APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION

POWER AWARDS, MARCH 2017

A complete list of all ARC POWER awards is available at www.arc.gov/power

Implementation Grants

$1,499,400 ARC grant to the Canaan Valley Institute in Davis, WV, for the Sustainable Jobs Initiative.

The project will create an economic diversification and entrepreneur training program to grow the

apiculture (honey and bee products) and native plant industries across 14 coal-impacted counties in

southern West Virginia, with a focus on using reclaimed mine land. Activities include training for

displaced and underemployed workers and veterans to gain the business and technical skills necessary

to become successful entrepreneurs in these sectors. A Beekeeping Collective will enable residents of

Central Appalachia to take advantage of the robust, growing market for honey and other bee products,

while a Native Plant Horticulture Program will train workers to collect, grow, and market high-demand

local varietals of native plants, a growing niche market in the eastern United States. Key partners include

Appalachian Headwaters, Green Forests Work, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, and New

River Technical and Community College. The project will serve more than 2,600 workers, generate $2.4

million of revenue over three years, and attract $4.6 million of leveraged private investment.

$750,000 ARC grant to the Huntington Municipal Development Authority in Huntington, WV, for the

Polymer Technology Center of Huntington ("P-TeCH"). Part of a larger plan for creating jobs and

businesses in the regional polymer industry, the project will convert a 27-acre abandoned brownfield in

downtown Huntington (a former coal barge rail docking facility) into a multi-purpose resource for West

Virginia’s growing polymer manufacturing sector. A Product Development Center will assist

manufacturing and technology firms with product development and design, testing, validation, and other

commercialization services. A Light Manufacturing Center will provide business incubation and scale-up

manufacturing space for polymer industry start-ups. P-TeCH will also be a jobs skills and workforce

development center for a pipeline of interns, manufacturing workers, and entrepreneurs in the region.

The project will partner with a leading private-sector polymer manufacturing company, leverage $2

million in private investment, and improve the competitiveness of 24 businesses.

Technical Assistance Grants

$41,065 ARC grant to the Workforce Initiative Association in Canton, OH, for the Coal Business United

Resource Network (Coal BURN) Real-Time Insights for Real-Time Actions project. The project will

implement a formal multi-state planning process to obtain a better understanding of current and future

workforce opportunities (“real-time” data) in coal-impacted communities in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania,

and West Virginia. The new multi-county, multi-state consortium will draw on data and actions that

currently exist while obtaining information and data on specific skills needed in the workplace, helping

the workforce system to more effectively enable dislocated workers to meet the needs of local

businesses. The primary goal of the Resource Network in Ohio will be to connect workforce

Page 1 / March 2017
development, economic development, and education in a collaborative, seamless, and customer-focused

partnership structure to deliver effective and efficient business services. Through the planning process,

the model will be expanded into Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Special Regional Project

$175,000 ARC grant to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in Washington, DC,

for the Industry-Informed Infrastructure in Appalachian Colleges (“I3”) project. I3 will start as a two-state

pilot effort over one year to expand the industry connections and technical training capacities of

community colleges serving coal-impacted communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, along with

adjacent areas of neighboring states. The activities in Pennsylvania will focus on the oil and gas industry,

while those in West Virginia with highlight management and leadership in the hospitality industry.

Additional components of the project will link participating community colleges with industry leaders in

other high-demand sectors identified by the colleges. The initiative is founded on the concept that

Appalachian community colleges deserve the highest-caliber industry infusion of resources to create

critical talent pipelines for the Region’s workforce. AACC will identify national industry partners and

trade associations that can be leveraged to provide reduced-price services or partnerships that can build

the capacity of the colleges, communities, and students. At least 12 colleges are expected to benefit from

the project.

Page 2 / March 2017