Economic Adjustment Assistance

The EAA program provides a wide range of technical, planning, public works and infrastructure, and other financial assistance in regions experiencing adverse economic changes that may occur suddenly or over time. These adverse economic impacts may re

The Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program is EDA's most flexible program; it provides a wide range of technical, planning, and public works and infrastructure assistance in regions experiencing adverse economic changes that may occur suddenly or over time. These adverse economic impacts may result from a steep decline in manufacturing employment following a plant closure, changing trade patterns, catastrophic natural disaster, a military base closure, or environmental changes and regulations. The EAA program can assist state and local entities in responding to a wide range of economic challenges through: (1) Strategy Grants to support the development, updating or refinement of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and (2) Implementation Grants to support the execution of activities identified in a CEDS (or equivalent), such as infrastructure improvements, including site acquisition, site preparation, construction, rehabilitation and equipping of facilities. Specific activities may be funded as separate investments or as multiple elements of a single investment. Under EAA, EDA can also fund market and environmental studies, planning or construction grants, and capitalize or recapitalize Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) to help provide small businesses with the capital they need to grow. EDA also runs specific programs under the EAA program including: -Disaster Relief and Recovery: to meet expenses related to flood mitigation, disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure in areas that received a major disaster designation. Workforce: to support regional workforce training systems to establish sectoral partnerships that train and place workers in high-quality jobs.

Pursuant to Section 3(6) of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. § 3122(6)(A)) and 13 C.F.R. § 300.3 (Eligible Recipient), eligible applicants for EDA financial assistance under the Public Works and EAA programs include a(n): (i) District Organization of an EDA-designated Economic Development District; (ii) Indian Tribe or a consortium of Indian Tribes; (iii) State, county, city, or other political subdivision of a State, including a special purpose unit of a State or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions; (iv) institution of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education; (v) public or private non-profit organization or association acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a State. Individuals and for-profit entities are not eligible for funding; (vi) an economic development organization; or (vii) a public-private partnership for public infrastructure.

Beneficiaries of investments made under Economic Adjustment are those communities who satisfy one or more of the economic distress and/or "Special Need" criteria set forth in the NOFO, 13 C.F.R.§ 301.3(a), or 13 C.F.R. § 300.3 to revitalize, expand, or upgrade their economic development assets to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify their local economies, and generate or retain long-term private sector jobs and capital investments. Investments are intended to alleviate long-term deterioration and sudden and severe economic dislocation in distressed communities and regions.

The EAA program can assist state and local entities in responding to a wide range of economic challenges through:  Strategy Grants to support the development, updating or refinement of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).  Implementation Grants to support the execution of activities identified in a CEDS, such as infrastructure improvements, including site acquisition, site preparation, construction, rehabilitation and equipping of facilities. Specific activities may be funded as separate investments or as multiple elements of a single investment

The EAA program can assist state and local entities in responding to a wide range of economic challenges through:  Strategy Grants to support the development, updating or refinement of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).  Implementation Grants to support the execution of activities identified in a CEDS, such as infrastructure improvements, including site acquisition, site preparation, construction, rehabilitation and equipping of facilities. Specific activities may be funded as separate investments or as multiple elements of a single investment

The period of performance for a given project will depend on the nature of the project for which the grant or cooperative agreement is awarded. Typically, strategy grants and non-construction projects may range in duration from 12 to 24 months. Construction projects are expected to range from 12 to 48 months and are expected to be completed within 5 years from award date. EDA will work closely with recipients to accommodate their projected timelines within reason and allowances of regulations and grant policies. EDA expects that all projects will proceed efficiently and expeditiously, and EDA expects applicants to clearly document how quickly they will be able to start and complete the proposed project scope of work within the above timeframes.

EDA strongly encourages applicants to consult with the EDA representative for their State to discuss whether their project is in alignment with EDA's Investment Priorities, eligibility requirements, cost-sharing requirements, property standards, or other requirements outlined in this PWEAA NOFO. This consultation is limited to clarification of technical matters involving their proposed project, project alignment with EDA's mission and Investment Priorities, and all other relevant and publicly available information relating to general technical matters.

For construction and non-construction projects (except proposals for preparation or revision of a CEDS), the following criteria will receive equal weight: i. The project's feasibility or likelihood that it will achieve its projected outcomes on the proposed schedule; ii. The extent to which the project demonstrates support from and involvement with regional stakeholders, e.g. private, public, and non-profit entities, community-based organizations, workforce development boards, economic development organizations, schools, community colleges, neighborhood and housing associations, and the communities that stand to benefit; iii. The extent to which the project demonstrates resiliency to future sudden and severe economic dislocations, e.g., closures of major local employers, etc.; iv. The extent to which the project is aligned with and integrated into other public or private investments currently ongoing or planned for the community and region; v. The degree of economic distress experienced in the project region; vi. The project's demonstrated ability to foster job creation and retention, including whether the project will create jobs and registered apprenticeships; vii. The project's demonstrated ability to promote private investment in the regional economy; and viii. The project's demonstrated alignment with EDA's current Investment Priorities as outlined at https://www.eda.gov/funding/investment-priorities. In addition to the above criteria, for workforce projects only, EDA will consider the following criterion equal to the combined weight of the above eight criteria: i. The extent to which the project incorporates the workforce project requirements articulated in section D.2.b.i. of this NOFO, including the number of job placements expected and the number and type of employer commitments, relative to the capacity of the region.

Review and Selection Process a. Competitiveness Review (CR) Process For construction and non-construction projects, except proposals for preparation or revision of a CEDS, EDA will conduct a Competitiveness Review (CR). In CR, each Regional Office will review applications for their region. This review will be conducted by at least two EDA staff members. This CR team will review each application against the pass/fail evaluation criteria described in the NOFO. Applications that the two reviewers agree fail any of the listed criteria will be deemed "Not Competitive" and will not receive further consideration. Projects that pass all criteria will be deemed "Competitive" and will advance to a full merit review by an Investment Review Committee (described below). Grants for the preparation or revision of a CEDS are not subject to CR. b. Investment Review Committee (IRC) Process For projects deemed Competitive after the CR, and all proposals for preparation or revision of a CEDS, each EDA Regional Office will convene periodic IRCs consisting of at least three EDA staff members. The IRC will make a group evaluation of the merits of each application based on the extent to which the application meets the program specific award and application requirements. The IRC will evaluate and rate projects according to the criteria listed in E.1.b. of the NOFO. Note: Throughout the application review and selection process, strategy grants will be evaluated independently from all other applications and will be reviewed based on specified strategy grants evaluation criteria.

If an applicant is awarded funding, neither DOC nor EDA is under any obligation to provide any additional future funding in connection with that award or to make any future award(s). Amendment or renewal of an award to increase funding or to extend the period of performance is at the discretion of DOC and EDA.