In This Issue

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• Success Story: Raise the Road
• Highlight: Improvements to EDA Grant Application Processes
• Spotlight: Looking for Innovative Ideas in New Places

Success story: Raise the Road

Images of the flooding and damage caused by floods on Highway 169 in Minnesota

Albert Einstein once said that “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” The same wisdom can be applied when it comes to repairing flood damage to a road that has been built in the path of a flood plain. Sure, you can keep repairing the damage each time the flood waters recede, but that doesn’t leave you in any better position the next time it happens. Much like you have to raise your level of consciousness to solve a problem, you need to raise the level of the road out of the reach of flood waters.

Minnesota ranks third in the nation for production of corn, soybeans and ethanol among all states. Counties located within Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) District 7 produce almost half of Minnesota's corn, soybeans and ethanol. The majority of the corn and soybeans grown in the district is shipped via truck to Mankato. From there the freight is shipped on U.S. Highway 169 to its final destinations.

When U.S. Highway 169 in Minnesota kept flooding, resulting in disruptions to transportation, commerce, and daily life, it posed a major problem. Highway 169 serves the major transportation corridor for funneling freight within the region, but its proximity to the Minnesota River makes it prone to flooding in the spring as snow melts and river water rises. When these highways were originally constructed in the early 1960’s, water elevation assumptions for the area proved to be inaccurate. In late September and October of 2010, the river flooded and nearly 140 feet of highway collapsed, requiring that additional detours be created and emergency repairs be made. In May 2011, the road flooded again. In fact, there have been seven road closures due to flooding since 1993.

The Region Nine Development Council (RNDC) recognized that something needed to be done. Repairing the road after flooding would just be a band-aid – a temporary solution that wouldn’t fix the underlying problem. The solution was to raise the road out of the reach of the flood waters, but it would be a massive undertaking and an expensive proposition. RNDC did some research and learned that EDA was offering disaster recovery grants.

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Highlight: Improvements to EDA Grant Application Processes

Image of current EDA grant application form

In April 2015, EDA issued a Federal Register Notice heralding some proposed improvements to our forms as part of overall enhancements we’re making to the grant application process. Very soon, those changes will become institutionalized. Here are a few key things you need to know to be ready when the FY2016 Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs Federal Funding Opportunity hits the streets.

• Say goodbye to the ED-900 as you know it! We have heard from our applicants and stakeholders that the current form is confusing; it is not clear which sections need to be completed for a given program. We’ve taken that feedback and are creating a suite of shorter forms that can be mixed and matched to fit the needs of the different program solicitations. When you go to apply for a given program, you will only see the forms you need to apply for that program.
• New proposal form to assess viability of potential projects under our Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs. Under our current process, you have to submit a full application to determine whether or not your project meets the technical and merit requirements needed to receive funding. That’s about to change! 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.

Why are we making these changes? EDA is continually seeking to improve our processes to make the applicant experience easier and the review process more efficient. This new process will ease the burden on applicants while enabling faster reviews by EDA staff.

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Spotlight: Looking for Innovative Ideas in New Places

These days, there is a lot of talk about “innovation hubs.” When people think about innovation, many think about tech-heavy areas like Silicon Valley or Austin, Texas with young start-up CEOs in jeans and hoodies. Or they think of big cities like Boston and Atlanta where giant companies invest in research and development for the next scientific breakthrough.

However, rural areas can also be centers of innovation – places like Alaska, where the Cold Climate Housing Research Center is revolutionizing how people can heat their homes efficiently in the Arctic Circle, where energy costs can be staggering.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and necessity does not consider geographic boundaries or the divisions between urban and rural areas. This is why we are including a rural component to our 2015 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program and why we are asking applicants for outreach to underrepresented communities and populations in their regions.

While innovation can happen anywhere, it still needs to be fostered and supported in order to take root. The Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for the 2015 RIS opened last month and offers i6 Challenge ($8 million) and Seed Fund Support Grants ($2 million) funding. For 2015, EDA is proud to announce that we expect awarding up to $2.5 million of the available $8 million under the i6 Challenge to organizations that offer services to rural areas. EDA has supported other rural challenges and projects in the past through public works funding or partnerships with USDA and others, and this anticipated RIS funding will build on those previous efforts to promote rural innovation. Furthermore, EDA will look at all programs’ plans to reach out to underrepresented communities and populations and to measure and track participation and other success metrics.

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