STRATEGY 1: Promote regionalism and regional partnerships.

Objective Priority Actions

A. Create a regional revolving loan fund to be used to support operational, equipment, or construction improvement needs associated with expanding existing businesses as well as recovery from the pandemic/ disaster.

1. Encourage local public and private entities to set up a revolving loan fund using the steps found on the CDFA website (https://www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb. nsf/pages/revolving-loan-funds.html).

B. Create the Southwest Indiana Innovation Fund & Entrepreneurship Center to provide seed grants to promising regional startups with high potential for new jobs and revenue growth in the region.

1. Encourage local financial agencies, and other local and private entities to create a grant that outlines an application process, eligibility requirements, and amounts of money that can be awarded to applicants who are just starting businesses.

2. Develop a review committee to oversee the creation of the program and disbursement of funds.

3. Create an internship position that will work on vetted projects that have commercialization potential associated with one of the entrepreneurship centers. The goal is to help attract students to the region postgraduation and create small business outcomes from the projects.

4. Establish the James D. Edwards Entrepreneur Center in Spencer County.

5. Redevelop the Former Swiss Plywood building in downtown Tell City to be the home of the Perry County Industrial & Business Development Corporation’s innovation and co-working space.

Objective Priority Actions

1. Determine ideal locations of development for renewable energy and high-tech energy exploration of oil and gas, rezone the land for those uses if it is not compatible with the development opportunity, and market the land for the purposes of those uses.

2. Review and approve development applications of innovative and renewable energy projects as they are submitted.

C. Develop the region into a renewable energy hub.

3. Identify prime locations for solar farms within the region.

4. Facilitate high-tech energy exploration in oil and gas by locating the cleanest and most advanced Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) generating plants in the region.

5. Locate businesses within the supply chain that support battery development that will help the Indiana First Region (READI Program) become the renewable energy hub.

1. Market and invest in existing businesses to continue being a leader in the advanced battery industry.

D. Position the region as the nextgeneration advanced battery cluster industry by capitalizing on the firms already located in the region.

2. Continue to help Poly Plus (in Knox County) and similar companies expand facilities within the region that will continue to innovate in the next-generation battery technology.

3. Hire a full-time marketing sales representative to find businesses to locate within the region. The representative will navigate the defense and intelligence sector and identify their needs and potential uses for the technology.