Springfield, IL-(Effingham Radio)- Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) announced that Coles Together, a collaborative member of South Central and Southeastern Illinois Business Navigator Alliance, was awarded $150,000 through its Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery (RISE) Grant.
Phase 1 of the RISE Grant focuses on a regional industrial and labor study for Clark, Coles, Crawford, Edgar, Effingham and Moultrie Counties.
The goal of the Business Navigator Alliance is to connect manufacturers and other businesses in the six-county region with federal aerospace, aviation, and defense industry procurement and supply chain work.
Angela Griffin, president of Coles Together, said implementation of this initiative will allow the Business Navigator Alliance to build on the professional and technical support the collaborative already offers to regional businesses and prepare the region for resiliency by broadening the opportunities for the existing industrial base with a specific concentration on the aviation and aerospace sectors.
“By connecting our regional employers with opportunities at NASA, the Air Force, and the Department of Defense, it will enhance their ability to expand production lines, retain employees, and add employees in a high-margin sector that is growing,” Griffin said.
Using information from the study completed in Phase 1, the group will develop a marketing plan to educate business leaders about the opportunity and invite them to be part of a program to connect their capabilities to opportunities in the new supply chains.
The Business Navigator Alliance will then help train companies in how to acquire credentials and make the connections to do business with the federal government, facilitate corporate site visits for government procurement officials to regional businesses, and conduct site tours for companies to the NASA Glenn Research Center and the Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
The Business Navigator Alliance was formed to provide professional outreach and technical assistance in applying toward local, state, and federal economic relief programs for businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. The mission is to ensure that small businesses throughout the region are competitive in applying for necessary resources, and the goal is to position local businesses for success by accelerating recovery and growth. BNA, which can be found at www.ilbusinessnavigators.com, hosts outreach events, virtual offices hours, and provide one-on-one technical assistance.
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