Engineering info about stimulus funds

View the full story, including all images and figures, in our monthly digital edition

After spending hours trying to find actionable information on where $787 billion in stimulus funding is going to pay for building construction and renovation/retrofit projects that benefit engineering companies, I gave up. I became angry at what should be a transparent process of identifying projects so that engineers can make inquiries. I became suspicious: sporadic announcements on projects being funded are only trickling through various media, and some companies are hosting paid-attendance seminars on stimulus projects and funding. President Obama’s promises for accountability and transparency were going to go unmet.

But I relaxed and tried again, and for some reason, the resources just appeared after a little more digging. To save you some hassle and to expedite your business development efforts, here are some helpful hyperlinks at the federal level:

www.recovery.gov : the official federal website for overarching information on the stimulus bill, also known as American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-recovery-page : A deep link with a state map. Click on any state to be linked to that state’s home page for ARRA funding projects. This is a big help.

www.recovery.gov/?q=content/agencies : A deep link with a list of federal agencies and their websites that describes how they are distributing ARRA funds.

www.sba.gov/recovery : Many engineering firms are “small businesses.” Here’s a link to the Small Business Administration’s ARRA clearinghouse.

There are other websites I recommend, which are maintained either by volunteer organizations or by institutions. These are just a few; I have others at my blog at www.csemag.com/blogs , which I will update from time to time.

www.stimuluswatch.org : Updated every 10 min, this volunteer-maintained website has hyperlinks to state- and city-level information for shovel-ready projects. It also has project descriptions and ratings by visitors as to whether the project is critical. The visitor comments are fascinating.

www.stimuluswatch.org/home/faqs : An important deep link on stimuluswatch.com that is too easy to ignore. Read it!

www.nyserda.org/economicrecovery : This New York site shows how statel-level information on ARRA projects should be handled.

recovery.vermont.gov/energy : Vermont’s energy-related projects for ARRA stimulus funds. Nice job!

www.ncef.org/school-modernization : National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities’ page about ARRA.

If you have found useful websites on stimulus funding, please let me know.

Send your questions and comments to: Michael.Ivanovich@reedbusiness.com

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our WTWH Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.