Helping Communities Shine

Whether researching and implementing ways to shape a community's economic development plan or partnering to create ways to put people to work, CREC connects researchers and policymakers with:

     • Data training
     • Custom portfolios that aid regional competitiveness

Project Profile

DDAA Rural Broadband and EDA CARES Act Funding Peer Best Practices Research Report

Development District Association of Appalachia
Start Date: Oct 2020 — End Date: Dec 2021

The Development District Association of Appalachia contracted with CREC to gain insights about local development district efforts to improve their respective regions – specifically, to better understand local development district uses of CARES funding as well as to gain insights on best practices in promoting rural broadband. The project provided DDAA members with best practice examples of how localities and regions are implementing affordable last-mile and middle-mile fixed broadband or other resilient digital infrastructure (i.e., alternative technologies such as 5G, etc.), including efforts to leverage existing public, philanthropic, and private investment capital. In addition, DDAA members gained insights into how LDDs are using EDA CARES Act funding and ideas for potential ways to reprogram those funds in 2021.

Research & PlanningTechnical Assistance

About the Client

Development District Association of Appalachia

The Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA) is a membership organization of the 73 Local Development Districts (LDD’s) serving the 420 counties of the Appalachia Region. The DDAA works to strengthen LDDs and their member governments and to provide leadership to support the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) federal-state-local partnership.