Commentary: How Engagement on Federal Infrastructure Funding Is Playing Out Locally

By Ahmed Badruddin

Both the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (infrastructure bill) represent landmark moments in the U.S. infrastructure industry. Their impact on business development and strategic planning is unlike anything we’ve seen in our 10 years serving the water industry. In particular, there has been an overwhelming desire to track funding allocation, with questions such as “Where will funding land (and when)?” “Where should we be hiring?” and “Which entities are already beginning to allocate funding?” dominating board room conversations, strategic planning sessions and sales team meetings.

Citylitics is uniquely equipped to find the earliest trends from entities discussing the bill. Our data engine and processing technology aggregate insights from council meeting minutes and agendas, capital plans, infrastructure plans and permits across more than 20,000 municipalities and 3,000 counties. This includes references to ARPA and the infrastructure bill (or ‘mentions’) and the surrounding context.