[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 23543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10231]
[[Page 23543]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economic Development Administration
[Docket No.: 110420251-1255-01]
The Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge; a Coordinated
Initiative To Advance Regional Competitiveness
AGENCY: Economic Development Administration (EDA), Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Obama Administration announces the Jobs and Innovation
Accelerator Challenge (Accelerator Challenge), an initiative of 16
Federal agencies and bureaus to accelerate innovation-fueled job
creation and economic prosperity through public-private partnerships.
The Accelerator Challenge will offer, subject to the availability of
funds, a combination of $33 million in funding from three agencies and
technical assistance resources from 13 additional agencies and bureaus
to support customized solutions for approximately 20 competitively
selected industry clusters in urban and rural regions across the nation
and across all sectors. A competitive solicitation is expected to be
announced in May 2011.
President Obama has prioritized the development of strong regions
\1\ as the building blocks of a strong and globally competitive
American economy and as key elements in our strategy for winning the
future. Understanding that jobs are not created on Capitol Hill but in
America's regions, the Obama Administration is committed to smarter use
of existing Federal resources to support regional innovation and
sustainable economic prosperity. Knowing that regional innovation
clusters provide a globally proven approach for developing economic
prosperity, this new, multi-agency initiative creates an unprecedented
platform for integrating and coordinating the wide range of Federal
economic development resources.
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\1\ Including rural, urban and multijurisdictional areas.
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Each Accelerator Challenge investment will serve as a catalyst for
leveraging private capital in the regions from an array of sources such
as foundations, financial institutions, corporations and other private
sector partners. Through its unprecedented linking, aligning and
leveraging of Federal resources and by building strategic public-
private partnerships, the Accelerator Challenge will foster broad
regional innovation, job creation, and global competitiveness.
Funds awarded to the winning applicants can be used to support and
accelerate a range of measurable outcomes, including innovation,
commercialization, business formation and expansion, development of a
skilled workforce, job creation, exports, sustainable economic
development and global competitiveness in approximately 20 industry
clusters that exhibit high-growth development potential. These
successful clusters will promote growth that is inclusive of the
region's population.
This initiative represents the implementation of a number of Obama
Administration policy priorities including:
Acceleration of bottom-up innovation strategies
encompassing urban and rural geographies, as opposed to imposing ``one
size fits all'' solutions from Washington; and
Reduction of Federal programs silos and promotion of more
coordinated Federal funding opportunities that offer a more efficient
system for customers to access Federal resources.
The partner agencies and bureaus include: Department of Commerce
(EDA, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST),
International Trade Administration (ITA), and Minority Business
Development Agency (MBDA)); Department of Labor (Employment and
Training Administration (ETA)); Small Business Administration (SBA);
Department of Education (ED); Department of Agriculture (USDA);
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); National Science Foundation
(NSF); Department of Transportation (DOT); Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS); Department of the Treasury (TREAS); Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and Department of Energy (DOE).
Subject to funding availability, the total proposed funding for the
Accelerator Challenge is approximately $33 million in direct Federal
support from the three funding agencies and bureaus: EDA, ETA, and SBA.
Specific funding sources will be named in the forthcoming FFO.
Clusters selected for funding may receive specialized technical
assistance or other resources from partner agencies and bureaus, which
will offer this assistance from existing programs and initiatives.
These resources include Federally funded assets that can be leveraged
by the clusters and entities that are available for collaborative
partnerships to strengthen the clusters.
Applicants will be asked to discuss several components of their
cluster. They will be evaluated against criteria that include: evidence
of a high-growth cluster; the cluster's needs and opportunities; a
proposed project concept and scope of work; and the projected impact
and measurable outcomes. Outcomes might include how Federal funds will
be used to:
Achieve sustainable economic growth in the region;
Augment business formation, especially small businesses,
and leverage existing businesses and manufacturing assets;
Advance commercialization of Federal and private research
and increase exports;
Develop a skilled workforce through outreach, training,
and the creation of career pathways; and
Integrate historically underserved businesses and
communities into the economic activities of the cluster.
For more information please visit http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/jobsandinnovationchallenge.
Dated: April 22, 2011.
Barry E. A. Johnson,
Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Initiatives, Economic
Development Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-10231 Filed 4-26-11; 8:45 am]
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