FY 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Statewide Planning, Research, and Networks
Funding Agency:
- Department of Commerce/EDA
The ARPA Statewide Planning, Research, and Networks NOFO is part of EDA’s multi-phase effort to respond to the coronavirus pandemic as directed by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Specifically, this NOFO seeks to build regional economies for the future through two primary avenues: a) Statewide Planning and b) Research and Networks.
For Research awards, EDA solicits applications for investments that support research and evaluation projects2 related to economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. EDA will support the development of tools, recommendations, and resources that shape Federal economic development policies and inform economic development decision-making. Awards will provide critical, cutting-edge research and best practices to regional, state, and local practitioners in the economic development field, thereby enhancing understanding and implementation of economic development concepts throughout the country. EDA is specifically interested in research projects that will enable real-time research into EDA’s ARPA programs, especially those related to the new Jobs Challenge, Build Back Better Regional Challenge, Indigenous Communities NOFO, and travel and tourism programs. See also section D.2 for more detail on the evaluation parameters EDA seeks.
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2), Congress provided EDA with $3,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus and for necessary expenses for responding to economic injury as a result of coronavirus.” Of the funds provided, EDA anticipates awarding $90,000,000 under this NOFO: $59,000,000 for Statewide Planning grants and $31,000,000 for Research and Communities of Practice Challenge awards.
While EDA encourages eligible applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible, EDA strongly advises eligible applicants to submit complete applications no later than October 31, 2021 so that EDA can review and process the application in time to achieve the objectives of the grant program.
For applicants interested in the Research component: research@eda.gov