Strategy Outlined to Encourage Strengthening of Manufacturing Communities

To encourage communities to strengthen their industrial ecosystems, the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced it will make awards to up to 25 communities to launch implementation strategies. The solicitation for the awards will be released in May, and awards of up to $200,000 each will be issued by the end of September. The awards are one part of a four–phase plan announced by Deputy Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank last week that also includes listening sessions and a proposal to award five to six communities $25 million each.

Details for the cross-agency initiative, the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) that will provide coordinated assistance to manufacturing communities, were outlined by the deputy secretary. The first of four phases will be listening sessions coordinated by federal agencies throughout 2013 to seek input on a 2014 competition. In the partnership's second phase, the grants of up to $200,000 will be awarded to 25 communities to create strategic plans that strengthen their industrial economies.

The third phase will be contingent on a proposal made in the president's budget to award $25 million to five or six competitively-selected communities that effectively identify their comparative advantages and develop implementation-ready plans, invest in public goods and institutions through public and private funding, and encourage community links that reinforce and expand their commercial appeal to investors. Funding would come from the Economic Development Administration and would be supplemented by funding from other government agencies.

Meanwhile, the announcement indicates in the fourth phase, The Commerce Department will lead an interagency effort that aligns economic development programs across the government. Read the announcement.

For a detailed overview of the president's FY14 budget request with more information on the Administration's proposals for manufacturing, see SSTI's special budget issue.