As reported by Industry Week, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce recently announced that 12 additional communities will receive designations under the Obama Administration’s Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative.  According to Industry Week:

The 12 designated Manufacturing Communities will receive coordinated support for their strategies from the following eleven federal agencies with more than $1 billion available in federal economic development assistance:

• 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

The only community in the Northeastern United States on this recent list is in Connecticut.  The Connecticut Advanced Manufacturing Communities Region is focused on supporting aerospace and shipbuilding, which are critical industries in Connecticut.

Although it is important to continually invest in U.S. based manufacturing, the key will be whether the funds and support are truly easy to access.  Many of our manufacturing clients apply for government funding and loans, but often they come with delay and expense.  To encourage true growth, government assistance needs to be streamlined, which often is not the case.