Propel San Diego is a federal grant – awarded to the city of San Diego – to boost the San Diego region’s defense resiliency. The timeline below describes how we worked with and through partners, on the Propel San Diego initative.
- 2012 – OPERATION SAN DIEGO COALESCES
Amid discussions around the potential impact of sequestration, EDC and the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC) co-create the Operation San Diego initiative. Operation San Diego is a strategic plan to support the region’s military and defense footprint – a key driver of the regional economy. - SEPTEMBER 2014 – EDC EXPLORES COLLABORATION WITH OEA
Home to the largest concentration of military assets in the world, San Diego was a prime candidate for funding from the Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), which had already been funding similar programs in other defense-heavy clusters across the country. The Office of Economic Adjustment urged San Diego to apply for the program, which would help boost San Diego’s defense resiliency. - JANUARY 2015 – RESEARCH PROVES ELIGIBILITY FOR OEA FUNDING
As a way to prove eligibility for the grant, EDC conducts an analysis of defense-related workforce trends. The research concludes that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are dependent on military and defense funding. An OEA grant would help develop programming to diversify revenue streams. Now, EDC and SDMAC must get the right regional partners onboard.
- AUGUST 2015 – CITY OF SAN DIEGO SPEARHEADS GRANT PROPOSAL
Recognizing the need to diversify our economy, the City of San Diego agreed to spearhead the grant proposal and act as the fiscal agent. - JULY 2016 – SAN DIEGO WINS $1.6M GRANT
After a lengthy application, the City of San Diego, EDC and additional regional partners receive notification of a $1.6 million grant award for Phase I of the OEA project. Phase I of the project includes a defense industry survey and research report, overhaul of the SDMAC website and the creation of a regional asset map. - SEPTEMBER 2016 – PROPEL SAN DIEGO DEVELOPED AS ENTITY
The partners in charge of executing the OEA grant officially name the initiative Propel San Diego, and develop a logo and other supporting materials. - JANUARY 2017 – PROPEL SD RESEARCH IDENTIFIES DEFENSE ECOSYSTEM
Research finds that small businesses often derive a large portion of their revenue from defense-related contracts, meaning downward adjustments in military spending at the federal level can have catastrophic impacts on the longevity of military-reliant small businesses. - SEPTEMBER 2017 – PROPEL SD AWARDED $1.7M FOR PHASE II OF OEA GRANT
Due to the success of the Phase I OEA work, Propel San Diego was granted $1.7 million to execute Phase II, which will begin in 2018. As part of the Propel San Diego deliverable, EDC and World Trade Center San Diego will run a MetroConnect defense cohort for defense-reliant companies looking to export and diversify their sales portfolio.
And we’re just getting started. In 2018, we’ll release our defense visualization tool. Stay tuned for updates from Propel SD.
In addition to San Diego Regional EDC, Propel SD partners include:
