Using the REMI PI+ model, SRI International conducted a national-level analysis of the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) infrastructure grants, which are presented directly to organizations and communities across the country to support improvement projects. EDA grants often become signaling mechanisms as they validate projects and mobilize outside investment and this assessment was intended to analyze the impact of EDA funds, as well as the additional funds that their grants help mobilize. The combined impact of project costs and private investment generated from the REMI model analysis across the 11-year study period found that EDA-supported projects and the investment they attracted generated an average of an additional 56,554 jobs, $3.187 billion in wages and salaries, and $4.053 billion in personal income each year. SRI also compared the employment estimates from the PI+ model to the reported actuals by EDA grantees in their Government Performance and Results Act reports at 6 years in order to evaluate the differences between the sources.
SRI International – Innovative Metrics for Economic Development: Supplemental Report [full PDF]
