The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Coalition is one of 60 finalists out of 529 entrants for Phase 1 of the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) $1 billion “Build Back Better Regional Challenge”. The Build Back Better Regional Challenge provides transformative investments, up to $100 million per grantee, to develop and strengthen regional industry clusters across the country, all while embracing economic equity, creating good-paying jobs, and enhancing U.S. competitiveness globally.

“We’re proud to be partnering with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development in creating the Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Coalition and working together on these important projects. This new coalition will help leverage our region’s first-class and growing robotics and information technology sector into providing more economic development and job creation throughout all of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Vincent Valdes, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Coalition will receive a Phase 1 grant of approximately $500,000 to further develop their proposed projects and strengthen their regional growth clusters in advance of submitting a Phase 2 application. The projects are as follows:

• Project 1: Support small, medium, and family-owned enterprises (SMEs) in designing and deploying robotics and AI solutions in their operations through technical assistance programs.
• Project 2: Provide capital to nonprofit centers of excellence to make facilities and support available for SMEs to develop, test, adopt robotics and AI technologies.
• Project 3: Establish inclusive career pathways from high school and beyond, preparing new workers to thrive in robotics and AI and providing them with upskilling opportunities.
• Project 4: Develop robotics and AI accelerators that provide wraparound business support and development services.

The two-phase competition will ultimately award 20-30 regional coalitions between $25 and $100 million to implement 3-8 projects that support an industry sector.

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation, a 501(c)(3) corporation, on behalf of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), is requesting Technical Proposals and Price Proposals (together, the Proposal package) for Regional Ridesharing Software Consultant Services. The selected firm or team of firms will provide SPC with a comprehensive and dynamic regional ridesharing software platform for the 10-county SPC region, along with staff training, software maintenance and technical support.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) was released by SPC on December 15, 2021. Copies may be downloaded from the SPC Website (www.spcregion.org) or may be obtained by e-mail request to Anthony Hickton at Ahickton@spcregion.org.

Electronic submissions will be required via SPC’s SharePoint site. Full submission details are provided in the RFP document. Proposal packages are due on January 21, 2022.

More than two dozen residents attended a “Community Conversation” held at the Greene County Fairgrounds Monday evening to discuss broadband access and speed issues in the area and learn about an ongoing statewide connectivity improvement plan.

The event was coordinated by the Greene County commissioners and facilitated by representatives affiliated with Southwestern Pennsylvania Connected, an initiative created to develop a plan to bring equitable broadband access and high-speed internet to the area.

Facilitators Leanne Doran and LaTrenda Sherrill said the Greene County meeting was one of many being held in 10 counties throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania to assess residents’ concerns regarding broadband access and speed.

Doran said the connectivity improvement plan, which is being led by Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Allies for Children and Carnegie Mellon University, includes holding regional conversations and workshops, identifying priorities, obtaining funding and grants, developing programs and implementing a plan based on research.

Those in attendance discussed their concerns with slow or no broadband speed and access, identifying numerous dead spots of service throughout the county. Issues such as affordability, poor service, low trust in internet service providers, insufficient repairs and outdated equipment were also discussed.

Read the full article at www.observer-reporter.com

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, which covers Indiana and nine other Pittsburgh-area counties, is nearing the end of a survey seeking information about internet access and experience.

SPC’s Southwestern Pennsylvania Connected initiative is asking community members to take a brief survey online or by phone.

Eligible participants can win a $50 Visa gift card for completing the survey.

SWPA Connected is a regional consortium that includes the SPC, Carnegie Mellon University, Allies for Children and a diverse group of regional partners.

Its aim is to develop an equitable Connectivity Improvement Plan to provide affordable, reliable broadband internet access across the region.

The partners stress that this initiative is not affiliated with any internet provider and is not intended to sell any internet services. Rather, it seeks to guide the region’s future internet investments that can be made now that the historic infrastructure bill has passed, which includes $65 billion for broadband.

Read the full article at www.indianagazette.com

Murrysville officials are considering using some of the municipality’s $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan money to expand broadband internet access.

“I think it’s vital,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told Murrysville Council members this week. He encouraged residents to complete a survey being undertaken by the nonprofit Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s Connected Initiative to learn about broadband access across the six counties the commission serves.

This summer, the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units and Penn State Extension conducted a survey to determine students’ home access to internet. Its purpose was to help school districts identify pockets without internet access and have internet-­related data available for grant applications, including for the $7.1 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund launched by the Federal Communications Commission in May.

Funded with ARP dollars, it aims to “enable schools and libraries to purchase laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hot spots and broadband connectivity for students, school staff and library patrons in need during the covid-19 pandemic,” according to an FCC release.

Read the full article at www.triblive.com

With an eye to bringing affordable, reliable internet access throughout a 10-county region, including Indiana, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Connected initiative is asking community members to take a brief survey online or by phone to provide information about their current internet access and experience.

The initiative said eligible participants can win a $50 Visa gift card for completing the survey.

SWPA Connected is a regional consortium that includes the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Carnegie Mellon University, Allies for Children, and a diverse group of regional partners to develop an equitable Connectivity Improvement Plan to provide affordable, reliable broadband internet access across the region.

Organizers said this initiative is not affiliated with any internet provider and is not intended to sell any internet services.

Rather, it seeks to guide the region’s future internet investments that can be made now that the historic infrastructure bill has passed, which includes $65 billion for broadband.

“We need the input of our residents, businesses and neighbors so that we can work together to overcome barriers and develop solutions that make broadband access what it truly should be: a required service that is always provided,” said SPC Executive Director Vincent Valdes.

the survey is now closed

Read the full story at IndianaGazette.com.

Visit the SWPA Connected page to learn more!

President Joe Biden’s signature on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure act will put money in a pipeline that will help communities across Western Pennsylvania in dealing with needs that have been building for years.

“This is the biggest investment that the federal government has made in infrastructure in over half a century. So some of us haven’t seen anything like this investment that we’re going to see in the coming years,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. “Number one, it’s going to put a lot of people to work over the next couple of years as these projects get built out. But the other thing, when it’s all done, it’s going to improve transportation and access and broadband, not just for Allegheny County but for the entire region.”

Pennsylvania US Senator Bob Casey says over the next five years, funding the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will send Pennsylvania includes:

• $11.3 billon in federal highway aid
• $1.6 billion for bridge replacement
• $2.8 billion to improve public transportation
• $1.4 billion for replacing lead pipes and improving infrastructure for clean, safe drinking water

Vincent Valdes, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission said, “I think it means a windfall. I think it means that many of the projects that are pent up here, that have been obviously a need for years, could now be funded, could now be promoted and moved forward.”

The SPC is the organization federally mandated to prioritize spending of federal transportation funds in a 10-county southwestern Pennsylvania region.

Read the full story on WTAE.com

The Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) Connected initiative is asking
community members to take a brief survey online or by phone to provide
information about their current internet access and experience.

Eligible participants can win a $50 Visa gift card for completing the
survey.

SWPA Connected is a regional consortium that includes the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Allies for Children, and a diverse group of regional partners to develop an equitable Connectivity Improvement Plan to provide affordable, reliable broadband internet access across the region. This initiative is not affiliated with any internet provider and is not intended to sell any internet services. Rather, it seeks to guide the region’s future internet investments that can be made now that the historic infrastructure bill has passed, which includes $65 billion for broadband.

“Our goal is to help bring
affordable, reliable internet access to all in our region,” said SPC Executive
Director Vincent Valdes. “We need the input of our residents, businesses and
neighbors so that we can ­­work together to overcome barriers and develop
solutions that make broadband access what it truly should be; a required
service that is always provided.”

Individuals are urged to take the survey online or by phone at 412-407-4555 by December 5, 2021. Survey questions will include information about internet connection types, how the internet is used and satisfaction of services. All information collected will be anonymous.

Online Survey – Win one of fifty $50 Visa Gift Cards!

“The pandemic has disproportionately impacted children, parents and the 500,000 Pennsylvanians that lack internet access which meant they had no access to school or health services during a global crisis,” stated Jamie Baxter, executive director at Allies for Children. “I am frequently reminded of one Lawrence County woman’s struggle to support her special needs son’s online learning internet costs, while worrying how she would also afford to pay rent to live. This is unacceptable. This survey and these community conversations are helping to frame the issue and identify barriers and the solutions needed to ensure that children have the resources they need to grow and thrive.”

This survey builds upon virtual workshops and regional community conversations, in addition to research and data analysis of current broadband internet access and gaps. Data dashboards have been developed visualizing the access, adoption, and affordability across the 10-county region.

The improvement plan will outline and prioritize internet connectivity
projects that bring high-speed broadband service to the communities that need
it most providing access to jobs, support services, education, health care, and
new business.

The input gathered from the internet usage survey is critical for the
SWPA Connected team to develop programs that meet the needs of the region now
and in the future.

“This survey and initiative are vital for our entire community,” said
CMU’s Karen Lightman, Director of Metro21: Smart Cities Institute. “CMU strives
to address the real-world problems facing our region by deploying technology in
collaboration with our equity and municipal partners. The goal of this
connectivity plan is to help ensure our region has equitable, affordable and
reliable access to the internet, which is a basic human right like access to
electricity and water.”

“This effort is a great example of how the private and public sectors
can join forces to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians through real
conversations, research, data gathering, and bringing all the right groups,
including citizens to the table,” said Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic Development Executive Director of Corporate Relations Sheri Collins.
“We continue to seek ways in which to utilize federal funding, bringing
high-speed broadband to Pennsylvania’s unserved and underserved communities.
The SWPA Connected initiative stands as a potential framework that can be leveraged
to help other communities identify where and how to invest.”

The survey is targeted to only gather information from residents, community members, and businesses residing in the SPC 10-county region of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland.

The Survey will be open through December 5, 2021

To learn more about the SWPA Connected initiative, visit www.spcregion.org/connected/.

As a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that passed the House on Friday awaits signature by President Joe Biden, the Pittsburgh business community offered their thoughts on what it could mean for the region.

Allegheny County Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald was quick to herald the good news.

He noted how the bill is “going to put a lot of people to work” and when asked where it might help the most, he said, “it’s really all of the above.”

That includes the prospect for expanding transit, specifically referencing the potential to expand the East Busway and widen Bates Street into Oakland, as well as providing a major new source of funding to help ALCOSAN meet the demands of the federal consent decree over Allegheny County’s stormwater management issues, a multi-billion-dollar project in the coming years for the county.

“The recently passed infrastructure bill will help close the digital divide in our region. It will increase broadband access and lower prices for internet service by delivering $65 billion in broadband infrastructure deployment across the country. The bill also will infuse an additional $4 billion in new federal funds to increase PennDOT’s statewide allotment from $9 billion to $13 billon over a five-year period, helping to close the state’s growing transportation funding gap. Accordingly, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission will work with our state and local partners to make sure that important southwestern Pennsylvania transportation priorities are addressed through this increased funding.”

Vincent Valdes, executive director, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission

Read the full article at www.bizjournals.com

Join SPC’s Public Participation Panels for a virtual update on developing the draft Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The draft TIP is the implementation mechanism for SmartMoves for a Changing Region, the region’s official transportation and development plan. Hear about the progress of major transportation projects, submit questions to SPC and PennDOT, and give your ideas and feedback for the draft TIP. 

SPC’s Public Participation Panels encourage you to attend a virtual public meeting to learn more about the draft documents. Meetings will be open house in format. There will be opportunities to view maps, hear from representatives from SPC, PennDOT, transit operators, and planning departments, and submit comments and questions.

Virtual meeting dates and times are listed below:

• PennDOT District 10 (Butler, Armstrong, & Indiana counties):
  Wednesday, November 17th at 6pm
• PennDOT District 11 (City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Beaver, & Lawrence counties):
  Thursday, November 4th at 6pm
• PennDOT District 12 (Greene, Fayette, Washington, & Westmoreland counties):
  Tuesday, November 16th at 6pm

Meetings will be streamed through our SPC Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/spcregion