The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the 21 winners of the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) — the marquee initiative of EDA’s American Rescue Plan programs and the most impactful regional economic development competition in decades.
The 21 winners — each a regional coalition of partnering entities — will receive awards between $25 and $65 million to implement an average of six projects that together will rebuild regional economies, promote inclusive and equitable recovery, and create thousands of jobs in industries of the future including clean energy, next-generation manufacturing, and biotechnology.
The BBBRC is an unprecedented competitive federal grant program that provides each regional coalition with significant funding to tackle a wide variety of projects — including entrepreneurial support, infrastructure, workforce development, and innovation — to drive inclusive economic growth. The projects aim to develop and strengthen regional industry clusters — all while embracing economic equity, creating good-paying jobs, and enhancing U.S. competitiveness globally. The coalition lead for each winner is listed below. (*Grant amounts are approximate)
U.S. EDA Build Back Better Regional Challenge Awardees
Central Valley Community Foundation (California) Coalition Name: F3 – Fresno-Merced Future of Food Grant Amount: $65.1 million
City of Manchester (New Hampshire) The BioFabrication Cluster Grant Amount: $44 million
Coalfield Development (West Virginia) Coalition Name: Appalachian Climate Technologies (ACT Now) Initiative Grant Amount: $62.8 million
Detroit Regional Partnership Foundation (Michigan) Coalition Name: Global Epicenter of Mobility Grant Amount: $52.2 million
Empire State Development (New York) Coalition Name: Western New York’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Grant Amount: $25 million
Four Bands Community Fund (South Dakota) Coalition Name: Mountain | Plains Regional Native CDFI Coalition Grant Amount: $45 million
Georgia Tech Research Corporations (Georgia) Coalition Name: GA-AIM Grant Amount: $65 million
Greater New Orleans Development Foundation (Louisiana) Coalition Name: H2theFuture Grant Amount: $50 million
Greater St. Louis, Inc. (Missouri) Coalition Name: St. Louis Tech Triangle Grant Amount: $25 million
Indian Nations Council of Governments (Oklahoma) Coalition Name: Tulsa Regional Advanced Mobility Cluster Grant Amount: $39 million
Invest Nebraska Corporation (Nebraska) Coalition Name: Heartland Robotics Cluster Grant Amount: $25 million
North Carolina Biotechnology Center (North Carolina) Coalition Name: Accelerate NC – Life Sciences Manufacturing Grant Amount: $25 million
Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation (Oklahoma) Coalition Name: Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster Initiative Grant Amount: $35 million
Osceola County Board of County Commissioners (Florida) Coalition Name: Building Central Florida’s Semiconductor Cluster for Broad-Based Prosperity Grant Amount: $50.8 million
Port of Portland (Oregon) Coalition Name: Oregon Mass Timber Coalition Grant Amount: $41.4 million
Southeast Conference (Alaska) Coalition Name: Alaska Mariculture Cluster Grant Amount: $49 million
Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative (Pennsylvania) Coalition Name: Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative Grant Amount: $62.7 million
The State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton (New York) Coalition Name: New Energy New York Grant Amount: $63.7 million
The University of Texas at El Paso (Texas) Coalition Name: West Texas A&D Cluster Grant Amount: $40 million
Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority (Activation Capital) (Virginia) Coalition Name: Virginia Advanced Pharma Manufacturing (APM) and R&D Grant Amount: $52.9 million
Wichita State University (Kansas) Coalition Name: South Kansas Coalition Grant Amount: $51.4 million
The 21 BBBRC winners were chosen from 60 EDA-designated finalists that each received approximately $500,000 in funding and gained technical assistance to continue developing their cluster strategies. Those 60 finalists were chosen from a Phase 1 applicant pool of 529 applications, which exemplifies the demand for transformational economic development. EDA will continue to support all 60 finalists with the creation of a Community of Practice that will provide technical support, foster connectedness with peer regions, and build capacity.
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