How to Maximize the Local Impact of the American Rescue Plan

Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University and Accelerator for America recently published on analysis of the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and its impact on the city of Philadelphia.

The new report, "Localizing and Sequencing the American Rescue Plan Act: Estimating the Impact in Philadelphia," elucidates the complexities of the bill while also charting out the work to come.

"ARPA requires communities across the country to organize, plan, and manage an influx of funds at a scale not seen in this century," according to an article by Bruce Katz, Karyn Bruggeman, and Colin Higgins that shares new of the report.

Metro areas will be securing and deploying funds made available through ARPA for years to come. Cities and states have spent months deliberating, often inconclusively, how to efficiently and equitably allocate their share of the $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. They’re simultaneously working to secure new ARPA-funded competitive grants that are just now becoming available.

The city of Philadelphia has the potential of securing $9.2 billion in funding from ARPA, according to the report—a figure far larger than has previously been reported. The report includes a full accounting of the 64 programs that could deliver funding to the city. Given the huge opportunity, and the potential for missing out on many of those opportunities, the report suggests that strategic organizing will be necessary in Philadelphia and in all cities.

In tracking the flow of ARPA funds — and future federal spending — local leaders must consider which entities are receiving funds. If programs require applications, who must apply, and by when? How do ARPA and infrastructure funds fit into key short- and long-term policy goals? How can collaboration be fostered across silos when dozens of entities are likely to receive funds? And lastly, how can your community leverage private and philanthropic investments to multiply the impact of federal funds in distressed communities?

The article also details the phased rollout of ARPA funding, noting that the second, forthcoming phase will be the most critical for "securing ARPA's maximum impact." The Nowak Lab previously outlined the sequencing of ARPA funds in a Timing & Sequencing memo.