NOFO for $200M Recompete released; take another look at your area’s eligibility

Did you use the Recompete Mapping Tool to check your eligibility for this new EDA funding opportunity when the fact sheet and map were first released? If you did, and you got the response, “Contact your local economic development office” don’t stop there! EDA has updated its mapping tool in the past few days to reflect significant flexibility in program eligibility. These changes mean that many more regions may be able to successfully compete for strategy development awards and, ultimately, implementation awards.

For areas that were previously marked as partially eligible, the mapping tool now directs users to the Census Tract Viewer, which helps to better-identify regions that can still compete for program funds. Specifically, this viewer shows that your local community may qualify if it:

• is located within, but does not fully cover, an ineligible local labor market, and
• contains a subset of the area served by the unit of local government that has five or more contiguous census tracts that each individually have a prime-age employment gap (PAEG) of at least 5% and median annual household income of no more than $75,000, and is contained within the identified Census tracts.

The Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program (Recompete Pilot Program) – authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act – will invest $200 million toward interventions that spur economic activity in geographically diverse and persistently distressed communities nationwide.

The Recompete program, like Tech Hubs, is divided into several phases. Under the Phase 1 funding opportunity, regions can compete for strategy development awards, which do not require matching funds, and approval of implementation plans. EDA anticipates making 12-24 development awards and approving 20 plans. Entities that have approved plans may compete in the forthcoming Phase 2 opportunity for implementation funding. EDA anticipates making 4-8 implementation awards of $20 million-$50 million.

EDA is hosting webinars to provide more information on the program on July 7 at 12pm ET and July 11 at 4:30pm ET.

The Phase 1 Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here (PDF).

This article was prepared by SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.