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The timing was incredible.

Earlier this month, I was in Kentucky for the National Conference of State Legislatures summit presenting to leaders from across the U.S. about the future of rural economies. How do we ensure broadband funding gets to the places that need it? What can we do to attract young professionals to rural downtowns? How do we get venture capital to rural startups capable of growing local economies?

Then, as if on cue, U.S. Economic Development Administration announced the recipients of $184M in Recompete grant awards, the latest piece of an historic three-year push by Congress and the Biden administration that has amounted to the largest investment in the future of rural America since the New Deal.

The New Deal invested in rural electrification and dams, steel production, and workforce training to help people transition to higher-paying factory jobs. The Biden administration has invested in broadband and renewable energy, domestic microchip production, and teaching people how to code.

The current administration also enacted the Tech Hubs program, delivering more than $500M to support the next-generation economies of AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology. These awards required a regional approach in an effort to include rural places, but the emphasis was on metropolitan areas with the existing infrastructure to build world-class tech clusters.

The Recompete program is, in many ways, a much-needed balance to the Tech Hubs initiative. Recompete seeks to make a similar investment in regions that have experienced persistent poverty for decades — places that would struggle to build a globally competitive tech ecosystem in five years but still have the talent and innovation to find success on a longer time horizon.

And one of CORI’s original Rural Innovation Network members, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), was among the six Recompete grantees.

SOAR has been on a mission to change the narrative about what is possible in their 54 counties in eastern Kentucky. They reached out to us after learning that there were more technologists working in their region than licensed coal workers, and after the launch of a software project shop in Pikeville — staffed by former miners. They wanted to do more. With a $40 million Recompete award they have a chance to realize their vision. The Center on Rural Innovation is excited to be part of that journey.

Speaking at a podium in Louisville, about 200 miles from Pikeville, and watching my phone blow up with the news of SOAR’s Recompete success, I could feel the optimism emanating from the beautiful, rugged hills to the east.

The New Deal began investing in Appalachia to ensure the basics: Running water, education, roads. Today’s leaders invested in empowering Appalachia to succeed in the digital age and become a thriving economy for years to come.

I invite you to follow along on this journey and sign up for our monthly newsletter.