Supporting Local Efforts to Create Great Jobs
through Entrepreneurship: EDA Launches 2018 Regional Innovation Strategies
Program Competition
Guided by the basic
principle that sustainable economic development should be locally-driven, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) works directly with communities and regions to help them build
capacity for economic development based on local business conditions. EDA’s flexible
suite of programs support the implementation of locally-devised economic
development strategies to address a continuum of economic development
challenges – from planning and technical
assistance, to infrastructure construction - that make it easier for businesses to start
and grow.
At the heart of these businesses are some of
America’s most creative and hardworking dreamers and doers: entrepreneurs!
Embodying the American spirit, these intrepid individuals tirelessly push
forward every day, breaking barriers with innovative technologies and services to
create the high-skill, high-wage jobs that help advance the U.S. economy.
EDA recognizes how influential entrepreneurship
is in building resilient, regional economies, and today EDA is excited to
announce that the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the 2018
Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program has been published and the
competition is now open!
With up to $21 million available through the 2018
RIS NOFO, this year’s program will help spur innovation capacity-building
activities in regions across the nation through two separate grants: the
i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grant competitions.
-
i6
Challenge ($16M): Across the country, regions and communities are
helping entrepreneurs overcome challenging barriers to help build new
companies and create jobs through the efforts of universities, community
colleges, National Labs, state and local governments, incubators, and
various other organizations. The i6 Challenge helps drive these efforts by
supporting the creation and expansion of programs that increase the rate
at which innovations, ideas, intellectual property, and research are
translated into products, services, viable companies, and, ultimately,
jobs.
-
Seed
Fund Support (SFS) Grant Competition ($5M): The availability of
funding for early-stage companies is an essential element of a healthy
innovation-based regional ecosystem. Taking an idea or innovation from
concept to market often requires capital, but in many regions across the
country, innovators and entrepreneurs struggle to find that capital. SFS
grants provide funding for technical assistance and operational costs that
support the planning, formation, launch, or scale of cluster-based seed
funds that will invest their capital in innovation-based startups with a
potential for high growth.
To date, the RIS program has invested in 140
projects, totaling $57 million in federal funding across 42 states and Puerto
Rico, supporting the creation of hundreds of new businesses, thousands of new
jobs, and millions in new venture funding. These projects are led by collaborative
historically black colleges
and universities (HBCUs), regional economic development
organizations, forward thinking community colleges, leading
non-profit business incubators and accelerators, unique rural, venture development
organizations, and many other innovative organizations working hard to support entrepreneurship growth
across their communities and industries.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer
to the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFO) on grants.gov for more
details on both the i6 Challenge and Seed Fund Support grants,
including eligibility, matching-fund requirements, application and
submission deadlines, and other information. Funding for both programs is
available to all communities regardless of level of distress.
EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship leads the
RIS program to spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across
the nation. Please stay tuned to the OIE
RIS webpage for specific details on the forthcoming informational webinar for
this year’s RIS competition.
|
