OpportunityTitle: Community TAA Program Opportunity
CategoryExplanation: The Economic Development Administration&#146;s (EDA&#146;s) mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. In implementing this mission, EDA announces the agency&#146;s procedures for providing assistance under the Community Trade Adjustment Assistance (Community TAA) Program under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C. &#167; 2341 et seq.) (Trade Act).     The Community TAA Program is designed to provide communities with comprehensive and flexible solutions to a wide variety of trade impacts. There currently are a number of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs authorized under the Trade Act that target assistance to specific groups within and members of a community, such as workers and firms. However, the negative impacts of trade are not just felt by discrete groups; they reverberate throughout an entire community. The closure or downsizing of a key industry, company, or plant creates severe economic challenges for an entire community impacted by trade. The Community TAA Program supplements and builds upon the other TAA programs by providing comprehensive assistance to communities affected by Cognizable Certifications made under one or more of three TAA programs (TAA for Workers, Firms, or Farmers) to address these challenges. The overall goal of the Community TAA Program is to help communities respond holistically and proactively to trade impacts and become more competitive in the global economy. The Community TAA program will help eligible communities devise long-term Strategic Plans and carry out implementation activities to address economic development challenges in regions affected by trade impacts.
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Under section 271 of the Trade Act, a &#147;community&#148; is eligible to apply to participate in the Community TAA Program. The Trade Act defines community as &#147;a city, county, or other political subdivision of a State or a consortium of political subdivisions of a State.&#148; District Organizations formed and operating in accordance with 13 C.F.R. &#167; 304.2 that coordinate and implement the economic development activities of EDA&#146;s designated Economic Development Districts (EDDs) also are eligible to apply under the Community TAA Program. See section 271 of the Trade Act (19 U.S.C. &#167; 2371) and 13 C.F.R. &#167; 313.2.     In addition, a community must have one or more Cognizable Certification(s) made with respect to it under one of the three following TAA programs:  TAA for Workers, Firms, or Farmers.  EDA must make an Affirmative Determination that the community is significantly affected by trade in connection with one or more of the Cognizable Certifications.      PLEASE NOTE:  As noted above, specific deadlines apply to different applicant categories for eligibility purposes.  Please read the FFO announcement carefully to make sure you determine the category into which your community fits and that the community submits its preapplication and/or application on time.    For-profit, private-sector entities are not eligible to apply under the Community TAA Program.
Description: Under this announcement, EDA announces general policies and application requirements for the Community TAA Program. The purpose of the Community TAA Program is to create and retain jobs by providing project grants to communities (cities, counties, or other political subdivisions of a State or a consortium of political subdivisions of a State, including District Organizations of Economic Development Districts) that have experienced, or are threatened by, job loss resulting from international trade impacts. Grants under the program can be used to support a wide range of technical, planning, and infrastructure projects to help communities adapt to pressing trade impact issues and diversify their economies.To be eligible to apply, communities must be certified under one of the following three TAA programs: TAA for Workers, TAA for Firms, or TAA for Farmers. Applications will be competitively evaluated in order to maximize the economic revitalization impact of the program based on the extent to which applications address the following six criteria:1. Supporting small and medium-sized communities, defined as communities with a population of 100,000 or less.2. Assisting the most severely impacted communities in terms of the number of workers in the community that are impacted in connection with TAA certifications.3. Delivering a high return on investment in terms of creating and saving jobs, leveraging public-private partnerships, and utilizing best practices in project management.4. Supporting Regionalism, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship by strengthening regional cluster strategies and fostering technology commercialization.5. Supporting Global Trade/Competitiveness by supporting &#147;high growth/high potential companies&#148; and advancing business clusters with significant export potential.6. Growing the &#147;Green Economy&#148; by promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency, &#147;greening&#148; existing processes or functions, and through &#147;green building&#148; (for example, a structure certified under the U.S. Green Building Council&#146;s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system).See the full FFO announcement for further details. PLEASE NOTE: As noted above, specific deadlines apply to different applicant categories for eligibility purposes. Please read the FFO announcement carefully to make sure you determine the category into which your community fits and that the community submits its preapplication and/or application on time.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: E-mail
GrantorContactText: Jamie Lipsey &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-482-3467
CloseDateExplanation: PLEASE NOTE:  Although there is a single deadline for grant applications under the program, the Trade Act requires that communities submit certain information for an Affirmative Determination of trade impact within a specific timeframe to preserve their eligibility.  There are different categories based on the date of a community&apos;s most recent Cognizable Certification under one or more of the following TAA programs:  TAA for Workers, Firms, or Farmers.    Grandfathered Communities, which are communities with Cognizable Certifications made on or after January 1, 2007 and before August 1, 2009, must submit information by February 1, 2010.    Standard Date Communities, which are communities with Cognizable Certifications made on or after August 1, 2009, must submit information within 180 days of their most recent Cognizable Certification.    PLEASE NOTE:  Because EDA is holding a single competition, certain communities may submit preapplications for an Affirmative Determination to preserve their eligibility.  A community that timely submits a preapplication also must submit a full application by the competition deadline (April 20, 2010) to be considered for funding under the program.  Note that preapplications and full applications are included under this Grants.gov posting.  Please read the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement carefully to determine the category into which your community fits and to make sure the community submits on time.    Late preapplications or applications will not be considered.