What is the IMCP?

The Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) aims to accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and create a competitive climate for communities to attract manufacturing jobs and investment. The IMCP encourages communities to devise comprehensive economic development strategies that strengthen their competitive edge in attracting global manufacturers and their supply chains.

Is your community ready to start developing its strategy? Click the flowchart above to explore BAT and the six resource areas.

Place-based Playbook

This playbook offers any community a three-step approach to building such a strategy and describes existing Federal grant and technical assistance resources that communities can use to put that strategy into practice:

• B ackbone. Build an organizational backbone with the insight needed to strengthen manufacturing and fully support the work that follows.

• A ssessment. Conduct a community self-assessment of the local industrial ecosystem (i.e. the whole range of physical, capital, and human resource components needed for manufacturing activities) to identify current strengths and deficiencies.
• T une-up. Develop a comprehensive and transformational tune-up strategy that can be sustained over time.

As your community prepares to attract new manufacturing investment, as well as improve support for existing manufacturing businesses and workers, please keep in mind that manufacturing is only one component of a larger business ecosystem. It is important to build a competitive strategy that supports all aspects of this broader business ecosystem.

Highlights

In 2014, 12 communities developed winning strategies and earned the designation of Manufacturing Community that gives them elevated consideration for $1.3 billion in federal dollars and assistance from 11 cabinet departments/agencies. These communities would also potentially receive additional catalytic federal investments to support their economic development strategies. In October 2014, the IMCP federal partners convened the designated IMCP communities, applicants, and other partners interested in promoting manufacturing and community development for a Summit in Washington, DC. At the Summit, participants shared best practices, worked to address common challenges, and networked with each other. View the Summit agenda and presentations for more information. Check out the new IMCP Financing Guide (PDF) (6 pp, 297KB) for step-by-step guidance on how to get started with seeking supplemental funding or financing for your community initiative. The Financing Guide also profiles three emergent and underutilized financing mechanisms: industrial development bonds, program-related investments, and pay-for-success financing.

Business Ecosystems

Often we find ourselves planning along traditional lines of thinking honed by years of experiences working in our individual spaces. The IMCP, however, is based on the concepts of industrial ecology and sustainability, which view a growing and prosperous community as the product of an effective industrial ecosystem. Using an ecosystem analysis, you can examine issues from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology.