Economic Resilience & Revitalization
The Economic Resilience and Revitalization Program fosters economic development initiatives that assist communities and households in achieving long-term resilience and viability. The program identifies project activities intended to facilitate resilience and growth of the Territory’s economy through hardening commercial facilities façade, workforce development training, district revitalization, and revitalizing tourism and other industries by investing in our seaports and small businesses/microenterprises. The following CDBG-MIT activities are under the ER&R Program:
Commercial Hardening and Financing
The program’s goal is to minimize operational down time and accelerate recovery of commercial areas after a disaster to benefit LMI residents and others. Privately owned commercial or industrial buildings or ports may be rehabilitated or hardened to become more resilient. The hardening of marine industrial and commercial facilities is of necessary importance to the Territory due to geographic location.
Emergency Organizations, First Responders, and communication facilities may apply based on project activities that prevent or eliminate the loss of life or property. Potential mitigation projects include, alert or warning systems, Land, Mobile and Radio (LMR) Networks, telecommunications facilities including mobile/radio/wireless towers, satellite dish, emergency dispatch facilities, and the installation and usage of broadband-network infrastructure for critical emergency services
Small Business Mitigation
Small businesses are critical to the Territory’s local economy and its competitiveness as a tourism destination in the Caribbean. The USVI Bureau of Economic Research (USVIBER) reports an estimated 2 million passengers annually visit the Territory. The retail commercial districts are 80 percent comprised of small businesses.
The most recent U.S. Census Bureau survey list the number of businesses in the Territory as 2,319 with 1,279 of those businesses being establishments with less than five employees. HUD defines these businesses as microenterprises. The federal Small Business Administration defines a small business based on the employment of seventy-five individuals.
The Small Business Mitigation Program is designed to increase resilience to disasters and reduce or eliminate down-time experience by businesses affected by natural/manmade disasters. Eligible applicants include microbusinesses and small businesses engaged in farming operations that meet United States Department of Agriculture requirements.
Entrepreneurship Resilience and Innovation Program
The program focuses on providing financial capital to sustain and build economic resilience to entrepreneurs, while fostering small business innovation and risk management guidance. Technical assistance training will be afforded by eligible training providers. Eligible program applicants shall identify the need for a specific project activity, the creation or retainment of employees and the development of innovative methods of lessening operational downtime.
Workforce Development Mitigation Program
Workforce development is one of the cornerstones of economic resilience. This program will fund industry sector training needed within the Territory. Emphasis will be placed on training the workforce to better handle or be prepared for unexpected events whether manmade or natural disaster. The program will target at least 50 percent of low-to-moderate income residents.
The Workforce Development Mitigation Program also targets entrepreneurship innovation as critical skills to foster the creation and growth of small businesses. The Workforce Development Program will strengthen collaborations between education and training organizations, and employers with a shared goal of providing solutions to promote growth and stability of the local economy, while mitigating hazardous events that may impact employment and trade. The program’s focus is on the current and future needs of the workforce. Industry sector training may include construction, information technology, transportation, leisure and hospitality, medical/healthcare, and personal/home care. The program also allows for training in sector innovation and environmental/green technologies.
The Workforce Development Mitigation Program will prioritize training curricula for on-the-job training participants. Funds from this program may be used to purchase equipment, supplies, and information technology required for specific vocational programs only for nonprofit or public training providers that are physically located in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eligible entities may include vocational training organizations, established providers such as universities, in addition to individuals/firms and employers with the goal of creating and supporting partnerships to develop a workforce training and if possible job placement programs for residents within the Territory.
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