Henry County is partnering with six other counties through the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership (ECIRP) to create a Regional Development Plan (RDP) and request up to $50 million from the state of Indiana READI initiative.

All are invited to submit projects and programs that, when implemented, will remove barriers to growth and advance economic activity across the region.

Ideal projects will need to make positive developments in areas concerning quality of place, quality of life, quality of opportunity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent attraction and development.

ECIRP has created an online submission form to collect submittals that may include the improvement of infrastructure, addition of workforce housing developments, revitalization of blighted or vacant properties, and enhancement of cultural amenities. Additionally, ECIRP is looking for submittals that include the planning and execution of sustainable, multi-year programs, such as talent attraction initiatives, public-private partnerships to advance industry innovation, and small business support services.

Any organization or group that wishes to request project funding may submit their idea and supporting information through an online submission form. However, not every project or proposal submitted will be incorporated into the regional development plan. The online tool will accept submissions through noon on July 30, 2021. The ECIRP planning team will review all submissions to determine which projects will be included in the final grant submission to the State of Indiana, which is due August 31, 2021.

The online submittal form, along with information on the process and the READI program, can be found at:  https://forgeeci.com/readi/