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Rural Rapid Manufacturing Grant
Business Services
Achievements
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All of the $500,000 fund allocation is encumbered under two 18-month performance contracts. Two Rural Rapid Manufacturing
Grant projects are underway; one with a nonprofit organization in Carbon County, and one with
Southern Utah University in Iron
County. The two entities have made claims for partial funding in FY 2020 of $280,060.
New equipment and educational scholarships/internships have been afforded by these two entities to teach and improve business opportunities in the rapid manufacturing sector.
James Dixon
Rural Outreach Manager 801-538-8687 | jdixon@utah.gov
Rural Rapid Manufacturing Grant
U.C.A. 63N-4-601
The state of Utah allocated $500,000 for this one-time grant, initiated in FY 2020. This grant was created to assist in the establishment of laboratories designed to train students and employees, to help build and improve equipment, and to support scholarship opportunities within an industry defined under state code 63N-4-602 as Rapid Manufacturing. “Rapid manufacturing” means a facility, laboratory, equipment, or process engaged in small-batch, fast delivery manufacturing.
Initiatives
Qualifying activities of this grant were: Construction or renovation of laboratories designed to train students and employees in: Clothing production Engineering and computer graphics Manufacturing systems Textile science
Building and improvement of equipment to provide training and participation in rapid manufacturing Training and scholarships for students and employees to participate in rapid manufacturing employment opportunities
Qualifying entities for this grant included institutions of higher education and nonprofit companies (including 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) organization types) established within the qualifying rural counties: Beaver, Box Elder, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Uintah, Wasatch, and Wayne.
Challenges
The first challenge this program faced was the initial program design, including the application and scoring methodology, which had to account for a very narrow applicant pool. Once the program was in place and awards were granted, the next challenge was meeting the funding reimbursement requests of one applicant on a very tight capital investment budget while keeping within the post-performance standards common to most other grant programs administered by the Office of Rural Development.
Outcomes
Rural Rapid Manufacturing Grant
Number of applications approved Expected capital expenditure Expected number of scholarships/internships Estimated value of scholarships/internships FY 2020
2 $295,000 81 $205,000
