The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is the only federal government agency focused exclusively on economic development and plays a critical role in fostering regional economic development efforts in communities across the nation. Through strategic investments that foster job creation and attract private investment, EDA supports development in economically distressed areas of the United States.

EDA works directly with local economic development officials to make grant investments that are well-defined, timely, and linked to a long-term, sustainable economic development strategy.

Programs:

Regional Innovation Strategies
Spurs innovation capacity-building activities by creating and expanding cluster-focused proof-of-concept and commercialization programs and early-stage seed capital funds through the i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grant competition, respectively.

Public Works
Empowers distressed communities to revitalize, expand, and upgrade their physical infrastructure to attract new industry, encourage business expansion, diversify local economies, and generate or retain long-term, private sector jobs and investment.

Economic Adjustment
Assists state and local interests in designing and implementing strategies to adjust or bring about change to an economy. The program focuses on areas that have experienced or are under threat of serious structural damage to the underlying economic base. Under Economic Adjustment, EDA administers its Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Program, which supplies small businesses and entrepreneurs with the gap financing needed to start or expand their business.

Partnership Planning
Supports local organizations (Economic Development Districts, Indian Tribes, and other eligible areas) with long-term planning efforts. The Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Content Guidelines, provides suggestions, tools, and resources for developing comprehensive economic development strategies.

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms
A national network of 11 Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers to help strengthen the competitiveness of American companies that have lost domestic sales and employment because of increased imports of similar goods and services.

University Centers
A partnership of the federal government and academia that makes the varied and vast resources of universities available to the economic development community.

Research and National Technical Assistance
Supports research of leading edge, world class economic development practices and information dissemination efforts.

Local Technical Assistance
Helps fill the knowledge and information gaps that may prevent leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors in distressed areas from making optimal decisions on local economic development issues.

Economic Development Integration
EDA possesses broad and deep experience in successfully coordinating resources across multiple programs and special initiatives. Based upon this experience and EDA’s historic track record of successful collaboration with a range of stakeholders (both federal and non-federal), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated EDA to lead the federal government’s efforts to maximize the integration of economic development resources from all sources, including federal, state, local and philanthropic, to achieve more impactful and sustainable outcomes for communities across America.