The purpose of EDA Planning Investments is to provide support to Planning Organizations for the development, implementation, revision or replacement of Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies, and for related short-term Planning Investments and State plans designed to create and retain higher-skill, higher-wage jobs, particularly for the unemployed and underemployed in the nation's most economically distressed Regions. EDA's Planning Investments support partnerships with District Organizations, Indian Tribes, community development corporations, non-profit regional planning organizations and other Eligible Recipients. Planning activities supported by these Investments must be part of a continuous process involving the active participation of Private Sector Representatives, public officials and private citizens, and include:
(a)
Analyzing local economies;
(b)
Defining economic development goals;
(c)
Determining Project opportunities; and
(d)
Formulating and implementing an economic development program that includes systematic efforts to reduce unemployment and increase incomes.