Strategic Economic and Community Development

Application Deadline: June 30, 2016
Federal Register Notice: (.pdf)
 

Section 6025 of the 2014 Farm Bill enables the Secretary of Agriculture to provide priority to projects that support strategic economic and community development plans. The result of that is a provision called Strategic Economic and Community Development (SECD).

Purpose

To advance projects which support long-term community and economic growth strategies that reflect both multi-jurisdictional stakeholder collaboration and capitalize upon the unique strengths of the rural area. Through this provision, USDA Rural Development is empowered to work further with rural communities to align resources with long-range and multi-jurisdictional challenges and needs by leveraging federal, state, local, or private funding.

Goal

By creating a regional focus and increasing collaboration across Rural Development agencies and programs, USDA resources can have a larger impact, enabling greater wealth creation, and quality of life improvements.

Eligibility

To be eligible for SECD, a project must:

• Be eligible for the underlying program
• Be carried out solely in a rural area
• Support a multi-jurisdictional strategic economic community development plan.

Application Process

Applicants to any of several existing Rural Development programs whose projects support the implementation of multi-jurisdictional strategic economic and community development plans may apply for priority consideration through SECD. Consideration will be based on:
(1) How well the project supports a multijurisdictional plan and
(2) How well the plan addresses collaboration, regionalism, and investments from other federal and philanthropic agencies. Interested participants are encouraged to have their plans reviewed by their State's staff early in the process for feedback and possible modification prior to submitting with the formal application.

Participating Rural Development Programs 

Applications to the following programs may apply to SECD:

• Community Facility Direct Loans and Grants
• Community Facilities Loan Guarantees
• Water and Waste Disposal Loan Guarantees
• Water & Waste Loans and Grants
• Business and Industry Loan Guarantees (B&I)
• Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG)