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Empire State Development announces strategic implementation assessment team, schedule of round 4 Regional Council presentations

by jmaloni

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Tue, Sep 9th 2014 06:20 pm

Team of state commissioners and outside experts to receive presentations from Regional Councils in Albany as part of round four review and assessment for awards

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Kenneth Adams has announced the membership of the 2014 strategic implementation assessment team, which will review the 2014 progress reports and round four proposals submitted by the 10 Regional Economic Development Councils. The SIAT is composed of New York commissioners, as well as a global trade expert from the U.S. Department of Commerce and an expert on veterans affairs, each of whom have years of experience working on community and economic development projects and planning.

"The SIAT serves an important function for the Regional Council process - providing ESD with comprehensive assessments of each region's progress and valuable recommendations for investing in important economic development projects," Adams said. "This year's team, which includes several returning members, has extensive experience in economic and community development and will provide invaluable insight on how to best leverage state and local resources with private investment to create jobs and economic growth. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Regional Council initiative has already injected billions of dollars into communities from Montauk to Mapleton, supporting more than 100,000 New York jobs since 2011. In 2014, the REDCs are focused on continuing to build on the success of the last three years while strengthening New York's economic outlook - and we look forward to seeing their proposals."

The 2014 SIAT team is composed of Cesar A. Perales, New York state secretary of state; Jerry Boone, commissioner and president, New York State Civil Service Commission; RoAnn Destito, commissioner, New York State Office of General Services; Matthew Driscoll, president and CEO, New York State Environmental Facilities Corp.; Thomas Mattox, commissioner, New York State Department of Taxation and Finance; Cristyne Nicholas, chair, New York State Tourism Advisory Council; Patrick Kirwan, director, trade promotion coordinating committee, U.S Department of Commerce; and Col. Eric Hesse, executive director, New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs.

Additionally, Adams announced each of the 10 REDCs will present their round four proposals to the SIAT over two days in Albany - Monday, Sept. 15, and Tuesday, Sept. 16, in meeting room 6 at Empire State Plaza. Each region will have up to 30 minutes to provide an in-person presentation to the SIAT, which will include updates on the goals of their strategic plans, progress achieved on priorities from previous rounds, and outlines of their round four strategies.

The REDC process has transformed economic development in New York, creating a statewide framework for bottom-up regional economic growth and streamlining the funding application process. More than $2 billion in investments from the past three rounds are supporting more than 2,200 projects to promote the creation or retention of more than 100,000 jobs statewide.

Through three rounds of the REDC competition, Western New York REDC has delivered $213.9 million for 235 projects.

In April, Cuomo launched round four of the REDC initiative, officially kicking off the 2014 competition for up to $750 million in state economic development resources. The consolidated funding application was opened to applicants on May 1 with a deadline for submissions of June 16, providing businesses, municipalities, not-for-profits and the public with the opportunity to apply, through a single application, for assistance from dozens of state funding programs for job-creating economic and community development projects.

In round four, to continue to generate investment opportunities and job creation, the REDCs will compete for up to $150 million in capital funds and $70 million in Excelsior tax credits for projects and activities identified by the councils as priorities in their regions. Additionally, up to $530 million from state agency programs will be awarded through the CFA process.

This year, the competition is focused on:

•Implementation of regional strategic economic development plans;

•Performance in encouraging economic growth through job creation and investment;

•Identification of global marketing and export strategies;

•Collaboration with local governments to transform the regional business climate;

•Supporting "NY Rising" community reconstruction plan projects;

•Addressing Regional Workforce Development needs for key sectors;

•Refining the regional opportunity agenda; and

•Promote veterans participation in the workforce.

There are several new aspects to the 2014 competition, including the development of a "Global NY" plan, the promotion of veterans participation in the workforce, and supporting "NY Rising" community reconstruction program projects.

For more information on these components of the competition, visit the 2014 REDC Guidebook at www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov.

The 2014 Regional Economic Development Council awards will be announced this fall.

For more information on the Regional Councils, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov.

To learn more about the CFA, visit https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/.

For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit www.nyworks.ny.gov and www.esd.ny.gov.

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