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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 15, 2021 / Rules and Regulations USDA by: 1 Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 202509410; or 2 email: OAC@
usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

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Background Rural Development RD is a mission area within the United States Department of Agriculture USDA
comprised of the Rural Utilities Service RUS, Rural Housing Service RHS and Rural Business-Cooperative Service RBCS. RDs mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for all rural Americans.
RD meets its mission by providing loans, loan guarantees, grants, and technical assistance through more than 40 programs aimed at creating and improving housing, businesses, and infrastructure throughout rural America.
Consistent with the above mission, the Rural Innovation Stronger Economy RISE Grant Program is a newly authorized program enacted under the authority of Section 6424 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
Pub. L. 11534 2018 Farm Bill to help struggling communities by funding job accelerators in low-income rural communities. This action is intended to implement the provisions provided in Section 6424 of the 2018 Farm Bill by issuing a final rule. This final rule will describe the program purpose, the eligible uses of program funds, and entities eligible for assistance under the RISE Grant Program in alignment with the Farm Bill requirements. The new regulation will also include competitive grant scoring criteria and cost sharing requirements of the program, as well as administration and servicing of outstanding grants. The RISE Grant Program will meet a recognized need for federal interagency support of jobs accelerator partnerships for the fostering and promotion of private investment in an identified regional economy. The flexible use of funds by RISE grant recipients allows a region to identify and leverage its community assets to better assist new and existing industry clusters, including the use of broadband service for programs of the jobs accelerator. RISE will allow eligible entities to establish and operate innovation centers for job development through training and programming efforts that will improve the ability of rural communities to create high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of rural businesses and strengthen regional economies.

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Purpose of the Regulatory Action The purpose of this regulation is to implement Section 6424 of the 2018
Farm Bill designed to meet a recognized need for federal interagency support of jobs accelerator partnerships for the fostering and promotion of private investment in an identified regional economy. The flexible use of funds by RISE grant recipients allows a region to identify and leverage its community assets to better assist new and existing industry clusters, including the use of broadband service for programs of the jobs accelerator.
Discussion of the Rule Many of the definitions used in this regulation are used in or are consistent with other Agency programs; however, the Agency calls attention to the following new definitions at 4284.1103: High-wage job, industry cluster, jobs accelerator, lead applicant, region, rural and rural area, and rural jobs accelerator partnership. These definitions provide important information regarding project eligibility as well as requirements for the applicants organizational structure.
RISE grants are made for the benefit of rural jobs accelerator partnerships partnership. These partnerships are working groups that consist of community and regional stakeholders whose focus is the needs of an identified industry cluster.
Implementation and sustainability of the partnership is more likely with a broad coalition of stakeholders; to that end, the partnership must be made up of one or more representatives of the groups listed in 4284.1112a.
Additionally, all partnerships must have a lead applicant as described in 4284.1112b. The lead applicant is responsible for the partnership, enters into the financial assistance agreement with the Agency, administers the grant proceeds and activities, and takes ownership of any assets purchased with grant funds. Only partnerships formed on or after December 20, 2018, are eligible for awards.
The partnership and proposed project must serve a region as defined in 4284.1103 and discussed at 4284.1112d. The partnership must ensure that the region is clearly defined and is of a size that enables collaboration among members while also containing critical elements of the industry cluster prioritized by the partnership. Eligibility under all other provisions of this part is negated if the lead applicant meets either provision in 4284.1109a or b. The lead applicant will remain ineligible to receive funds
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until the disqualifying condition has been remedied.
To ensure that all RISE funds are being used, in a timely manner, to provide the services for which they were awarded, the Agency implements, at 4284.1110a, a satisfactory progress requirement. Lead applicants that have unexpended funding from previous RISE grants must expend 50 percent or more of the previous RISE grant funds by the time the Agency makes an eligibility determination or the application will be deemed ineligible for that funding cycle.
Eligible projects for the RISE grant program are those that accelerate the formation of new businesses with highgrowth potential, improve the ability of distressed, rural communities to create high-wage jobs, accelerate the formation of new businesses and strengthen regional economies. Projects must be identified at the time of application and fall into one of two categories:
Construction or purchase of buildings or equipment; or project support.
Construction or purchase is limited to buildings that will serve as innovation centers for jobs accelerator. Equipment purchases must be necessary to support the functions of the jobs accelerator.
Specific information on construction and purchase is found at 4284.1113a.
It is noted again that any buildings or equipment purchased with RISE grant proceeds must be owned and controlled by the lead applicant. Support covers a broad range of activities but includes functions for the support of programs carried out at or in direct partnership with a jobs accelerator or in support of jobs accelerator initiatives. The Agency provides guidance on acceptable activities at 4284.1113b. The Agency may, from time to time, revise the list of acceptable activities through a Federal Register notice.
As detailed at 4284.1114, the Federal share of any activity under the RISE grant will be no more than 80
percent of eligible project costs. The non-Federal share is the responsibility of the applicant and may be in the form of third-party equity contributions, including donations and in-kind contributions of fairly valued goods or services. Evidence of the amount and source of the non-Federal funds must be provided at the time of application submittal with documentation that the required non-Federal funds have been received or remain committed prior to execution of the financial assistance agreement by the lead applicant. The match is based on eligible project costs as outlined at 4284.1114c. Grants are further restricted at 4284.1114a1
and 2 to a minimum request of not less
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