The University of Pittsburgh has received $292,800 in government funding to develop a plan for biotech workforce development and engagement in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The American Association of Community Colleges got $10 million to develop a network for cybersecurity workforce development in Pennsylvania and 12 other Appalachian states.  Those projects are part of a mission to award $33.5 million to collaborative, multistate projects to drive large-scale economic transformation. And Pittsburgh is at the center.Pittsburgh is often considered an industrial city in the midst of coal country – and for a long time, that was an accurate assessment. Yet, as time has progressed and the city has become more tech-centric, the region hasn’t lost its reputation as being reliant on fossil fuels.So it may seem strange that one of the most important federal programs supporting green energy has its epicenter in Pittsburgh. The ARISE program by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC – pronounced A-R-C) aims to drive large-scale regional transformation using clean energy as a key component. Like many government programs, ARISE is an acronym: Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies.University of Pittsburgh takes ARC ARISE beyond energyThe $292,800 ARC grant awarded to Pitt is unlike most of the others as it is going to a biotech initiative instead of an energy initiative.  Chandran Sen, associate vice chancellor for life sciences innovation and commercialization, says he sought out ARC funding because he was seeing the future of life sciences playing out in the Pittsburgh area, and believed that to take advantage of it, the area would have to be able to differentiate from other life sciences regions like Boston or Philadelphia.The ARC grant, supplemented by $100,000 each from Pitt and the University of West Virginia, will help Sen work with Catalyst Connection and others to get data about what is possible (and not possible) in growing the area’s biotech workforce in ways that will benefit a broader set of the population than just doctorates getting high-paying jobs.High school students attend Manufacturing Day at Catalyst Connection in October 2022 to learn about careers in manufacturing and robotics. Photo courtesy of Catalyst Connection.That approximately half-million dollars will go toward building the plan that will drive the future of biotech as well as broadly disburse high-paying jobs within the region and further into Appalachia. He and his team of 100 researchers will work closely with the universities and the governor’s office as part of this initiative, which is expected to produce its first report in August 2025.ARC Federal Cochair Gayle Manchin told NEXTpittsburgh that the idea for a coordinated grant program came as she was driving through the Appalachian region after being cooped up during the Covid-19 pandemic. The area covers 423 counties in 13 states. She realized that the region is the energy-rich backbone of the country, and that if they strengthen the region, including the most distressed areas, it would strengthen all of the states – especially if they worked together.The Appalachian region“We had extra funding as part of a bipartisan infrastructure deal” [the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021], Manchin said, “and we have so much more to gain by impact of scale.” “We look at Pittsburgh as a thriving, energized, booming city, sort of the crown jewel [of the region]. It has made quite a transformation; that’s what this is all about.”Tom Reed of Hazelwood-based Catalyst Connection serves as program manager for ARC ARISE out of his office at Mill 19 along the Monongahela River — a facility that itself was repurposed as a technology hub from its roots as a steel mill.One of the hallmarks of the ARISE program is its focus on interregional collaboration. Pittsburgh is sometimes called The Paris of Appalachia — it stands out in its impact among its peers in the region. Having Catalyst Connection involved in the interstate grant program makes sense. Catalyst’s vision is to make Southwestern Pennsylvania “a global leader in advanced manufacturing.” According to Petra Mitchell, Catalyst Connection president and CEO, manufacturing in Southwestern Pennsylvania is a $12 billion industry employing almost 90,000 workers. So the city’s outsized impact is noticeable. According to ARC, each manufacturing job leads to 2.6 jobs in the community – so targeting manufacturing has an impact that goes beyond that industry, as well as getting environmental impact.ARISE and conquerCurrently, Catalyst Connection is coordinating 200 mini grants that have been funded by ARC ARISE, which Reed says are given to manufacturers to expand or enter into a clean energy supply chain or to reduce their own carbon footprint. So companies that are interested in becoming more environmentally friendly are among the targets.A total of $10 million of ARC ARISE mini grants are expected to be distributed to these projects over a four-year period. Reed, as program manager, will work alongside partners in each region to identify and vet the opportunities to grant these dollars.The companies receiving the mini grants are expected to work with third-party vendors to carry out these programs, which could range from studies to find out how to reduce dependencies on dirty fuels, to learning about processes that could help make those fuels cleaner. They cannot use the grants to pay their staffs’ salaries.The result of the grants might be reports on how to become more energy efficient, training programs so their teams know how to implement their ideas, or in some cases, maybe even programs to become more eco-friendly.The incline in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Photo courtesy of Red Tettemer via the filminpa.com photo library. According to Reed, ARC ARISE grants are meant to enable at least a first step toward clean energy, and there are many grants available to take additional steps afterward. Catalyst Connection is currently creating a searchable database of other resources. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania also has an online resource for getting funding.Each company that applies will have to allocate its own funds after being awarded its grant and will be reimbursed, with the fund paying 50% of the total, up to $10,000 per grant, after they have spent the money.So far, out of the 200 mini grants to be awarded over four years, 40 have been given out, with more than a third of them in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The goal for the region is to land 50 locally.Those 50 grants are likely to create more opportunities in the Pittsburgh metro area including engineering, construction and more. As the recipients add follow-on projects, the number of jobs created in the community should rise further.How to take advantage Those who are not eligible or don’t have a need for grant funding can take advantage of the resources provided by ARC ARISE and other sources. Catalyst Connection has built out a website for Clean Energy Manufacturing that has tools that empower users at no cost.Meanwhile, Sen is reaching out to anybody in the community who is interested in helping to create jobs in the biotech industry in Western Pennsylvania and surrounding areas – whether they want to provide time, ideas or funding.“We are a strong energy region,” said Manchin, “so we will take what we always had; do the research; diversify into cleaner, greener energy – not just for us; but also for the country.”The post ARC ARISE grants could help Appalachia be more green appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.