Cohen Hails New Federal Designation That Makes Region Eligible to Share $1 Billion in Economic Development Assistance

Press Release

Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today applauded the Obama Administration's move to designate the nine counties surrounding Memphis as an Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative community, which will make the region eligible for coordinated support from eleven federal agencies with more than $1 billion economic development assistance. This Manufacturing Community designation, which was awarded to the Made in the Mid-South Manufacturing Alliance after a highly competitive selection process managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, will help accelerate a resurgence of medical equipment and supplies manufacturing through the development of long-term economic development strategies,. A factsheet about the Made in the Mid-South Manufacturing Alliance's proposal is available here.

"Our selection as a Manufacturing Community will help the Memphis economy, and the whole Mid-South's economy, grow and create jobs by promoting investment in our region," said Congressman Cohen. "The Made in the Mid-South Manufacturing Alliance's comprehensive strategy brings local governments, nonprofits, education facilities and other groups together to help improve infrastructure, encourage investment, increase access to capital, and provide training opportunities to the more than 45,000 area workers who could be added to the workforce if they had training that meets the needs of our local businesses."

"An IMCP designation is an important signal to potential investors that these communities are a good place to spend their money, and this is smart government at work," said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. "By breaking down silos and encouraging communities to take a more thoughtful, comprehensive approach to their strategic plans, we are ensuring that precious federal dollars are used on the most high impact projects and in a way that maximizes return on investment."

As a Manufacturing Community, the Memphis region will be recognized on a government website, accessible to prospective private foreign and domestic investors, looking for information on communities' competitive attributes. The community will also receive a dedicated federal liaison at each of these agencies who will help them navigate available federal resources:

Appalachian Regional Commission
Delta Regional Authority
Environmental Protection Agency
National Science Foundation
Small Business Administration
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Transportation

From the communities that applied for this designation in 2015, only 12 were selected by an interagency panel, based on the strength of their economic development plans, the potential for impact in their communities, and the depths of their partnerships across the public and private sectors to carry out their plans. Winning communities were those where leaders from the private sector, local government, higher education, local economic development organizations, and other nonprofits worked together to identify a sector of manufacturing where their community has a comparative advantage and drafted a strategic plan that addresses: workforce and supply chain challenges; infrastructure; research and innovation; trade and investment; capital access; and operational improvement for manufacturing companies.

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