Statewide Planning, Research & Networks
Planning for a Resilient Future
Building back better means investing in projects that will promote equity and develop local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks and climate change.
Through the Statewide Planning, Research & Networks program, EDA is supporting states in planning efforts by allocating $59 million for Statewide Planning Grants.
In addition, the program will allocate $31 million for Research and Networks Grants to invest in research that assesses the effectiveness of EDA’s programs, and provides support for stakeholder communities around key EDA initiatives.
Research
EDA ARPA Research Portfolio
The EDA ARPA Research Portfolio has funded a number of key research projects under the ARPA Statewide Planning, Research, and Networks Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). This NOFO was part of EDA’s multi-phase effort to respond to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and build regional economies for the future. Through the Research component of this NOFO, EDA has funded r awards that enable real-time research into EDA ARPA programs such as the Good Jobs Challenge; Build Back Better Regional Challenge; the Indigenous Communities program; and the Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation program.
While EDA’s Research and National Technical Assistance (RNTA) Program funds broader research and evaluation of economic development theory, best practices, and development of tools for economic development practitioners, the ARPA Research Portfolio supports research that collects baseline data on other ARPA program grantees and the communities/regions they serve during the period of performance. Most ARPA Research Program grantees will aim to establish the initial economic conditions in communities/regions served by EDA ARPA grantees before EDA ARPA investment and track grantee progress and activities/outputs throughout project implementation. Over the longer term, this research will better position EDA to evaluate the impact of such ARPA investments in subsequent years. The findings of such evaluation will help communities and regions better understand the most effective types of economic development programming, and can lead to continuous improvement in EDA’s own investment portfolio and programmatic priorities, particularly for underserved communities and populations.
EDA plans to conduct performance data collection using its construction and non-infrastructure metrics processes where applicable for all ARPA programs except for Build Back Better Regional Challenge and Good Jobs Challenge. For more information about performance measurement and program evaluation at EDA, please visit https://eda.gov/performance/.
The ARPA Research portfolio is managed by EDA’s RNTA team. Please direct any questions about this portfolio to research@eda.gov.
Networks
EDA’s Communities of Practice strengthen America’s economic development infrastructure by capturing, organizing, and scaling practices at a national level.
Each Community of Practice consists of a cohort of EDA grantees that share a similar programmatic, functional, and/or organizational focus. Community of Practice cohorts benefit from a mix of peer-to-peer learning, issue-specific trainings and targeted coaching. Cohort members shape promising practices across the industry, increase their connectedness with peer regions and organizations, and bolster their skills and capacity to advance effective economic development strategies. This approach accelerates regional economic recovery in a more equitable and resilient manner, reaching communities that need it the most.
Statewide Planning
Through the Statewide Planning program, EDA has supported states in planning efforts by allocating $59 million for Statewide Planning Grants.
- Please email your questions about the American Rescue Plan Research program to research@eda.gov
- Please email your questions about the American Rescue Plan Networks program to networks@eda.gov
- For Statewide Planning inquiries, please visit www.eda.gov/contact to find contact information for your Economic Development Representative