Bckp Regional Intergovernmental Council

Bckp Regional Intergovernmental Council, doing business as R I C, is a West Virginia Council of Governments and inter-municipal economic development entity serving Boone, Clay, Kanawha, and Putnam counties. Operating as a U.S. local government agency, R I C acts as a prime recipient of federal grants focused on regional economic development, infrastructure planning, and rural community advancement — not as a federal contractor competing for competitive procurements.

R I C's federal grant portfolio centers on economic development planning and rural infrastructure support. The organization recently received a $900,000 Cooperative Agreement from the Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary under the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (CFDA 20.943) awarded August 24, 2026, to support legal, technical, and financial advisors advancing a MacCorkle Avenue Bus Rapid Transit and Transit-Oriented Development Planning Study across the four-county region through August 2029. Prior to this, R I C received a $200,000 Economic Development Administration grant (CFDA 11.302) for Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) development spanning July 2022 through June 2025, with a follow-on CEDS planning grant awarded July 1, 2023 running through June 30, 2026. The Appalachian Regional Commission has funded R I C through annual Local Development District administrative grants since 2022. Recent grant work also includes a Rural Business Cooperative Services project grant awarded September 30, 2025 completing September 30, 2027, and environmental health and energy efficiency sub-awards flowing from the West Virginia Office of Energy and the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative.

The Appalachian Regional Commission dominates R I C's funding relationship, accounting for 13 of 25 awards across all sources. The Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration represents the second-largest customer with 8 awards, followed by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Services, the Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, and the Department of Transportation. Combined obligated dollars across the portfolio total $4.8 million. Activity has been episodic — averaging roughly two awards per year from 2022 through 2024, then accelerating to four awards in 2025 — with only one award facing ultimate completion in the next twenty-four months. R I C operates as a prime recipient in 92% of its award portfolio and as a sub-recipient in two grant sub-awards. The organization does not hold federal contracts, IDVs, or GWACs; it functions exclusively within the federal grant ecosystem, serving as a regional planning and infrastructure-advancement intermediary for rural Appalachian communities.