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Federal EDA outlines grant priorities, partnership planning and upcoming competitions
Summary
Trent Thompson of the Economic Development Administration summarized EDA funding priorities, the agency's $466 million baseline budget, partnership planning grants and upcoming Built to Scale competition; he encouraged local governments to consult EDA early in project planning.
Trent Thompson, the Economic Development Administration’s regional representative, briefed the committee on EDA funding types and priorities and offered one-on-one technical assistance for communities considering EDA grants.
Thompson said EDA’s institutional base funds support partnership planning grants that underwrite comprehensive economic development strategies for economic development districts and that most project awards are competitive, targeted investments rather than large formula grants. He noted EDA’s FY baseline of about $466 million nationally, with occasional supplemental appropriations for disaster response that greatly enlarge EDA’s capacity when those funds are available.
EDA’s investment priorities include critical infrastructure, workforce development, innovation and entrepreneurship, economic recovery and resilience, and manufacturing. Thompson underscored that EDA funds typically require a clear link between the project and private-sector job creation; workforce housing projects have historically been difficult to fund directly unless they can be tied to high-paying job creation.
He also described upcoming opportunities: a likely announcement this spring of AI-related workforce funding and the annual national Built to Scale competition (innovation and entrepreneurship grants), which will carry forward prior-year unobligated funds and expectedly increase competition this year. Thompson urged communities to contact EDA early for eligibility conversations and application assistance.
