EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) is excited to announce major developments in two of its core initiatives:
- OIE is soliciting applications for appointment to the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE) for its next term. The application period will close at 11:59pm Eastern Time on June 1, 2016.
- OIE staff will present details of and take questions about the 2016 Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO). The application period is currently open and will close at 11:59pm Eastern Time on June 24, 2016.
More details on both announcements follow.
National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE)
EDA opened the application period for NACIE’s 2016-2018 term. Applications are due by 11:59pm Eastern Time on June 1, 2016. NACIE supports Federal innovation strategy by advising the Secretary of Commerce on policies and programs that foster entrepreneurship and by identifying new ways to take ideas from the lab to the marketplace to drive economic growth and create jobs. NACIE’s efforts have spanned areas from access to capital (which helped lead to the JOBS Act) to innovation and entrepreneurship at universities (supported by 142 U.S. leading universities), from the SBIR/STTR programs to the gig economy, and beyond.
EDA encourages interested leaders and experts in innovation, entrepreneurship, and business-driven talent development to apply for appointment. Application details can be found in EDA’s Federal Register Notice.
Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program
EDA recently released its Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for the 2016 round of Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program funding. The application period is currently open and will close at 11:59pm Eastern Time on June 24, 2016.
EDA strongly encourages potential applicants to register for and attend our post-launch webinar on May 5, 2016, at 2:00pm Eastern Time. During this webinar, EDA staff will present a detailed overview of the 2016 RIS FFO and will take questions from attendees. If you are unable to attend, this webinar will be recorded and made available online.
This year, a total of $15 million in Federal funding is available to create and expand cluster-focused proof-of-concept and commercialization programs and early-stage seed capital funds through the i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support (SFS) Grant competition, respectively. Under this FFO, $13 million is available for i6 Challenge grants and $2 million is available for SFS grants.
To stay up-to-date on the latest OIE, RIS, and NACIE news, check the OIE website and sign up for EDA’s newsletter.
