(PITTSBURGH – September 2, 2022) – The Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative (the Collaborative) is pleased to announce the receipt of a $62.7 million federal Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant awarded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (U.S. EDA).
The southwestern Pennsylvania region is one of only 21 applicants receiving this grant funding, chosen from the 60 finalists involved in Phase 2 of the Build Back Better challenge. Phase 1 of the challenge received 529 application submissions, of which southwestern Pennsylvania was chosen as one of the 60 applications to move to Phase 2. As recipients of this grant, the region proudly joins 20 other recipients to be awarded funding to advance industry cluster development projects across the nation.
Coordinated by the Collaborative board, chaired by Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, and Farnam Jahanian, President of Carnegie Mellon University, partners – including labor, educational institutions, workforce and economic development colleagues, businesses and more – have come together since the fall of 2021 to pursue a federal Build Back Better investment aimed at seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build the region’s robotics and autonomy technology sector. During the application process, the Collaborative convened a coalition of more than 90 public and private organizations representing 11 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Collaborative extends its sincere gratitude to the Biden administration and the U.S. EDA for selecting southwestern Pennsylvania as a Build Back Better grant recipient. The Collaborative also thanks U.S. Senator Bob Casey and U.S. Representatives Mike Doyle and Conor Lamb for their commitment to the region’s success in the challenge.
Read the full press release here: SWPA Receives $62.7M BBB Grant Press Release
Read more about Build Back Better Regional Challenge Awardees Here: Build-Back-Better-Announcement-Awardee-Fact-Sheet
To learn more about the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, click here.
