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Office of Public Engagement Monthly Newsletter - January 2023
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Welcome to the January 2023 edition of the Office of Public Engagement’s monthly newsletter! To kick off the new year, take a look at some DOC highlights from 2022: Year in Review: Commerce’s Top Stories and Accomplishments of 2022
For inquiries, please email BusinessLiaison@doc.gov
Secretary Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Graves Spotlight the Capital Readiness Program In Travels To Ohio and Illinois
This January, Secretary Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Graves traveled to Ohio and Illinois to spotlight the Capital Readiness Program, a $93.5 million grant competition initiated by the MBDA. The program’s purpose is to help minority, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs in their business endeavors. The program is the largest of its kind in the history of the Commerce Department.
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The Capital Readiness Program is part of the Biden Administration’s larger plan to help support minority and women-owned entrepreneurs and businesses nationwide. The MBDA is the only federal government agency dedicated to solely supporting minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs by helping them overcome the hurdles that they face. Read more about the Capital Readiness Program in this month’s Newsletter Interview. |
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Secretary Gina Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Don Graves Honor the Life & Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Don Graves participated in service events in the Washington, D.C. area to honor the life, work, and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service and honors Dr. King’s achievements as a civil rights leader who advocated for equality, justice, and dignity for all.
Secretary Gina Raimondo stopped by the Good Success Church to help distribute food to the community. Then, she attended the Missionary Baptist Ministers’ Conference to meet with church leaders and honor Dr. King’s legacy.
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Deputy Secretary Don Graves joined Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at Hart Middle School in Washington, D.C. and saw first-hand the incredible work being done by AmericCorps and City Year D.C. to help build strong relationships with students to ensure their success. Graves and Buttigieg joined several volunteers in building a table for the school.
Please visit The King Center for more information on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Department of Commerce Announces Two Stakeholder Listening Sessions for the IPEF Special Negotiating Round
On February 1, 2023, stakeholders are invited to participate in a virtual stakeholder listening session before the special negotiating round for Pillars II-IV of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) that will take place in New Delhi, India. In addition, the Government of India is organizing two in-person stakeholder events in New Delhi for the IPEF special negotiating round. Stakeholders interested in participating in one or both events should register per the instructions here.
StatVentures Supply Chain Challenge
Late last year, the U.S. Census Bureau launched StatVentures, to scout technology through collaborations with innovators outside government to ensure the U.S. Census Bureau provides the highest quality data. Through multi-phase competitions, the program invites participants to propose new concepts that ultimately became the Census Bureau’s next methods and data sources.
The venture fund is the first of its kind at the U.S. Census. Its inaugural challenge from October to January asked the brightest minds in America to find new ways to produce timely, granular, and robust information about our nation’s supply chain infrastructure. Successful participants were awarded $10,000, a spot in an elite innovator cohort, and ultimately became the next data source for the U.S. Census Bureau. Sign up for updates and opportunities to join as a "walk on" team for Phases 2 and 3 of this exciting initiative.
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NTIA Announces Plans & Grant Opportunities For 2023
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has an ambitious 2023 agenda, with broadband spending as the main focus.Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the NTIA is planning more than $48 billion in connectivity spending, one of the agency’s many focal points for 2023. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which sets aside about $550 billion for infrastructure investments regarding everything from improvements to roads and bridges to ensuring that every American has access to high-speed Internet to help close the ‘digital divide.’
On January 30th, NTIA awarded 12 Internet for All grants worth more than $33.5 million to minority-serving colleges and universities part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC). This is the largest CMC grant announcement to date. With Commerce’s commitment to supporting local and minority communities, these grants will expand technology hubs, upgrade classroom technology, and increase digital literacy skills at the 12 minority serving colleges and universities in 10 states.
In addition, this year, the NTIA will also begin awarding its first grants under the $1.5 billion for Open Radio Access Networks (ORAN or Open RAN) as part of the Chips and Science Act. ORAN is an interoperable, open-source technology that promotes collaboration between cellular network equipment provided by different vendors. As such, ORAN is a potential solution, alongside others, to “reinforce 5G vendor diversity and foster market competition.” Davidson stated that the agency needs input from companies as they begin to develop a national spectrum strategy.
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Bureau Spotlight: Curtis Doster
Associate Director: Office of Legislative, Education, & Intergovernmental Affairs, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
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Q: What is your role at MBDA?
A: I am the Associate Director of Legislation, Education, and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Minority Business Development Agency. The way I view my duties are by three main buckets: 1) legislation on the federal, state, and local level, 2) communications, social media, press releases, press kits, and 3) strategic alliances for MBDA, which is engaging with our external folks. That can be with organizations such as our Chambers of Commerce, National Ace, the Urban League, etc.
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Q: How did you come to do this work?
A: I have always loved policy. I am an attorney by trade and did labor and employment law before I went to the Hill. I have always engaged in policy, but I think the most the direct correlation to my path to MBDA is my work within the Legislative Branch. There, I was always trying to improve upon the existing framework for minority business enterprises, as they really don't have the resources that others have had throughout the years.
I worked for Rep. Lawrence as her Chief of Staff in Michigan's 14th district at the time, representing the Detroit area, among other areas within the metro Detroit area there. I was her Legislative Director prior to that. I also worked for Rep. Antonio Delgado of New York's 19th district in upstate New York, who is now the Lieutenant Governor of New York.
Q: Can you give a definition of MBDA?
A: The mission of MBDA is to close the gap between minority business enterprises as opposed to non-minority business enterprises. The way in which the Agency and the Department tries to do that is through access to capital, networks, markets, and contracts and procurement opportunities. We have over 88 equities and networks throughout the nation to help close that gap by providing technical assistance to minority business enterprises around the country, whether they are a mom-and-pop shop, a mid-sized business, or even a large business.
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Q: What is the function of the recently released Capital Readiness Program (CRP)? Who do you encourage to apply?
A: The Capital Readiness Program is an entirely new program that we owe to the U.S. Department of Treasury and the American Rescue Plan Act. Through that plan, the Treasury Department was given a large pot of funding to reestablish the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). There's various programs and initiatives within that bucket, and one of the pieces is to ensure that, similar to MBDA’s mission, minority business enterprises and SEDI (Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals), are given opportunities to get access to grants, loans through financial institutions, venture capitalists, and angel investors, among others. With the MBDA Capital Readiness Program, we ensure that minority business enterprises can scale up and build the capacity needed to take their enterprises to the next level. The $100 million grant opportunity would give funding to incubators, accelerators, organizations that provide technical assistance, or those that can help build capacity for minority business enterprises or SEDI enterprises.
Organizations that could be eligible for the program are non-profits, for-profits, higher education institutions, those already in our existing MBDA network, or a combination of those organizations. When organizations collaborate, it's likely their best chance of getting this grant opportunity. This grant opportunity is a four-year grant award. The maximum amount throughout the four years that one applicant would be able to get is about $3 million, and that would be on the higher end. There are three different tiers, depending on what the organization applies for.
There were three webinars about the Capital Readiness Program in January. The recordings of those webinars and related materials can be found on MBDA’s website.
Q: When is the deadline for CRP applications?
A: The deadline to apply for the program is February 28, 2023. And if people/organizations are interested in applying or have any questions, they can email us at SSBCI@mbda.gov. And if they intend to apply, we would love them to send an email of intent. If they go on the website, they should be able to fill out the email of intent, suggesting that they will apply for the actual program. That way, we can look at the numbers, we can see how many people have applied and how many have not, and we will decide if we should extend the deadline or not.
Q: How would you encourage stakeholders to collaborate? Is there a primary email where your bureau can be contacted?
A: With any private partnership organizations, we encourage collaboration as much as possible. I think there’s a couple of ways we can work together right now:
- One way is with our Capital Readiness Program. We encourage folks get the word out as much as possible. If you are incubator or accelerator, and you think you could provide the proper technical assistance, apply. For-profit entities can apply as well.
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Another thing is just engaging with us. Give us an understanding of what is needed from the private sector- what you're looking for as it relates to our work. One way to do this is to go to our website mbda.gov. I personally can be contacted at cdoster@mbda.gov. We can put you in contact with right person, if it is not myself.
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When opportunities do come up, another way that they can help is to hire minority business enterprises (MBE) for those subcontracts or other type of opportunities that they may have. And if they cannot find them, I encourage folks to contact us. Stay engaged with the agencies so we can work together, collaborate, and identify ways that we can really help the local economy, and the national economy, by getting some of these MBEs and undeserved entrepreneurs opportunities.
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Grant Opportunities
GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
Minority Business Development Agency
MBDA has recordings available on their website of informational pre-application webinars to assist potential applicants in better understanding the Capital Readiness Program and the application requirements outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). For more information on the program and to register for the pre-application webinars, visit www.MBDA.gov.
International Trade Administration (ITA)
In February 2023, ITA will reopen applications for the Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) awards which provide select non-profit organizations the opportunity to earn up to $300,000 in funding. Read more about MDCP awards here.
National Institute of Standards and Technology
NIST provides various funding opportunities with rolling deadlines throughout each fiscal year. Learn about NIST funding opportunities here.
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