21 Regional Coalitions Awarded American Rescue Plan ‘Build Back Better Regional Challenge’ Grants
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the 21 winners of EDA’s $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. [CLICK HERE FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE]
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 good-paying 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)
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 tremendous 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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