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The Latest From The Commerce Blog

Innovation Support is in Demand

Submitted on December 5, 2014 - 9:00am
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Julie Kirk, Director, Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

By Julie Kirk, Director, Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

What do you get when you take a $15 million Regional Innovation Strategies program and add 254 applicants requesting more than $100 million in support? You get a very busy Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and compelling evidence that this program is crucial.

The Regional Innovation Strategies program was launched in September 2014 to spur innovation capacity-building activities in regions across the nation. Under this program, EDA solicited applications for three separate funding opportunities, including: the i6 Challenge, Science and Research Park Development grants, and cluster grants to support the development of Seed Capital Funds: 

  • i6 Challenge: The i6 Challenge, now in its forth iteration, is focused on accelerating the commercialization of technology. The 2014 i6 was broadened from the three previous challenges to include scaling of existing centers or programs and funding for later-stage Commercialization Centers.
  • Science/Research Parks: This new program provides funding for feasibility and planning of new or expanded Science/Research parks or renovation of existing facilities.
  • Cluster Grants for Seed Funds: Also new this year, this program provides funding for technical assistance to support feasibility, planning, formation, or launch of cluster-based seed capital funds that invest in growth-oriented, innovation-based start-up companies. Ultimately, the goal is to foster job creation. 

EDA is committed to helping foster connected, innovation-centric economic sectors which support commercialization and entrepreneurship. Working with regions across the country to develop regional innovation strategies, including regional innovation clusters, is also one of the Commerce Department’s strategic goals, and a keystone of the Secretary’s commitment to building globally competitive regions.  

This effort is also in line with the Department’s “Open for Business Agenda” priority to strengthen operational excellence: providing better services, solutions, and outcomes to better serve the American people. The overwhelming response by the application’s closing date on November 3 demonstrates that communities recognize the benefits of a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem and could benefit from the kind of support offered by the Regional Innovation Strategies program. 

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Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews Addresses Entertainment Software Industry on Commerce Department Initiatives to Help American Businesses and Entrepreneurs Stay Competitive​

Submitted on December 3, 2014 - 4:58pm
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Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews Addresses Entertainment Software Industry

Earlier today, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews delivered the keynote address at “20 Years of Excitement, Innovation, Growth & Jobs,” a briefing hosted by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) as the trade association celebrates its 20th anniversary. 

The briefing, which was co-hosted by the Congressional Caucus for Competitiveness in Entertainment Technology (E-TECH Caucus), focused on trends in the video game industry, including how digital and creative economies are driving our economic future.
 
During the event on Capitol Hill, Deputy Secretary Andrews discussed Commerce Department efforts to make American businesses and entrepreneurs more competitive by giving them the tools to succeed, including supporting job-training initiatives, strengthening innovation through public-private partnerships, and unleashing more government data.
 
Deputy Secretary Andrews attributed much of the entertainment industry’s success to its commitment to training and maintaining a skilled workforce. The Department of Commerce has made skills training a department-wide priority for the first time and, in partnership with the White House and the Department of Labor, is committed to advancing job-driven training initiatives and scaling up successful models like that of the video game industry.
 
The Department of Commerce is also committed to developing public-private partnerships with the entertainment software industry. Deputy Secretary Andrews pointed to the Louisiana Digital Media Center in Baton Rouge, LA, as proof of the value of these partnerships. The center, funded in part by a grant from Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, houses Electronic Arts’ (EA) commercial video game operations, along with Louisiana State University’s Center for Computation and Technology. EA expects to employ anywhere from 400 to 600 workers at the facility in the coming years.
 
Deputy Secretary Andrews also spoke about how technology industries are using government data in creative and unexpected ways. For example, NOAA already releases 2 terabytes daily of weather and climate data, powering a multibillion dollar weather industry. As America’s Data Agency, Commerce is committed to unleashing more of that data – the remaining 17 terabytes to be exact – so that the video game and other industries can make use of the untapped potential.

NIST Awards $2.5 Million in Grants to MEP Centers for Pilot Business-to-Business Networks

Submitted on December 3, 2014 - 1:13pm
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NIST Awards $2.5 Million in Grants to MEP Centers for Pilot Business-to-Business Networks

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $2.5 million in grants to 10 Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers to pilot online regional business-to-business network projects. The networks will help match buyers and sellers of technologies or products and services in support of small and midsize manufacturers.

“The Commerce Department is committed to keeping our small and medium-size manufacturers globally competitive,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “The Manufacturing Extension Partnership grants announced today are an example of our efforts to invest in cutting-edge technologies through public-private collaboration.”

Each awardee will receive a total of $250,000 for a two-year project. The pilots are designed to be scalable and interoperable to help determine if they might be expanded into a national network or a series of regional ones. The networks are expected to include technologies available at federal laboratories and universities and, therefore, enhance the framework for collaboration between the private and public sectors through the nationwide network of MEP centers.

“One of NIST-MEP’s goals is to improve the productivity of our domestic supply chains,” said Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Acting NIST Director Willie May. “These projects will demonstrate a variety of innovative approaches to doing that by connecting small firms with larger corporations.”

The awardees and their projects are:

Oregon MEP (Portland, Ore.)
The Northwest Connectory Business-to-Business Network (NWB2B) will bring together Oregon MEP, Impact Washington (State of Washington MEP), the Pacific Northwest Defense Coalitionand partnering trade associations, manufacturers, suppliers and other public-sector organizations in a regional consortium that will develop and maintain the pilot network. The business-to-business exchange tool they create will help manufacturers scout for local customers and suppliers, solicit bids, promote and seek emerging technologies and other related activities. The NWB2B project will build upon the existing NW Connectory, an online buyer-supplier network for Pacific Northwest manufacturing and technology companies that already contains vetted, full-text searchable profiles of more than 4,700 companies located in the Northwest.

Catalyst Connection (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
The Pennsylvania Network for Open Innovation will use an open innovation business model that instills a culture of innovation in small and medium-size manufacturing enterprises, increases their speed to market with more promising innovations, and thus, accelerates their business growth. It will leverage existing strong relationships and resources during the initiative, and the model will provide a basis for nationwide replication.

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