Subject-matter expert (SME) on economic development on subcontract to Jobs for the Future, in support of JFF’s agreement with the U.S. Economic Development Administration to administer a Community of Practice for the Good Jobs Challenge grantees.

I am pleased to announce my selection as a subcontractor to the NYU Wagner School on a major, new grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). Under this project, a consortium of experts will help clarify for state and local governments how they can best advance their own economic-development goals by accessing relevant federal programs.

For information beyond this brief summary, please see the complete news release from NYU, which was drafted with input from the project managers at the EDA and all the consortium members.

Among the outcomes of this project will be a publicly available “one-stop” platform allowing communities to choose more easily which federal programs are best matched to their needs. This resource will help communities make more effective cases for integrated federal support of complex regional partnerships for economic development. The project supports the newly created Office of Economic Development Integration at EDA.

The winning consortium consists of senior researchers and program administrators from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), and Jobs for the Future (JFF). The principal investigator is Dr. Neil Kleiman, who teaches at the Wagner School and directs its Innovation Labs.

I look forward to speaking with many of my economic-development colleagues about aspects of this important project.