Investments for Public Works and Economic Development Facilities

 

Through the primarily construction-oriented Public Works program, EDA provides catalytic investments to help distressed communities build, design, or engineer critical infrastructure and facilities that will help implement regional development strategies and advance bottom-up economic development goals to promote regional prosperity. The Public Works program provides resources to meet the construction and/or infrastructure design needs of communities to enable them to become more economically competitive. Examples of projects that have been funded previously include, but are not limited to: acquisition and development of land and improvements for use in public works or other types of development facilities; design and engineering, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of public works, public service, or related development facilities, including related machinery and equipment; water and sewer system improvements; creation or expansion of industrial parks; creation or expansion of business incubator and accelerator facilities; expansion of port and harbor facilities; construction or expansion of facilities for workforce development; redevelopment of brownfield sites; expansion, construction, or improvements of technology-based facilities and research and development commercialization centers, including the procurement of necessary equipment; construction, expansion, or improvement of wet labs, including the procurement of necessary equipment; construction of multi-tenant manufacturing facilities; expansion or improvement of research, business and science parks; and expansion or enhancement of public facilities with higher quality fiber optic cables and telecommunications infrastructure and broadband infrastructure deployment.

Active 11.300 Economic Development Administration, Department of Commerce B - Project Grants Not applicable. The statutory authorities for EDA’s Public Works and EAA programs are Sections 201 (42 U.S.C. § 3141) and 209 (42 U.S.C. § 3149) of PWEDA Eligible applicants for investment assistance under this NOFO include a(n): o District Organization; o Indian Tribe or a consortium of Indian Tribes; o 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; o Institution of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education; or 4 Under section 3(10) of PWEDA (42 U.S.C. ? 3122), the term "State" includes any State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. o Public or private non-profit organization or association acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a State. Under the Public Works and EAA programs, EDA is not authorized to provide grants or cooperative agreements to individuals or to for-profit entities, and such requests will not be considered for funding. Not applicable. An applicant must obtain, complete, and submit an application electronically through the Economic Development Grants Experience (EDGE) at sfgrants.eda.gov. EDA will not accept paper, facsimile, or email transmissions of applications except as provided below. In order to obtain and submit an application through EDGE, an applicant must register for an EDGE account at sfgrants.eda.gov. As part of the registration process, you will register one Authorized Representative for your organization. The Authorized Representative will be the only official with the authority to submit applications. Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. NA 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. FY 2023 EDA Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance Programs Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration 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 above. 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. 30 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. above. 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. Not applicable. From 120 to 180 days. Not applicable. Not applicable. 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, civil rights- and equity-focused organizations, community-based organizations, civil society and consumer-focused groups, unions and worker organizations, workforce 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 incorporates resiliency principles articulated in section A.3.b. of this NOFO and demonstrates resiliency to future sudden and severe economic dislocations, e.g., closures of major local employers, climate change, 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 union and well-paying, quality jobs with good benefits, and Registered Apprenticeships when possible; vii. The project's demonstrated ability to promote private investment in the regional economy; viii. The extent to which the application articulates a plan for ensuring that the project's benefits are shared across all affected communities, with a priority given to historically underserved areas, rural areas, minority populations, and women as discussed in section A.3.c. of this NOFO; and ix. 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 nine criteria: i. The extent to which the project incorporates the workforce principles articulated in section A.3.a. 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. EDA Public Works program investments help facilitate the transition of communities from being distressed to becoming competitive by developing key public infrastructure, such as technology-based facilities that utilize distance learning networks, smart rooms, and smart buildings; multitenant manufacturing and other facilities; business and industrial parks with fiber optic cable; and telecommunications and development facilities. In addition, EDA invests in traditional public works projects, including water and sewer systems improvements, industrial parks, business incubator facilities, expansion of port and harbor facilities, skill-training facilities, and brownfields redevelopment Performance Reports: EDA reviews progress and financial reports for compliance with all award terms and conditions, as well as EDA regulations. EDA reserves the right to conduct site visits on an as-needed basis. The applicant is reminded that EDA or the Department of Commerce's Office of Inspector General also may conduct an audit of an award at any time. All financial and programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical reports, and other records of recipients or sub-recipients are required to be maintained by the terms of the grant agreement. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. With limited exceptions, cost share is required for projects funded under this NOFO. Generally, the EDA investment rate (percentage of the total project costs) will be 50 percent, but EDA may fund up to 80 percent of total project costs based on the relative needs of the region.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. 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. Funds are disbursed on a reimbursement basis. For questions concerning this NOFO, including technical assistance with application requirements, you may contact the appropriate EDA representative for your State listed on EDA's website at https://www.eda.gov/contact/. Public Works Program
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Room 71030
Washington, DC 20230 US
programs@eda.gov
Phone: 2024822900 https://www.eda.gov/funding/programs/public-works 13-2050-0-1-452 (Project Grants) FY 22$128,151,000.00; FY 23 est $134,000,000.00; FY 24 est $102,000,000.00; FY 21$119,499,999.00; FY 20$118,500,000.00; FY 19$117,500,000.00; FY 18$117,500,000.00; FY 17$100,000,000.00; FY 16$110,897,917.00; - The average size of a Public Works investment has been approximately $1.4 million and investments generally range from $600,000 to $3,000,000. Historically, EDA has awarded funds for between 80 and 150 Public Works projects a year. Title 13 CFR Chapter III, Parts 300-302, 305, 310, and 314. Not applicable.