TECHNICAL I ASSISTANCE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Area Redevelopment Administration THE AREA KDEVEIOWEIIT BOOKSHELF OF COMMIMT AifiS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE in area redevelopment U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE LUTHER H. HODGES, Secretary AREA REDEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION BATT, Jr., A< May 1963 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. - Price 15 cents CONTENTS - - Page FOREWORD v THE NEED FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 1 TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 3 Technical Publications 3 Technical Experts 3 Technical Assistance Projects 4 TECHNICAL PROJECTS: A SPECIAL REDEVELOPMENT TOOL 5 Who Initiates and Carriers Out Projects 7 GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING THE PROJECT PRO- POSAL 9 What Projects are Favored 9 What Information Should be Included 10 How and Where to File a Proposal 12 PROCESSING PROPOSALS AND CARRYING OUT PROJECTS 13 FOREWORD . . The Area Redevelopment Administration attacks chronic area un- employment and underemployment in a number of ways — low-cost loans for industrial and commercial projects, loans and grants for job-generating public facility projects, and training and retraining programs for unemployed workers to help them qualify for available jobs. These measures are directed at overcoming the dollars-and- cents barrier to economic growth. But experience has shown that there are many times when knowl- edge is as important as material help. The Area Redevelopment Act specifically provides a way to help communities obtain the specialized information they need to get their redevelopment programs moving — in other words, technical assistance. This booklet explains how the ARA technical assistance program works and how redevelopment groups can avail themselves of this aid. Prepared by Verna E. Griffin of the Program Assistance Division of ARA's Office of Planning and Research, it is another in the "Area Redevelopment Bookshelf of Community Aids." William L. Batt, Jr., Administrator Area Redevelopment Administration Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/technicalassistaOOgrif /% : ,£rW, ! THE NEED FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Communities suffering from severe and chronic unemployment or under- employment need all the help they can get in reviving their economies. They need specialized knowledge and know-how, as well as material assistance, to help them carry out imaginative and effective action programs to get their unemployed workers back to work. Often, however, communities have neither the resources nor the research skills required to get the specific tech- nical information they need. They may then turn to the Area Redevelopment Administration for technical assistance. For example : • A large number of workers in Community X have been unemployed ever since the area's coal mines closed down several years ago. To correct this situation, local leaders formed a redevelopment committee and tentatively mapped out a series of actions aimed at reviving the com- munity's economy. The local committee then asked ARA for a tech- nical assistance project to study the feasibility of developing the area's natural resources to support the long-time operation of a new chemical processing plant and to determine what improvements in the com- munity's water and power facilities would be needed to attract and service such a plant. • Local leaders in Community Y also organized together to battle the problem of long-term unemployment. The preliminary Overall Eco- nomic Development Program prepared by the committee indicated that the county's new lake created for power-generating purposes should be further developed as an outdoor sportsmen's paradise that would offer new job opportunities for the area's unemployed. The community re- quested an ARA technical assistance study to determine what commercial projects would be required to support such a development — including tourist cottages, boating docks, and sandy beaches. The communities in both examples are typical of redevelopment areas requesting ARA technical assistance: They needed answers to questions before they could get down to their basic problem of creating new jobs, but they lacked the resources to get the necessary information. Like the financial aids made available under the Area Redevelopment Act, ARA technical assistance is designed to help redevelopment areas do what they cannot do for themselves. Since local initiative is a prerequisite for ARA aid, community leaders must first organize a local redevelopment group that represents all segments of community life to draw up the area's basic plan of action—its Overall Economic Development Program. After the area's OEDP has been prepared and approved by the appropriate State co- ordinating agency and ARA, the local group can get started on the industrial, commercial, and public facility projects and job retraining courses that make up its program for economic recovery. At this point, the community can make effective use of ARA help to supplement local efforts and finances. Technical assistance differs from the other aids ARA can offer redevelop- ment groups since it can serve as a bridge between the preliminary plans developed as a result of local initiative and the specific economic actions that the community will take to create jobs for its unemployed workers. For example, in the early stages of redevelopment, ARA technical assistance can help an area understand what it has and what it needs for a sound program of economic action. In later stages, this technical help can also be used to facilitate and even speed up specific employment-creating redevelopment projects. TYPES OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ARA makes three major kinds of technical assistance available to re- development areas: Technical publications that offer general guidelines useful to all of these areas; technical experts who provide direct aid in solving the specific problems facing a particular area; and technical assist- ance projects which involve detailed studies of commercial or industrial development possibilities of a community or region. All three forms of tech- nical assistance can be used to help a local redevelopment group define its problems and evaluate the area's potentials for economic growth. Technical Publications The Area Redevelopment Administration and other Federal agencies con- cerned with economic growth publish a variety of practical guides containing technical data and information designed specifically for use by local groups and others interested in ways to create permanent jobs. Economic informa- tion, including analyses of common problems encountered in area redevelop- ment, is drawn from various surveys and other research efforts. These guides include detailed statistical profiles of redevelopment areas and technical reports on such subjects as site requirements of growing in- dustries, the relationship between investment in new industry and the number of jobs created, the development of natural resources, methods of financing area redevelopment, Federal procurement policies, and other Federal aids available to communities. (A list of current ARA publications is available on request from the Area Redevelopment Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D.C.) Technical Experts ARA can also make members of its professional staff available, on a short- term basis, to provide on-the-scene guidance and advice to local, regional, or 681592 O— 63 2 3 State redevelopment groups. These technical experts work directly with community leaders to evaluate an area's potentialities and develop feasible economic programs. They also provide expert advice regarding methods and ideas that have been used successfully to spur economic development in other communities and areas. Technical Assistance Projects The ARA technical assistance program provides financial aid for research projects that can help solve problems that have retarded economic progress. This assistance includes studies evaluating the needs of, and developing potentialities for, economic growth. ARA draws on its own staff resources as well as those of all other Federal agencies to conduct these special studies. Technical projects may also be carried out under formal contracts which draw on the skills of professional researchers in the Nation's colleges and univer- sities and in private economic and consulting organizations. The key word in ARA's relationship with other research groups — public or private — is "contract." That is, ARA technical assistance funds are not available as outright grants — they are provided, under the terms of written contracts, to finance technical studies that will produce information directly useful to local redevelopment efforts. TECHNICAL PROJECTS: A Special Redevelopment Tool The broad objective of technical assistance is the same as the basic goal of the entire Area Redevelopment program: To help create permanent jobs for the Nation's unemployed workers. The vast amount of specialized informa- tion that would be needed to reach this objective was recognized by Congress when it authorized several million dollars a year for technical assistance projects. Unlike research that seeks out facts merely for the sake of general knowl- edge, ARA technical assistance projects seek to produce results that offer an imminent "payoff" in terms of new employment opportunities. The em- phasis is on pinpointing immediate steps that can be taken by a community. Thus, technical assistance projects are designed to solve specific problems that have prevented an area from realizing its opportunities for new employ- ment. The kinds of problems that these projects can help to solve are widely different, as the following examples illustrate : • New Bedford, Massachusetts, once a major fishing port, has suffered from high unemployment for a long time. Community redevelopers and State officials felt that improved methods of marketing and distributing the area's abundant and accessible supply of scallops and flounder could help to revitalize the local economy. ARA, therefore, approved a technical assistance project to study the market potential, distribution methods, and other improvements needed to expand seafood production and facilities in the community. The local industry has undertaken changes already recommended by the project to increase production efficiency and place it in a more competi- tive position with foreign producers. The project will also demon- strate, through promotional tests, how wider markets can be developed. • Small towns located in the heart of the Mesabi Range in northeastern Minnesota have also been faced with the problem of heavy, long-time unemployment. The large deposits of high-grade iron ore that once existed throughout the area have been nearly mined out. Vast deposits of nonmagnetic, low-grade ores remained, but they could not be used profitably with existing processing methods. Working with the State and the local redevelopment group in Itasca, ARA financed a study into the feasibility of processing these low-grade ores for direct use in blast furnaces. Ore samples were sent to West Germany for testing, using the facilities and one of the more promising processes already being used by German plants. These tests indicated that it was technically feasible to process the low-grade ores. Further technical assistance will develop cost, plant, and marketing information needed prior to establishing a new multi- million-dollar reduction plant and several basic metals plants — each stimulating greater private investment in the area, each producing many new jobs. • In an attempt to combat high unemployment, Monroe County, Ohio, needed ARA technical assistance to determine if known salt deposits existed in sufficient amounts under a prime industrial site on the Ohio River. The ARA project, which financed the sinking of a salt well to determine the extent of the deposits, proved the existence of abundant quantities of high-grade salt under this attractive plant site. Railroads, which shared the cost of the test well project with ARA by providing the technical services of geologists and chemists, also joined with site owners in financing an engineering site survey. By combining the efforts and finances of ARA, local development groups, railroads, site owners, and public utilities, this cooperative venture has already resulted in inquiries from several industrial prospects. These projects represent only three of a vast number of examples that could be used to illustrate the need for ARA technical assistance. Many other projects that are urgently needed cover such wide subject areas as mineral and chemical studies, investigation of the tourism and recreational potential of an area, research into new products that would make use of an area's indigenous resources, and studies of the requirements of various in- dustries to determine which ones are best suited to particular areas. ARA technical assistance projects are also needed to study how some com- munities have been attacking their own economic problems and to make knowledge gained from their experiences available to redevelopment areas facing similar problems. For example, ARA approved a study of the dif- ferent measures taken by eight communities to create permanent jobs for their unemployed workers. This study included an analysis of the techniques used by each community to organize local industrial development activities, to determine which industries and businesses to attract, to raise funds, and to concentrate on the most promising industrial and commercial prospects for its area. Information obtained from these and other case studies is being published in ARA technical reports. Technical assistance may also be needed to help firms in redevelopment areas expand their local operations. This type of assistance might investi- gate the possibilities of developing or using new products and processes, or it might support the establishment of pilot plants to test new products or processes in actual operation. • ARA technical assistance was approved, for example, to help establish the pilot operation of an iron-ore briquetting plant in Proctor, Minn. This pilot project was designed to answer basic questions regarding the cost, technical difficulties, and market value involved in converting fine- sized iron-ore particles into briquettes suitable for feeding blast furnaces. ARA funds are being supplemented by a grant from the State's recon- struction and rehabilitation commission, the firm that is operating the pilot plant is providing the plant building and managerial services at no cost, mining firms are supplying the ore, and area railroads are providing for free shipment of the ores. • Another technical assistance project was approved to help finance a pilot processing plant in Essex County, N.Y., where two large com- mercial deposits of high-grade, easily mined wollastonite ores exist. Wollastonite, a natural calcium silicate now used primarily in the manu- facture of ceramics, is destined for both expanding and entirely new markets. It offers promising commercial possibilities as a high bright- ness filler and coater for high-grade paper that has a rapidly expanding market, and also for use in such products as quality paint extenders, electrical insulators, and plastics. Expanded demand is also likely to come from foreign users, which formerly depended on Finland (the only other known source of high quality ores) for their wollastonite supplies. The pilot plant will test a new, ultra-fine-mesh grinding process to make wollastonite both commercially competitive and adaptable to im- proved and promising new uses. The new process has been proven to be technically feasible in theory and in controlled laboratory tests; the pilot plant will test its feasibility in an actual production situation. If the pilot project proves successful, full-scale production under the new process is expected to offer new jobs for unemployed workers in Essex County. Many localities find that the problems creating excessive unemployment in their areas are similar to those in nearby communities, counties, or States. For this reason, it may be more effective and efficient for adjoining areas to organize together for concerted effort in attacking common problems. In such instances, ARA technical assistance may help these organizations get regional redevelopment programs underway on a permanent, self-help basis. Who Initiates and Carries Out Projects Any local, regional, or State economic development or redevelopment group can propose a technical assistance project for its area. Any other public or private group — Federal, State, or local government agency, college or university, or private research organization — that recognizes a need for a project that will add to employment or economic growth in redevelopment areas can also propose a technical assistance project. In addition, ARA itself may initiate projects that it feels are especially needed. ARA uses its own professional staff wherever possible to provide the tech- nical assistance an area needs. To provide the most comprehensive ass±3t- ance possible, however, it is often necessary for ARA to draw upon other available sources of expert knowledge and technical skills to carry out a project. For this reason, technical assistance projects are often conducted, under contract with ARA, by other Government agencies, colleges or univer- sities, private consulting firms, research organizations, or by any other indi- vidual or group qualified to carry out technical research and analysis. Before a project using ARA funds can be approved, the applicant must submit a technical assistance project proposal to ARA for evaluation. This project proposal — or application for technical assistance — must specify pre- cisely what will be gained by the project, who will do the work, how it will directly benefit the redevelopment area, what work will be undertaken in the course of the study, and other information justifying the project. This in- formation will serve as the basis for drafting a formal contract should the project proposal be approved by ARA. GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING THE PROJECT PROPOSAL What Projects are Favored The total cost of the hundreds of technical assistance projects that have already been proposed far exceeds ARA's available technical assistance funds. Thus, ARA favors projects that are partially financed by State, local, or regional funds, although such financing is not a requirement for approval. Not only does this cooperation encourage an area to exert full effort in its own behalf, it also allows ARA to extend its available funds to a larger number of urgently needed technical assistance projects than would otherwise be possible. For this same reason, ARA will approve a project only when the assistance requested is not entirely or partially available from other Federal sources — the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Farmers Home Adminis- tration, or Small Business Administration, for example. All ARA technical assistance projects must fulfill two basic requirements. First, a project must have the expectation of contributing to an area's eco- nomic development program for the creation of new employment opportuni- ties. That is, it should offer a reasonable prospect of having an effective and enduring impact on the economy of the area being assisted. Second, any project undertaken must result in a formal written report on the findings. In this way, a project may help to solve not only specific local or regional economic problems but also similar problems that are facing other redevelop- ment areas. In considering the many projects proposed, ARA places highest priority on those which will lead to immediate and specific courses of action geared to generating new employment opportunities. That is, since the need to create jobs in areas of high unemployment is so pressing, ARA does not favor long-term research projects under its technical assistance program. In view of the exceedingly great demand for ARA technical assistance, projects proposed to assist designated redevelopment areas will have a much higher priority than those to assist nondesignated areas and will therefore account for virtually all of the approved projects. A project to assist a non- designated area, however, may be warranted in exceptional cases, particu- larly if the area is teetering on the brink of economic depression or if the project will be directly helpful in solving similar problems in redevelopment areas. ARA will consider technical assistance designed to supplement an area's efforts in preparing its Overall Economic Development Program only in exceptional cases. Field coordinators and other staff members of ARA and its cooperating Federal agencies, however, can offer expert advice to assist local groups with their OEDP's. Three types of projects are specifically barred from receiving ARA tech- nical assistance funds : • Any project that would contribute to or encourage the relocation of a plant, thus reducing employment in another area. • Any project that is eligible for the requested financial support from an- other source. • Any project that was undertaken prior to receiving ARA approval of the project proposal and contract. In addition, ARA technical assistance funds will not be used for general administrative support of a Federal, State, or local agency, nor can they be used to employ personnel not directly performing work under an approved technical assistance project. What Information Should be Included ARA must have certain facts before it can evaluate a proposed technical assistance project. An applicant must, therefore, submit a written proposal that outlines such information as the work to be undertaken and the areas involved. The objectives of a particular project should be stated fully and clearly, and the proposed research should follow appropriate and accepted methods for reaching these objectives. Although there is no printed appli- cation form, an applicant for technical assistance should submit five copies of a written project proposal that includes the information outlined below. He should: • Identify the project. Give a brief, informative statement summariz- ing what the project seeks to accomplish. • Identify the applicant. Give the full name, address, and affiliation of the person or group seeking ARA technical assistance. • Specify the area involved. List the county, State, region, or other geographic area that will be aided by the project. • Note Current Status of OEDP. If the proposed project is specified in the area's OEDP, cite the appropriate section. Also indicate if the project is to assist a nondesignated area. • Identify the proposed contractor. Give the names, addresses, and technical qualifications of all persons or organizations who may carry out the proposed project or otherwise use money provided under a technical assistance contract. (Since the Secretary of Commerce is 10 responsible for providing the technical assistance an area needs, he also determines who will perform the work under an approved project with- out obligation to the person or firm suggested by the applicant.) Describe the proposed study in detail. This section, which is the heart of a project proposal, should include: a. A statement of the specific problem to be solved by the proposed project; b. A brief description of the geographical area or region concerned, in terms of pertinent economic and other related characteristics; c. A summary of what the proposed project is intended to accomplish, including the immediate and ultimate contribution to new employ- ment; d. An outline of the principal steps or phases of the project and the research methods or procedures to be used — if a questionnaire is to be used, also submit five copies of the draft; e. A reference to any prior related research and an indication of how the proposed study will contribute additional knowledge; f. A statement concerning the follow-up studies or redevelopment proj- ects that are anticipated as a direct result of the project. Note the publication or formal reports that will be prepared when the study is completed, including number, type, and proposed distribution. Estimate employment effects. Include the number and type of jobs that may be created as a result of the project and when they might become available. Specify the amount of time required to carry out the project — from the date funds are made available to the date a final report is completed. Describe the financing proposed: a. The total cost of the project — indicate if this is derived from an estimate, an actual bid, or other computation basis ; b. The funds to be provided by other sources; c. The amount of ARA funds required — if the proposal involves assist- ance in preparing an OEDP, specify why funds are not available from other sources; d. How estimates were made — provide detail of expected costs by phases of the project, type of expenditure, or type of recognizable items. List all other public or private organizations involved. Indi- cate what public or private agencies other than the applicant or con- tractor will be participating in the project and the extent of their participation. Indicate outcome of previous requests. Note other Federal, State, local, or private agencies that may have been asked to finance this or a closely related project, and specify why the previous appli- cation was not approved. 11 • Demonstrate that ARA funds are necessary if the project is to be carried out. An applicant should also submit any other detailed information that might help ARA understand more fully the need for the proposed project. Attach- ments that would provide additional pertinent information might include: © Maps, sketches, and any other graphic or descriptive information in support of the proposal; • Documents, legal statements, or other official papers that add to back- ground information or may be needed to draw up a contract for an ap- proved project. How and Where To File a Proposal The procedure for filing a technical assistance project proposal that will help to solve problems in a particular area or region is relatively simple. Obviously, the proposal should first be discussed with and by the local re- development group to be certain that the project will directly serve the needs of the community. Next, the proposal should be gone over with the ARA field coordinator assigned to the area. He can give expert guidance and advice concerning needed projects and the preparation of a proposal. The applicant might also discuss the proposed project with the State agency named by the Governor to coordinate State redevelopment activities, as well as with the State Rural Areas Development Committee if assistance is sought for a rural redevelopment area. The applicant may then submit the proposal to the ARA field coordinator who will forward it, with all comments and suggestions, through the proper channels for official review and action. Technical assistance projects may also be designed to solve problems com- mon to many areas or to the overall redevelopment effort. Such broadly oriented project proposals that are not specifically related to a particular area or State may therefore be submitted directly to: The Administrator, Area Redevelopment Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D.C. Once a technical assistance project proposal has been received, ARA fre- quently refers it to cooperating Federal agencies to evaluate and make rec- ommendations concerning projects in their special areas of competence. Final action on a technical assistance project proposal is taken by the Area Redevelopment Administrator after the proposal has been evaluated in terms of its own merits and the total demand for ARA technical assistance. In other words, the acceptance and forwarding of a proposal by an ARA field coordinator or by the various Federal and State coordinating agencies in- volved does not commit the Administrator to approve a particular project. He will, however, be guided in his final action by comments and recom- mendations from these sources. 12 PROCESSING PROPOSALS AND CARRYING OUT PROJECTS As soon as a technical assistance project proposal reaches ARA, the first in a series of steps in its review gets underway. Since ARA fully appreciates the urgency that usually accompanies a request for technical assistance, it attempts to complete the review of a proposal as quickly as possible. ARA or the appropriate cooperating Federal agency must nevertheless thoroughly evaluate the scope of each project to assure that it will result in a sound, necessary, and immediately useful redevelopment tool. The review of a proposal involves evaluating the need for the project, the techniques to be used, its cost, and other merits in terms of ARA's basic aims and the relative merits of other project proposals. This evaluation may indicate that one or more items in the proposed study need to be redesigned to achieve not only the most useful but also the most economical results possible. For example, the project may need to rely more heavily on primary rather than secondary sources; or the time or money required must be brought closer in line with the amount of work expected ; or the final report should be more detailed or analytical in order to serve the largest possible audience. If the project is approved, the technical assistance proposal is ready for final action — the preparation and signing of a formal contract between ARA and the person or group that will be responsible for conducting the work. The contractor can then get started on the project, conducting the research specified by the technical assistance contract. This research is usually con- ducted in several identifiable phases, with ARA staff members reviewing progress reports and consulting with the contractor during each phase. When 13 the research has been completed, the contractor submits a written report of the project results to ARA. ARA then reviews the research findings and determines how this technical information can best be disseminated within the area being assisted. ARA also evaluates the final results in terms of their possible value to other areas that are attempting to solve similar problems. Findings that have widespread application are then published as ARA technical publications to help bring redevelopment areas another step nearer their basic goal of economic re- covery and the creation of permanent jobs for their unemployed workers. 14 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1963 O— 681592 NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES Infill