(a) In considering programs and projects to be given assistance under this Act, and in establishing a priority ranking of the requests for assistance presented to the Commission, the Commission shall follow procedures that will insure consideration of the following factors:
(1) the relationship of the project or class of projects to overall regional development including its location in an area determined by the State have a significant potential for growth or in a severely and persistently distressed county or area;
(2) the population and area to be served by the project or class of projects including the relative per capita income and the unemployment rates in the area;
(3) the relative financial resources available to the State or political subdivisions or instrumentalities thereof which seek to undertake the project;
(4) the importance of the project or class of projects in relation to other projects or classes of projects which may be in competition for the same funds;
(5) the prospects that the project for which assistance is sought will improve, on a continuing rather than a temporary basis, the opportunities for employment, the average level of income, or the economic and social development of the area served by the project; and
(6) the extent to which the project design provides for detailed outcome measurements by which grant expenditures may be evaluated.
