GAO urges EDA and Denali Commission to tighten performance validation and coordination

The Government Accountability Office's latest report recommends that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) resume systematic validation of grantee-reported performance data, a practice the agency has not performed since 2020. The GAO also calls on the Secretary of Commerce to adopt a formal framework for coordinating EDA activities with the five federal regional commissions - Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, Denali Commission, Northern Border Regional Commission, and Southeast Crescent Regional Commission - required by statute.

The report notes that from fiscal years 2016 through 2024, EDA and the regional commissions awarded more than $12 billion in grants to distressed and underserved communities. While poverty and unemployment rates generally improved in commission areas, the GAO found it difficult to attribute those gains directly to the grant funding because performance data have not been consistently validated.

The Denali Commission, which also receives EDA funding, lacks guidance and procedures for collecting standardized, objective, and measurable performance information across its grants. The GAO recommends that the commission's Federal Co-chair develop such guidance to enable consistent performance tracking over time.

All three recommendations - validation of EDA data, establishment of a coordination framework, and Denali's performance-information guidance - remain open. The Department of Commerce and the Denali Commission have indicated agreement with the GAO's findings, but no implementation actions have been reported.

The GAO's analysis relied on award data, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census economic indicators, agency documentation, site visits in Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana, and interviews with officials and a non-generalizable sample of grantees.