for creative opportunities to improve communities in NBRC’s service area, including parts of ME, NH, NY and VT. See the Notice of Funding Opportunity or http://www.nbrc.gov for details.

 

2019 POWER Initiative for Appalachian Coal Communities. Apply by April 10.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is accepting applications for the FY 2019 POWER (Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. ARC’s POWER Initiative will continue focusing on regional investments that maximize economic revitalization in the Appalachian region’s coal-impacted communities. The 2019 Request for Proposals (RFP) is available here. ARC has also scheduled upcoming regional RFP Workshops at this remaining location:

  • March 6 – Morgantown, West Virginia, Morgantown Marriott at Waterfront Place

 

Tribal Communities Social and Economic Development Strategies Program. Due April 15.

The Administration for Native Americans within the HHS Administration for Children and Families is seeking applications for its 2019 Social and Economic Development Strategies –SEDS program. This program is focused on community-driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen Native American families, including the preservation of Native American cultures, and decrease the high rate of current challenges caused by the lack of community-based businesses, and social and economic infrastructure in Native American communities. See details at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=298007

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

Rural Broadband: FY19 Community Connect Grants Available. Apply by Apr 15.

RUS is now accepting applications for FY 2019 for the Community Connect Grants program.

This program helps fund broadband deployment into rural communities where it is not yet economically viable for private sector providers to deliver service. The application window closes April 15, 2019. Applications for this program are serviced by RUS national office staff, available at [email protected]. See the Community Connect fact sheet, and the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for details.

USDA Extends Deadlines for ReConnect Rural Broadband Program to May 31.

USDA has extended application deadlines for the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program (ReConnect Program). The first application deadline will be pushed back to May 31, 2019 or later. Previously, application deadlines began in April. New specific deadlines for ReConnect Program grants, loans, and grant-loan combination applications will be posted in the Federal Register in late February. More information about the ReConnect program may be found at http://reconnect.usda.gov.

 

Rebuilding Transportation Infrastructure – INFRA Grant Program. Apply by March 4

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is announcing the second round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) at Grants.gov (Opportunity Number NSFHP-19-INFRA19).  The INFRA program will make approximately $855-902.5M available to projects that are in line with the Administration’s principles to help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure – a priority for this Administration. Eligible INFRA project costs may include: reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition of property (including land related to the project and improvements to the land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, equipment acquisition, and operational improvements directly related to system performance. The Application Deadline is March 4, 2019. Link to NOFO on Grants.gov here: NSFHP-19-INFRA19

 

Water Systems and Drought Resilience Grants. Deadlines in March and April.

The US Bureau of Reclamation is making funding available through its WaterSMART Program for water and energy efficiency grants. These grants will be awarded to projects that will result in quantifiable and sustained water savings and support broader water reliability benefits. To learn more visit www.usbr.gov/watersmart, and search www.grants.gov, using the opportunity numbers below:

MANUFACTURING

NEW: Funding Available for US-Israel R&D/Advanced Manufacturing Projects. Due Mar 6

The BIRD Foundation has issued a call for proposals for project grants.  Proposals should include R&D cooperation between two unrelated companies in the U.S. and Israel on topics including, among other things, advanced manufacturing, cleantech, cybersecurity, life sciences, and more.

BIRD is an acronym for Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development. The BIRD Foundation’s mission is to stimulate, promote and support industrial R&D of mutual benefit to the U.S. and Israel.  The BIRD Foundation was established by the U.S. and Israeli governments in 1977 to generate mutually beneficial cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies, including start-ups and established organizations. BIRD provides both matchmaking support between U.S. and Israeli companies, as well as funding covering up to 50 percent of project development costs, up to $1M per project. Summaries are due March 6, 2019 and full proposals on April 11, 2019.

For more information and guidelines please visit the website or contact Andrea Yonah ([email protected]) or Maya Vardi Shoshani ([email protected]).

 

Federal Funding Opportunities Closing Soon:

 

Below is a list of previously highlighted funding opportunities that are still open. Enter the Opportunity Number in Grants.gov to see announcement details. You can also search Grants.gov for a full list of current federal opportunities, including programs not listed below.

 

Opportunity Number Opportunity Title Agency Posted Date Close Date
19-501 Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations NSF 10/06/2018 02/28/2019
NSFHP-19-INFRA19 INFRA Grants DOT-DOT X-50 01/02/2019 03/04/2019
HRSA-19-092 Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) – Veteran Nurses in Primary Care (VNPC) Training Program HHS-HRSA 01/07/2019 03/08/2019
BOR-DO-19-F004 WaterSMART Grants: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants for Fiscal Year 2019 DOI-BOR 01/31/2019 03/19/2019
BOR-DO-19-F003 WaterSMART Drought Response Program: Drought Resiliency Projects for Fiscal Year 2019 DOI-BOR 01/24/2019 03/27/2019
EDA-HDQ-OIE-2019-2005942 FY 2019 Regional Innovation Strategies Program DOC 02/01/2019 04/04/2019
HHS-2018-ACF-ANA-NA-1339 Social and Economic Development Strategies –SEDS HHS-ACF-ANA 02/06/2018 04/15/2019
RDRUS-CC-2019 Community Connect Grant Program USDA-RUS 02/12/2019 04/15/2019
BOR-DO-19-F005 WaterSMART Grants: Small-Scale Water Efficiency Projects for Fiscal Year 2019 DOI-BOR 01/24/2019 04/24/2019
EDAP2018 FY18 Economic Development Assistance Programs: Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance DOC-EDA 07/02/2018 Open
693JJ319NF-NSFLTP Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) DOT-FHWA 10/04/2018 Open
USDA-NIFA-CBGP-006696        
         

 

Recently Announced Federal Awards

NEW ARC Announces 33 New POWER Grant Awardees in 9 States

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced $22.8 million to expand and diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities through the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. These 33 awards are projected to create or retain nearly 1,000 jobs, benefit over 3,300 students and workers, and leverage more than $21.8 million in private investment into manufacturing, agriculture, technology, substance abuse recovery, broadband development, and other industry sectors across coal-impacted communities in nine Appalachian states. Awards support strategies for workers recovering from substance abuse, projects that support Apprenticeships, and infrastructure and technical assistance to help communities expand rural Broadband coverage.

A summary of the announced awards, as well as more information about ARC’s work in diversifying the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities, is available at www.arc.gov/power.

ARC is currently accepting Requests for Proposals (RFP) for POWER 2019 funding. Approximately $45 million will be made available via the POWER 2019 funding cycle. Proposals are due April 10, 2019, 5:00 pm (EDT), and can be made via www.arc.gov/power.

 

Public Meetings, Events and Training

NEW: March 1 Webinar: Census to Showcase Tech Tools for Apprenticeships, Opioid Crisis, Grants Management and More

The U.S. Census Bureau will host technology industry and university teams to showcase 20+ new innovative tech tools at an interagency demonstration day created through a federal initiative called The Opportunity Project (TOP).

These new tools address challenges such as using artificial intelligence to connect veterans with apprenticeships, promoting access to and interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), using geospatial data to prepare for disasters, combating the opioid crisis, and improving access to and management of federal grants.

Presenters and other subject matter experts will take questions from the media following the completion of presentations. The event will include presentations, lightning talks and a two-hour live demo expo in which participants can test the new technologies and interact with the teams who built them.

Friday, March 1, 2019
12-5 p.m. EST

The event will be livestreamed from 12-3 p.m. EST. To view the event online, view the Census Live page at <www.census.gov/newsroom/census-live.html>.

NEW: EPA Seeking Clean Air Act Advisory Committee Members m- Nominations due Mar 15.

EPA is currently soliciting nominations for the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC). CAAAC provides advice, information and recommendations on policy and technical issues associated with implementation of the Clean Air Act (CAA), as requested by EPA. All the information, including the nomination form, the list of required supporting information, the deadline, and where to send applications, is on the CAAAC website at https://www.epa.gov/caaac/caaac-membership-information. Nominations are due by March 15th.

 

April 16-17: CDFA Federal Policy Conference; EDA, HUD, USDA, DOT, Treasury, EPA and SBA to Present Updates on Federal Financing

The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) has passed along this advisory:

On April 16-17 in Washington DC, CDFA will host its 2019 CDFA Federal Policy Conference, featuring development finance experts and practitioners from key federal agencies, congressional offices, and policy organizations. The CDFA Federal Policy Conference will highlight rural and urban financing programs, the Opportunity Zones incentive, programs for supporting small business development, as well as financing programs for infrastructure, energy, brownfields remediation, and water systems financing.

Conference panels and workshops will be led by our federal financing partners at the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Transportation, and Treasury, as well as the Economic Development Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Small Business Administration. The event will be held at the Washington Marriott Georgetown, and space is limited to the first 250 attendees – register early to secure your seat!

 

Select USA Schedule of Spin Off Events to Encourage Foreign Investors to Visit Locations Across US

SelectUSA is partnering with economic development organizations (EDOs) to plan and promote spinoff events, taking place before and after the June 2019 SelectUSA Investment Summit, in dozens of U.S. locations. See here for current locations: https://connect.eventtia.com/en/dmz/selectusaspinoffs/website More will be added as they become available.

 

NIH Online Course for Biomedical Innovators: Applying for SBIR/STTR Funding

National Institutes of Health recently released a five-module online course for biomedical innovators considering funding through the NIH SBIR/STTR programs. For information on the latest SBIR/STTR Opportunities at NIH, visit https://sbir.nih.gov/ .

Reports, Tools and Data

Department of Commerce Joins Government-Wide Initiative to Facilitate Broadband Deployment

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross joined with other Federal agencies to announce a cohesive, across-government, strategy to promote broadband deployment: the American Broadband Initiative (ABI). Click HERE to read the report.

 

Map of Federal Infrastructure to Support Rural Broadband

A Presidential Memorandum recently issued to the Secretary of the Interior entitled, Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed by the Department of the Interior, led the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to publish a web-based mapping application that allows users to see locations of existing Federal broadband infrastructure, filter data, and add layers for analysis. The following links provide more info on Department of Interior agencies efforts to deploy Broadband in rural America:

DOL’s Workforce GPS Clearinghouse Highlights Resources for Rural Communities

Every state has rural areas. And providing workforce services to these areas is challenging due to long distances and in many cases, a lack of support infrastructure like broadband and affordable transportation. A new page on DOL’s Workforce GPS site now provides quick access to resources for customers in rural areas: https://www.workforcegps.org/resources/2019/01/31/00/58/Resources-to-Assist-Services-in-Rural-Areas

Defense Spending by State Fiscal Year 2017

The Defense Spending by State Fiscal Year 2017 report examines U.S. defense spending in FY 2017 at the state and local levels for the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The document can be used to assess potential exposure to fluctuations in defense spending and to target assistance to create more resilient communities and companies. Download the report here: https://www.oea.gov/defense-spending-by-state-fy17 .

 

Case Studies of Economic Resilience across Appalachia

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently released Strengthening Economic Resilience in Appalachia, a new study identifying factors common across communities experiencing persistent economic growth in the aftermath of the 2008 Recession and other economic disruptions. In the accompanying Guidebook for Practitioners, case studies offer additional insight into how communities have rebounded from the Recession and other economic disruptions in mining, manufacturing, hospitality, education, transportation or similar industries. These findings can successfully inform economic development strategies across Appalachia. Both the Technical Report and the Guidebook are available at www.arc.gov/resilience.

USDA Launches High-Speed Broadband e-Connectivity Resource Guide

USDA has launched a new toolkit to help support the deployment of high-speed broadband e-Connectivity in rural communities: e-Connectivity Toolkit (PDF, 4.3 MB). It features 27 USDA programs that support broadband deployment. The e-Connectivity Toolkit supports USDA’s ReConnect Program, a pilot program authorized by the Consolidated Budget Act of 2018, to facilitate broadband deployment in rural areas that lack sufficient access to broadband. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

 

GAO Inventories 45 Programs to Support Veteran Employment

A January 17, 2019 report by GAO (GAO-19-97R) identified 45 federal programs and one tax expenditure to help service members, veterans, or their families achieve civilian jobs. Eleven federal agencies administer these programs, usually independently of one another. The report provides a comprehensive inventory of such programs, including information on who is eligible to receive services, the programs’ objectives, and the available services. Page 3 provides a snapshot of 45 programs by name and administering agency. See the full report here: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/696499.pdf

 

Census Posts Latest American Community Survey Data (2013-2017)

The U.S. Census Bureau released the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates, which features more than 40 social, economic, housing and demographic topics. The 2013-2017 ACS data are available on www.data.census.gov . County-level geography profiles of the 3,142 counties are available in a visual format with maps, charts and graphs. For official ACS statistics, please access American FactFinder at factfinder.census.gov.

 

Disaster Recovery Resources & Info

Primary site for Disaster Recovery Assistance: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/

Where to Find Federal Disaster Declarations

  • Is your home, business or community included in a federally declared emergency or disaster area? You can find the latest federal emergency and disaster declarations, as well as prior declarations for other areas, on FEMA’s disaster declarations webpage.

 

  • Amended Declarations: Existing Declarations may be subsequently amended to expand covered areas, provide notification that an incident has been closed, or make other necessary changes.

Find recent amendments here: https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/federal-emergency-management-agency#documents

 

Funding and other Assistance Available for Recovery:

 

EDA Has Supplemental Funding Available for Areas Impacted by 2017 Hurricanes, Wildfires and Other Disasters

These grants will support disaster recovery activities in areas receiving a major disaster designation as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and wildfires and other 2017 natural disasters. EDA plans to accept proposals on a rolling basis until all funds are obligated. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. See the following links for details:

 

More Resources for Recovery and Resilience

NOAA’s Climate.Gov Blog Puts 2018’s Billion Dollar Disasters in Context

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) tracks U.S. weather and climate events that have great economic and societal impacts. Since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 241 weather and climate disasters where the overall damage costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. The cumulative cost for these 241 events exceeds $1.6 trillion. Read more here: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2018s-billion-dollar-disasters-context

Self-Paced Webinar – A Guide to SBA’s Disaster Assistance Programs

Take this free self-paced training course for an overview of SBA’s disaster assistance programs which provide low-interest disaster loans to help businesses of all sizes and homeowners recover from declared disasters. Launch the course

BLS Has Employment, Wages, and Establishment Counts in Flood Zones

USDOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program has created a set of maps and data for hurricane flood zones on the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts For more information, see the flood zone FAQ page.

Economic Recovery Support & the National Disaster Response Framework