State to Unveil READI Grant Recipients

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. will Tuesday announce the recipients of funding as part of the $500 million Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative. Seventeen regions representing all 92 counties have presented their regional development plans, for which they could receive up to $50 million.

Governor Eric Holcomb unveiled in initiative in May and the regions gave their final presentations just a few weeks ago. The proposals total $1.5 billion in funding, which means some applicants will not receive as much as they are seeking.

“Regions could get some (money); they could get none,” Mark Wasky, vice president of innovation and strategic initiatives for the IEDC, told our partners at the Indianapolis Business Journal. “But we do hope that even if they don’t get what they had requested, they still found value in going through this planning process and are able to utilize this strategic effort to be able to guide them as they move forward.”

Formal funding recommendations will be made to the IEDC Board of Directors during its meeting Tuesday on the campus of Butler University, which will be chaired by Holcomb.

Last week, the governor told the IBJ he plans to seek more funding for the READI program from the Indiana General Assembly in 2023, which is when the state’s next two-year budget will be determined.

The IEDC board is set to meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Inside INdiana Business will have more information on the recipients when it becomes available.