Overview
The Rural Strategic Investment Program was established under the 2002 Farm Bill reauthorization signed into law by President Bush in May. The new program provides $100 million for rural regional planning and plan implementation. Individual planning grants are capped at $100,000 and are designed to be used for the development of regional plans that cover infrastructure needs, basic services, economic diversification, human resource capacity, access to financing and capital, and development of public-private collaborations. Planning grants will be administered by newly created regional boards. Innovation grants for plan implementation are capped at $3 million and may be used by a variety of organizations working with the regional board. The program also establishes a National Board on Rural America, which will authorize grants and approve plans developed by Regional Investment Boards.

Purpose of the Program
According to the legislation, the purpose of the program is "to provide rural communities with flexible resources to develop comprehensive, collaborative, and locally based planning processes and to implement innovative community and economic development strategies."

Eligible Areas
Eligible communities are nonmetropolitan counties with a population of 50,000 or less. Certain exceptions to the population provision are allowed if the community is immediately adjacent to an eligible (50,000 or less) area. Existing rural empowerment zones or enterprise communities are not eligible.

Program Structure
The National Board certifies Regional Investment Boards. Certified regional boards submit to the National Board a regional strategic investment plan for approval. Regional boards with approval investment plans may then seek planning and plan implementation grants, which are approved by the National Board. The National Board retains full authority over the distribution of grants to regional boards. Regional boards, comprised by representative stakeholder groups, select "non-Federal" organizations in the eligible area to manage and use the approved planning or implementation grant.

National Board
The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture will establish the National Board on Rural America. The National Board will comprise 14 members appointed by the Secretary representing seven specific stakeholder categories:

• Nationally recognized entrepreneurship organizations
• Regional planning and development organizations
• Community-based organizations
• County governments
• State legislatures
• Rural philanthropic organizations
• Indian tribes

Key members of Congress (chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House) are allowed to make formal recommendations for appointments to the Secretary of Agriculture. Members are appointed to a four-year term of office with initial members serving staggered terms.

The National Board will certify regional boards, approve regional plans, develop and submit to USDA a national strategic investment plan, oversee all grants, provide direction and advice to regional boards, evaluate overall progress, and submit an annual report on program performance.

The National Board is required to conduct a National Conference on Rural America.

Regional Boards
Regional Investment Boards are designed to develop and implement a regional investment plan for planning and plan implementation grants. The regional board is intended to broadly represent public, nonprofit and private sector interests. These boards are required to include units of local government, tribal government (if applicable), nonprofit community-based development organization, regional development organizations, and private business organizations. Boards are designed to be divided equally between local government(s) and non-governmental interests. All regional boards must be certified by the National Board.

Regional boards will create a collaborative, inclusive planning process, develop and submit a regional investment plan, implement the investment plan through program grants, provide annual reports, and select nonfederal organizations to manage planning and plan implementation grants.

Planning Grants
$8 million is set aside for competitive planning grants. Individual grants are capped at a maximum of $100,000. Planning grants are made to regional boards and may be used to develop, maintain, evaluate and report progress on approved regional plans. Funding can cover planning for:

• Basic infrastructure needs
• Basic services within the region
• Opportunities for economic diversification and innovation
• Current and future human resource capacity
• Access to market-based financing and equity capital
• Development of innovative public-private collaborations

Preference will be given for grants used to address "community capacity building and community sustainability."

Innovation Grants
Innovation grants are made available to implement projects identified in regional plans. $87 million is dedicated for innovation grants with individual innovation grants limited to a maximum of $3 million. Regional boards will select nonfederal organizations to manage and use approved innovation grants.

Seven selection criteria are defined. Competitive preference will be given to regional board that (in order of priority):

• Exhibit collaborative innovation and entrepreneurship
• Represent a broad coalition of interests
• Demonstrate a plan to leverage public and private funds
• Address gaps in existing basic services
• Address economic diversification
• Demonstrate a plan to achieve multijurisdictional regional planning and development
• Meet community development needs identified by the regional board

Regional board may use innovation grants to:

• Support the development of critical infrastructure
• Provide assistance to entities within the region that provide basic public services
• Assist with job training, workforce development, or other needs related the development of strong local and regional economies
• Assist in the development of unique collaborations that link public, private, and philanthropic resources
• Provide support to business investment

The National Board may use up to 5 percent of the total allocation for innovation grants, or $4.3 million, to provide assistance and technical assistance to regional boards as well as to "advance a more integrative rural policy framework."