Atlanta Regional Commission

Atlanta Regional Commission, a U.S. local government planning entity headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operates as a prime recipient (36% of awards) and sub-recipient (64% of awards) on federal grants across transportation, aging services, workforce development, and clean energy planning—not as a federal contractor. The entity does not hold federal contracts or contract vehicles; all federal activity routes through grant awards from civilian agencies.

ARC's prime grant footprint centers on regional transportation and infrastructure planning. In the past several years, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded ARC $1.73 million (January 2025) under the Highway Planning and Construction program (CFDA 20.205) for a comprehensive transportation electrification strategy for the Atlanta metropolitan area; $1.5 million (August 2025) for a Resilience Improvement Plan addressing climate and natural hazard risks to the 11-county regional transportation network under the PROTECT Program; and $2.75 million (March 2026) under the Safe Streets and Roads for All program (CFDA 20.939) for supplemental planning and demonstration activities to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The Federal Transit Administration funded a $1.5 million formula grant (June 2026, CFDA 20.507) to develop a transit travel behavior database serving the Atlanta region through June 2033, supporting travel demand forecasting for the ActivitySIM mode choice model and the Simplified Trips-on-Project Software application.

Customer concentration sits heavily with the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (89 awards), the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (43 awards), and the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (24 awards), which together account for 84% of awards by count. The top five funding agencies span 16 distinct federal entities. The Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration leads in combined potential value ($1.3 million across four awards), though most grant work carries sub-million or minimal potential-value designations reflecting the formula-grant and pass-through nature of ARC's role as a regional planning organization and Area Agency on Aging.

Sub-recipient work routes predominantly through Georgia state agencies. The Department of Human Services has awarded ARC multiple sub-awards across Title III aging services under the Older Americans Act (supportive services, congregate and home-delivered nutrition, family caregiver support, preventive health programs) and under CFDA 93.044, 93.045, and 93.052. The Technical College System of Georgia has sub-awarded ARC for workforce development and training services under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), including youth programs, dislocated worker services, and registered apprenticeship expansion. A sub-award from Georgia Tech (November 2023) under the Department of Energy's Georgia Energyshed contract assigns ARC program management and stakeholder coordination responsibilities for an energy planning integration project.

ARC's award activity shows growth from 2022 through 2024 (21 to 49 awards annually) with a sharp decline in 2025 and 2026 (16 and 2 awards respectively), reflecting the cyclical nature of regional planning grants and the sub-recipient pass-through structure. Two awards carry ultimate completion dates within the next twenty-four months and face recompete exposure. The combined obligated dollars ($215.4 million) vastly exceed the combined potential value ($1.4 million) because the source captures historical obligations across ARC's long grant history dating to 1984, while recent potential-value figures reflect current-year awards only. ARC operates across the 11-county Atlanta metropolitan region (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties) and serves as the metropolitan planning organization and lead for regional planning initiatives in transportation, economic development, climate action, aging services, and workforce development.