Federal Investments and the Coal Transition

An interesting new Urban Institute analysis examines how Federal agencies are supporting effective economic transitions in coal impacted communities.  In this case, the researchers assessed the US Economic Development Administration’s Coal Communities Commitment effort which invested around $300 million to support community transition efforts.

The study finds some interesting patterns in program investments.  Most funds—around 75%–backed capital infrastructure investments; remaining funds primarily supported “human capital investments” such as planning, workforce training, and the like.  They also found that relatively fewer dollars were invested in rural places and in regions with higher levels of persistent poverty.  The  researchers note that, as with many Federal programs, EDA’s transition dollars often fail to reach the places that need the most support. Since EDA funds are among the most flexible federal funding tools, we can likely suspect that other federal programs likely show similar investment patterns. 

The researchers conclude with a common, yet critical, recommendation: Invest more in capacity building so that lower capacity regions can effectively compete for and win these federal grants. We are going to need new approaches and program models if we want to get essential funding to the places most in need.