In the November 26, 2010 edition of the Federal Register, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced a call for applications for two of its economic development grant pools: Planning and Local Technical Assistance. Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis to EDA and grants must be matched by at least 50%. Eligible applicants are state and local government entities, economic development districts, tribes, higher education institutions, and non-profit organizations. The goal of the grant programs is to assist the creation and implementation of regional economic development plans/strategies that will foster job creation or job retention. For more information, go to http://www.grants.gov and http://www.eda.gov or call the EDA’s Seattle Regional Office at 206-220-7660.
Washington State Dept. of Archaeology & Historic Preservation 
What became of the last round of EDA plans? It’s a rhetorical question; there’s no need to answer.
The point of this usually sunny and optimistic person being sarcastic online is that I certainly hope that the economic development planning grants are awarded only to locales that can be realistic about the U.S. economy and what is possible here and now. The “same old same old” in economic development really doesn’t work at all, and unfortunately some of the communities that need assistance and planning the most are also the ones that are vulnerable to lazy consultants who can’t be bothered to dig into whether there are real economic success stories in the country right now, and if so, their basis.
By: Nancy Thompson on December 3, 2010
at 6:30 pm