Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — State funding in the amount of $30 million will be coming to Owen, Greene, Monroe, Brown, Daviess, Martin, Lawrence, Dubois, Orange, Washington and Crawford counties. “A Region on the Rise,” the development plan submitted for the counties by Regional Opportunity Initiatives and Radius Indiana, was among the 17 proposals accepted for funding under the Regional Economic Acceleration Development Initiative on Dec. 14 by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.
“Congratulations to the 17 regional recipients who worked so hard for their communities. We’ve been impressed by their hard work and commitment to positively impacting the state” said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers. “Thank you also to the citizen-members of the external review committee for their diligent work in meticulously reviewing thousands of pages of proposals. This bold initiative sets the national standard for regional development and advancement and will build even more momentum as Indiana continues to lead.”
Selected regions are expected to provide a 4:1 match in support of projects and programs. This includes a required 1:1 match from local public funding and a recommended 3:1 match from private and philanthropic sources, meaning the state money will be leveraged to have an even greater impact.
Details of the plan
A Region on the Rise, which requested $50 million, showcases many of the regional development efforts implemented across the region’s 11 counties since 2012 and identifies three key strategies to leverage and complement existing efforts to grow population and catalyze longer-term economic growth and community prosperity in the Indiana Uplands.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship: Scale and differentiate targeted industry clusters by supporting the growth of existing innovative firms and fostering the creation of new companies.
- Talent development, attraction and retention: Ensure that talent strategies are producing a talent pipeline that meets the demands of the Indiana Uplands’ targeted industry clusters and other private sector anchors.
- Quality of place: Invest in the types of quality of place amenities that will attract young knowledge workers, mid-career individuals and families; help the region retain its existing workforce; and draw workers back to the Uplands, bringing economic growth with them.
More than 270 potential projects and proposals were submitted by individuals, businesses and organizations for consideration in the Indiana Uplands plan. Through a process led by a 17- member steering committee with eight subject-matter working groups, a representative sampling of approximately 70 example projects and programs was included to illustrate how READI funding would accelerate economic development and population growth in the region.
A large coalition of regional stakeholders supported the development of the Uplands READI plan. Through regional listening sessions, working groups and focused conversations, hundreds of people helped to shape the plan that was ultimately submitted. TEConomy Partners helped to further define the plan by updating the region’s strategic plan for economic and community prosperity.
Next steps for the region
Tina Peterson, ROI executive director, told Southern Indiana Business Report that the IEDC is planning to hold kickoff meetings with representatives from the 17 regions on Jan. 11, and the sessions are expected to include the signing of grant agreements as well as help on prioritizing and maximizing the impact of the state grants. (It’s not known how soon funding will be made available, however.)
Since the state did not fully fund the region’s $50 million request, Peterson is eager to learn more about those strategies. “I think on Jan. 11 we will get a much better understanding of what we will be able to use the dollars for, what we might not be able to use the dollars for, and what other funding sources might be available,” she said.
Peterson said the collaboration and local buy-in that were so helpful during the crafting of the original plan are seen as key resources in this next step, too. “We do intend to get back into every one of those counties,” she said.
For Peterson, seeing so many groups and individuals come together across the 11 counties to work on a single vision has been amazing. She said she would be surprised if any other region in the state saw better participation or more potential projects. “It’s incredibly inspiring,” she commented.
And Peterson sees that collaborative framework, which was being built even before READI, as a valuable resource that the region can continue to utilize well beyond this program.
The statewide picture
According to a statement from Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office, all 17 regional plans, representing all 92 Indiana counties, were accepted. The total requested in the applications came out to $1.5 billion, or triple the $500 million allocated for the program.
“The 17 regions submitted innovative, creative and visionary projects that will result in a positive economic impact on Indiana’s future,” Holcomb commented. “It took immense collaboration between communities as they put aside their own visions and worked together to present the best plan for the region. These plans will shape Indiana for generations to come and bring value to our state like nothing we’ve witnessed before. I want to thank the general assembly for having the courage and leadership to prioritize this initiative.”
Expanding on the local matches required in each region, as reported above, the state noted the plans submitted utilize a nearly 10:1 capitalization leverage ratio from private and public sources as compared to state investment.
Under the competitive process, an external seven-member citizen committee reviewed and scored the plans based on the established guidelines and against other relevant data, including historical population trends. Following the evaluation, the READI review committee members proposed funding recommendations to the IEDC board of directors.
Other regions and awards
•180 Alliance – awarded $20 million
Boone, Hendricks, Johnson, Putnam, Montgomery and Morgan
• 70-40 Mt. Comfort Corridor – awarded $5 million
Hancock
• Accelerate Rural Indiana – awarded $20 million
Shelby, Rush and Decatur
• East Central Indiana Regional Partnership – awarded $15 million
Blackford, Fayette, Muncie-Delaware, Jay, Henry, Randolph, Wayne, Grant
• Greater Lafayette – awarded $30 million
Tippecanoe, Fountain, Warren, Benton, White, Carroll
• Indiana First – awarded $15 million
Harrison, Knox, Perry, Pike, Spencer
• North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council – awarded $30 million
Fulton, Cass, Miami, Howard, Tipton, Clinton
• Northeast Indiana, led by the Northeast Indiana RDA – awarded $50 million
Lagrange, Steuben, Noble, Kosciusko, Whitley, Allen, Wabash, Huntington, Wells, Adams
• Northwest Indiana, led by the Northwest Indiana Forum – awarded $50 million
Lake, Porter, Laporte, Starke, Pulaksi, Jasper, Newton
• Our Southern Indiana RDA – awarded $50 million
Washington, Floyd, Scott, Jefferson, Clark
• South Bend-Elkhart RDA– awarded $50 million
St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall
• South Central Indiana Talent Region – awarded $30 million
Bartholomew, Jackson, Jennings
• Southeast Indiana READI – awarded $15 million
Dearborn, Union, Franklin, Ripley, Ohio, Switzerland
• Southwest Indiana Regional Development Authority – awarded $50 million
Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, Posey
• Wabash River Regional Development Authority – awarded $20 million
Clay, Knox, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, Vigo
• White River Regional Opportunity Initiative – awarded $20 million
Hamilton, Marion, Madison, City of Zionsville, City of McCordsville