In April 2006, the Jacksonville City Council approved the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission's Public Investment Policy (PIP). The PIP provides an objective framework in which the JEDC can determine the amount and type of public investment (if any) for which a company is eligible.

The development of the new PIP was a comprehensive, two-year process strengthened by public engagement. The process began with an analysis of federal, state and local public investment programs. Local stakeholders and economic development partners guided the development process through working groups and committees.

The new PIP is an objective, fact-based process that measures and quantifies the amount of appropriate public investment. It is a tool for the JEDC to approach economic development in a consistent, judicious and accountable manner.

Within the PIP, their are many different programs, each with their own thresholds and requirements. Some of these programs are location-based, industry-based, and/or wage-based, among other factors. There are separate evaluation criteria for small business projects (Click here to read the JEDC definition of a small business).

Projects eligible for the PIP must create economic-based jobs, meaning any jobs created by a business that sells its value-added goods or services outside the Jacksonville area. This concept of economic-based jobs can also be understood as jobs created by companies that export value-added goods and services and thus import new money (from outside the area) into the local economy. These are also referred to as "traded industries." The opposite of an economic-based job would be a job created by a business that primarily sells goods and services exclusively to the local market (i.e. retail).    

There are six key steps in the PIP process:

1. Evaluate the project using either the standard or small business Project Evaluation Matrix (PEM)
2. PEM scores must meet minimum thresholds (depending on program)
3. Maximum public investment determined by PEM score
4. Maximum grant or loan amount determined by PEM score
5. Loan assistance determined by eligibility requirements and underwriting process
6. Negotiation process (justification statement, due diligence, underwriting, etc.)

For more information on the JEDC Public Investment Policy, contact the Business Development staff or Download the JEDC Public Investment Policy (PDF 230k).