Competitive Advantage Projects (CAP) Program

Regionally Significant Projects:

• Have strong alignment with more than one of the CAP program pillars of Sustainable and Efficient Economic Growth, Infrastructure Planning and Implementation, Economic Resilience and Innovation and Entrepreneurship;
• Provide multi-jurisdictional benefits;
• Have strong community support and project partner buy-in;
• Align with communities’ self-identified objectives, including those outlined in a comprehensive plan or capital improvement plan;
• Align with communities’ economic development planning priorities, such as investment priorities outlined by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) or the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS);
• Are transformative in nature by advancing regional planning priorities, such as the Central Ohio Greenways (COG) Vision, the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) action plan, local land use, the Regional Sustainability Agenda, the LinkUS mobility initiative, or the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP); and
• Are assigned a priority status in the CAP program due to their potential for large-scale and long-lasting regional impact.

Tier I Projects:

• Have strong alignment with at least one or more of the CAP program pillars of Sustainable and Efficient Economic Growth, Infrastructure Planning and Implementation, Economic Resilience and Innovation and Entrepreneurship;
• Have strong community support and project partner buy-in;
• Align with communities’ self-identified objectives, including those outlined in a comprehensive plan or capital improvement plan;
• Align with communities’ economic development planning priorities, such as investment priorities outlined by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) or the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS);
• Advance regional planning priorities, such as the Central Ohio Greenways (COG) Vision, the Central Ohio Rural Planning Organization (CORPO) action plan, local land use, the Regional Sustainability Agenda, the Regional Housing Strategy, the LinkUS mobility initiative, or the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP); and
• Are strategic investments whose implementation will advance local and regional growth.

Tier II Projects:

• Lack strong alignment with the CAP program pillars of Sustainable and Efficient Economic Growth, Infrastructure Planning and Implementation, Economic Resilience and Innovation and Entrepreneurship;
• Have yet to secure strong community support or project partner buy-in; and/or
• Require further planning, community or stakeholder engagement, or articulation to justify advocacy.