ARC announced the formation of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC), a 24-member volunteer advisory group of leaders from law enforcement, recovery services, health, economic development, private industry, education, state government and other sectors. The SAAC will develop recommendations for ARC to consider as part of a strategic plan to build and strengthen a recovery ecosystems in Appalachian communities by drawing on their own experiences, as well as community insight gathered during ARC’s six recent Regional Recovery-to-Work Listening Sessions. Read More

The final reports in the Creating a Culture of Health in Appalachia research initiative are a set of three issue briefs created to help inform community efforts related to the specific, prevalent Appalachian health issues of obesity, opioid misuse, and smoking. This brief summarizes relevant health statistics, offers key strategies and resources for communities to explore, and provides recommendations for community leaders, funders, and policymakers aimed at reducing health disparities in the Appalachian Region related to opioid misuse. Read More

On April 8, 2019, ARC began accepting applications for the inaugural class of the Appalachian Leadership Institute a new leadership and economic development training opportunity for community leaders who currently live and/or work in Appalachia. The Appalachian Leadership Institute is an extensive nine-month program focusing on skill-building, seminars, best practice reviews, field visits, mentoring, and networking. The curriculum will be anchored by six multi-day seminars around the region, followed by a capstone graduation in Washington, DC. Read More

On April 3, 2019, ARC announced announced $3.3 million to continue supporting economic diversification in the Region’s coal-impacted communities through the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. These investments focus on strengthening responses to the substance abuse crisis Kentucky and Ohio, and building a sustainable local food system in North Carolina. Read More

In February 2019, ARC released a state-by-state overview of the Commission’s fiscal year 2018 economic development investments in the Appalachian Region. The overview includes 13 state investment fact sheets, as well as a companion fact sheet outlining ARC’s regional investments during the fiscal year. Read More

On February 21, 2019, ARC announced announced $22.8 million to expand and diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities through the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. These 33 awards are projected to create or retain nearly 1,000 jobs, benefit over 3,300 students and workers, and leverage more than $21.8 million in private investment into manufacturing, agriculture, technology, substance abuse recovery, broadband development, and other industry sectors across coal-impacted communities in nine Appalachian states. Read More

Strengthening Economic Resilience in Appalachia, identifies factors common across communities experiencing persistent economic growth in the aftermath of the 2008 Recession and other economic disruptions. The research includes a statistical analysis of key factors common to economic resilience, as well as a guidebook featuring ten communities that have rebounded after experiencing significant economic shocks. Read More

Chosen by his fellow Appalachian governors to serve as the Commission's 2019 states' co-chair, Cooper will work directly with the ARC federal co-chair in this leadership role to continue the agency's commitment to economic growth in the 13-state Appalachian Region. Read More

ARC will host 150 students from 15 Appalachian based colleges and universities at the 18th annual Appalachian Teaching Project Conference in Washington, D.C. Supported by ARC and organized by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), ATP is an applied-research training program for college and graduate students to design community based economic development initiatives across the Appalachian Region. As a capstone to this work, students and their faculty sponsors present their work to other student delegations from ATP participating institutions, ARC leadership, and community leaders in a formal peer-to-peer symposium in Washington, D.C. Since the program began in 2001, over 2,250 college and graduate students from across the Region have participated in ATP. Read More

On October 11, ARC announced $26.5 million to continue expanding and diversifying the economy in Appalachia’s coal-impacted communities through the POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. These 35 awards are projected to create or retain over 5,400 jobs and leverage more than $193 million in private investment into 59 of the Region’s coal-impacted counties by supporting workforce training and education in manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and other industry sectors. They also invest in infrastructure enhancements to continue developing the Region’s tourism, entrepreneurial, and agriculture sectors, as well as increase access to community-based capital, including impact-investing funds, venture capital, and angel investment streams. Read More

A suite of new research reports and resources to support entrepreneurial development in Appalachia outline core elements necessary for a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, analyze community case studies to provide insight into the unique challenges faced by communities in Appalachia, and offer recommendations to support future economic development across the Region. A companion website at www.arc.gov/ecosystems documents and compares entrepreneurial activity in each of Appalachia’s 420 counties, and includes a working inventory of over 1,000 support services available to entrepreneurs across the Region. Read More

$165 million for ARC is included in the Fiscal Year 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations Act which was signed into law by President Trump on September 21, 2018. This is the largest appropriation for ARC's nonhighway work in the agency's history. Read More

$165 million for ARC is included in the final Conference Report for the Fiscal Year 2019 Energy and Water Appropriations Act which passed both houses of Congress this week. This is the largest appropriation for ARC's nonhighway work in the agency's history. Read More

Three new resources released by ARC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky offer a fresh approach to understanding health in Appalachia by focusing on community strengths and identifying local factors supporting a Culture of Health. The resources include case studies of ten “Bright Spot” counties, which have better-than-expected health outcomes; the performance-focused research methodology that helped identify these counties; and HealthinAppalachia.org, a website that explores extensive county-level health data for the Appalachian Region. Read More

Both bills provide $155 million for ARC’s nonhighway programs, including $50 million for the POWER Initiative to help Appalachian communities adversely impacted by changes in the coal industry and power sector. Read More