About Floor360 & the IMCP Program

The Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) program is one of the US Department of Commerce’s main initiatives to support job creation and accelerate manufacturing growth to make communities more globally competitive by transforming their industrial ecosystems into globally-competitive manufacturing hubs. IMCP does this through the support of long-term community-based economic development strategies designed to attract and expand private investment in manufacturing and promote international trade and exports. The Northwest Georgia region was selected for one of 26 first-round Commerce awards made across the country in 2013. The award enabled the development of an Advanced Manufacturing Strategy initially focused on the region’s established Floor Covering industry. In May 2014, the US Department of Commerce further designated the Northwest Georgia region as one of 12 Manufacturing Communities through the IMCP program. This two-year designation gives organizations that support the industry via the Northwest Georgia’s Advanced Manufacturing Strategy elevated status for certain federally-aligned grant programs.

Using the Designation

Organizations in the 15-county Northwest Georgia region, the areas outlined in the original application, are eligible to apply to use the designation. Only one organization per grant, per period may use the designation. As the lead agency, the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission facilitates selection of these organizations to use the designation via the Northwest Georgia IMCP Consortium.

To apply, please fill out and submit the following form at least three weeks before your grant deadline.

Application Form

Upcoming Grants & Deadlines

Search Grants.gov for your federal grants by keywords or more specific criteria. All discretionary grants offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies can be found on Grants.gov. The NWGRC needs to receive your form by the Deadline for Consideration date listed in the table in order to be considered for the designation. If approved, applicants will receive a "Letter of IMCP Endorsement" or "Letter of IMCP Support" from the Consortium to include in their grant application. The IMCP Manufacturing Community designation is a new program through EDA; guidance is still being released. Updates regarding the process will be posted here when available.

2015 IMCP Summit

Check out the project facts!

IMCP is helping the Northwest Georgia region cultivate the environment for highly skilled, well-paying advanced manufacturing jobs in the region's solid manufacturing base by transforming the region's industrial ecosystem. The region's floor covering cluster is largely rural and reaches across a large 15-county region.

Celebrate Manufacturing Day, October 7, 2016!

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What’s happening at Floor360?

Cedartown ‘backbone’ to invest $14.5M, create 60 more jobs in Polk County

From Bizjournals Cedartown’s “backbone” is getting bigger. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Tuesday that office furniture manufacturer The HON Company will be expanding its Polk County facility with a $14.5 million investment that includes 60 new jobs. HON headquarters is located in Muscatine, Iowa. The HON Company is an operating subsidiary of Muscatine, Iowa-based HNICorporation (NYSE: HNI), which is the second-largest office […]

Upcoming Beers and Gears Event in Rome!

On August 10th from 5-7 pm, Makervillage in Rome, Georgia will be hosting Alyssa Rumsey and John Morehouse from the Georgia Center of Innovation for Manufacturing.  Alyssa and John will be sharing with attendees how they can provide support for manufacturers.  The CoIM provides technical industry expertise and facilitates partnerships to help Georgia manufacturers of […]

A toolkit for building successful community college-employer relationships

From Brookings Amid persistent concerns about the well-documented skills gap, community colleges have the potential to provide low-cost, high-quality education and training to students. Robust relationships between colleges and local industry partners are critical to building strong workforce development programs for students. In this context, this toolkit offers practical advice on how community college leaders can take a […]

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Participating Federal Agencies

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Have an idea?

Floor360 is interested in learning about new ideas and projects that will help support Advanced Manufacturing in Northwest Georgia.

Let us know!

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AIS brings partners from across business, local government, and academia together to promote sustainable business practices in Northwest Georgia.

Learn More about AIS

HDCI WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT

The High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) evaluates the needs of Georgia businesses.

Participate in the Assessment