Coachella Valley Innovation Hub Headed by Joe Wallace selected by Obama Administration for Planning Grant TO REVITALIZE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE $7M IN GRANTS AND INVESTMENTS TO REVITALIZE AMERICAN MANUFACTURING

Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and Small Business Administration, release first round of “Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership” funding

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, along with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, and Acting Small Business Administrator Jeanne A. Hulit, today announced the winners of the first funding phase of the “Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership” (IMCP), an Obama Administration initiative that will help accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing in the United States and create jobs in cities across the country. The $7 million in grants and other investments being announced today are the first round of funding in a major reform effort to reward communities for creating globally competitive environments that attract, retain, and expand investment in manufacturing and spur international trade and exports. These grants and investments will help communities develop plans to build strengths in specific industries through:

• Workforce training
• Specialized research
• Strengthened supply chains
• Improved transportation and energy infrastructure
• Export promotion
• Better access to capital

“The IMCP is a program that challenges communities around the country to coordinate their resources for strategies on economic development,” said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “These planning grants and investments provide an opportunity for communities to design plans that help revitalize American manufacturing, attract investment, and strengthen our economy.”

“There is unlimited potential in the years ahead to create good, new manufacturing jobs in rural America,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Through the work of the White House Rural Council, this Administration has been working hard to magnify economic opportunities in rural areas. Today’s announcement is one more example of how federal agencies are successfully partnering to create jobs while expanding the nation’s manufacturing output.”

“EPA’s role in the development and implementation of the IMCP program and our focus on Brownfields Area-Wide Planning efforts will help communities support manufacturing and create jobs,” said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. “This partnership will make a visible difference in communities across the country.”

“IMCP is a vital resource for small manufacturers that are ready to grow, expand and create jobs in their communities,” said Acting U.S. Small Business Administrator Jeanne Hulit. “These small manufacturers help drive our economic growth, and SBA’s investment helps build stronger supply chains here at home to strengthen small businesses in communities across America.”

This first phase of the program provides 44 planning grants and investments totaling $7 million to support the creation of economic development strategies that recognize the community’s comparative advantages as a place to do business, invest in public goods, and encourage collaboration between multiple different entities to expand the area’s commercial appeal to investors.

Grants and investments awarded in 2013 will help communities undertake the strategic planning necessary to compete for the IMCP Challenge being launched in fall 2013 and awarded in the spring of 2014. In the 2014 Challenge competition, the Administration will designate stand-out “Manufacturing Communities” and give them an advantage in securing grants and investments through programs offered by 10 federal departments and agencies across the government. Moreover, top “Manufacturing Communities” may receive large IMCP Challenge grants and investments to finance – in partnership with industry and localities – substantial economic development investments such as workforce training, business parks or incubators, or infrastructure.

IMCP was first announced in April 2013.

More information on the FY14 IMCP Challenge will be available in the Federal Register in fall 2013.

The following is a list of winners of the 2013 strategy grants and investments. Descriptions of each project can be found at www.commerce.gov/IMCP.

The U.S. Department of Commerce ($4.4 million)
1. Bi-State Regional Commission and the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, Rock Island, Illinois
2. Burke Partnership for Economic Development, Morganton, North Carolina
3. Butte Local Development Corporation, Butte, Montana
4. California State University at Fresno, Fresno, California
5. Campus Research Corporation, Tucson, Arizona
6. Centralina Council of Governments, Charlotte, North Carolina
7. China Lake Technologies, LLC, Ridgecrest, California
8. Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, Palm Springs, California
9. Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Disputanta, Virginia
10. Development Projects, Inc., Dayton, Ohio
11. Economic Development Council for Central Illinois, Peoria, Illinois
12. Georgia Tech Research Corporation and the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
13. Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Phoenix, Arizona
14. Mid-Columbia Economic Development District of The Dalles, The Dalles, Oregon
15. Northern Maine Development Commission, Caribou, Maine
16. Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
17. Piedmont Triad Partnership, Greensboro, North Carolina
18. Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, Providence, Rhode Island
19. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
20. South Carolina Council on Competiveness, Columbia, South Carolina
21. South Sioux City, Nebraska
22. Tech20/20, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
23. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
24. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
25. Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas
26. Yuma County, Arizona

The Environment Protection Agency ($1.3 million)
1. North Branch Works/ LEED Council, Chicago, Illinois
2. Atlanta, Georgia
3. Toledo, Ohio
4. The Enterprise Center, Chattanooga, Tennessee
5. The Environmental Health Coalition, National City, California
6. Lowell, Massachusetts
7. Monaca, Pennsylvania

The Small Business Administration ($766,000)
1. Entreworks Consulting, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Warren, Pennsylvania
2. Hickory Ground Solutions, LLC, Elizabethton, Kingsport, and Johnson City, Tennessee
3. Hickory Ground Solutions, LLC, Calumet, El Reno, Geary, Hinto, Kingfisher, Minco, Okarche, Piedmont, Union City, and Watonga, Oklahoma
4. Hickory Ground Solutions, LLC, Mecklenburg County, Halifax County, and Brunswick County, Virginia
5. The Flynt Group, Inc., Kansas City, Kansas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture ($528,000)
1. Clear Water Economic Development Association, Lewiston, Idaho
2. Makoce Waste Development Corporation, Inc., Rapid City, South Dakota
3. Massachusetts MEP, Worcester, Massachusetts
4. Northern Forest Center, Essex County, Orleans County, and Caledonia County, Vermont
5. Northern Maine Development Commission, Caribou, Maine
6. Quinault Indian Nation, Taholah, Washington