Twenty-five counties will receive federal development funds

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

New federal resources will provide Ohio State University and four regional development districts with a strategic plan to create an advanced manufacturing innovation hub that will serve a 25-county region of Ohio.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, announced Friday that the Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization, the Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District, the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments in Youngstown and the Akron/Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association will receive the funds.

The districts will receive a combined $199,766 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop a strategy that helps the region increase competitiveness, economic growth and job creation.

The organizations will work to promote environmental quality, orderly economic growth and community development in the counties they serve.

The project is funded through the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, which is designed to accelerate manufacturing programs and create good-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector.

“Together, OSU and these four regional economic development districts can connect entrepreneurs, students, researchers and workers with the resources needed to create the next generation of American manufacturing jobs,” Brown said in a press release.