Southern Alleghenies Planning And Development Commission

Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission Procurement Technical Assistance Center Division, a U.S. government entity and state planning commission based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering procurement technical assistance, business counseling, and workforce development services to small and large businesses and job seekers across a six-county region in central Pennsylvania (Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon, and Somerset counties). The division does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor; its federal footprint consists entirely of grants and sub-awards under which it acts as a recipient or sub-recipient, with no contracting vehicles.

The division's primary capability is the operation of APEX Accelerator centers funded through the Department of Defense Procurement Technical Assistance For Business Firms program (CFDA 12.002). A $679,178 cooperative agreement effective April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027, tasks the division with establishing and maintaining an APEX Accelerator to provide free procurement technical assistance, training, counseling, and market research guidance to help businesses navigate federal, state, and local government contracting processes, identify procurement opportunities, and develop competitive proposals. Representative prime grant work includes the $840,000 Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration grant (CFDA 11.302) from July 2022 through June 2025 to develop and implement a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the region; a $922,850 Appalachian Regional Commission grant for business technical assistance services from July 2023 through June 2024; a $1 million Small Business Administration Community Navigator Pilot Program grant (CFDA 59.077) awarded December 2021 through November 2023 to deliver technical assistance and pandemic recovery support to historically underserved small businesses, minority-owned firms, women-owned enterprises, veteran-owned businesses, and rural entrepreneurs through one-on-one counseling and group training delivered by sub-recipients.

Customer concentration centers on regional economic development and workforce funding streams. The Appalachian Regional Commission dominates the award count with 42 awards; the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration accounts for 40 awards, predominantly through sub-awards for job training, employment services, and youth workforce programs awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services; the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, and the Defense Logistics Agency round out the top five customers. Together these five agencies account for 88% of recent awards. The division acts as a sub-recipient on the majority of workforce awards, receiving pass-through funding from Pennsylvania state agencies to deliver employment and training services including Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), dislocated worker services, adult and youth employment programs, and temporary assistance for needy family support services.

The division maintains an active but moderately scaled footprint. Awards per year have declined from 15 in 2022 and 19 in 2023 to 10 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 6 through April 2026, with $66.5 million in combined dollars obligated across 131 total awards since 2007. Of the current portfolio, 55% of awards are prime grants and 45% are sub-awards. Only one award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure for this grant-funded entity. The division does not compete for or hold federal contracts and therefore does not sit on GWACs, BPAs, or agency-wide contract vehicles.