Economic Development Administration (EDA) Grant: University Center Program for Regional Economic Growth (Atlanta Region)

This NOFO announces the availability of funding for EDA’s FY 2022 University Center Economic Development Program Competition. This program funds technical assistance provided by an accredited institution of higher education or a consortium of accredited institutions of higher education that is focused on one or more of the following program focus areas: advancing regional commercialization efforts, advancing high-growth entrepreneurship, cultivating innovation, encouraging business expansion in a region’s innovation cluster(s), developing a high-skilled regional workforce, and increasing the resiliency of a region. EDA solicits competitive applications from accredited institutions of higher education and from consortia of accredited institutions of higher education that are located in and have programs targeting only geographic areas served by EDA’s Atlanta and Seattle Regional Offices:

Atlanta Regional Office

Serves: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Seattle Regional Office (separate posting and application package for applicants applying from within the Seattle Regional Office)

Serves: Alaska, Arizona, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Republic of Palau, and Washington

The purpose of EDA’s University Center Economic Development Program (also referred to in this announcement as the University Center program) is to enable institutions of higher education and consortia of institutions of higher education to establish and operate University Centers specifically focused on using university assets to build regional economic ecosystems that support innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship, resiliency and inclusiveness. University Centers collaborate with other EDA partners, such as Economic Development Districts (EDDs) by providing expertise and technical assistance to develop, implement, and  support regional strategies that result in quality job creation[1], high-skilled regional talent pools, and business expansion in a region’s innovation clusters.[2] Expertise and technical assistance may address, for example, workforce training programs, applied research centers, technology commercialization, feasibility studies, market research, economic impact analyses training, and other technical assistance to help communities foster vibrant economic ecosystems.

Although not required, EDA encourages efforts to reach historically underserved populations and areas, communities of color, women, and other groups facing labor market barriers such as persons with disabilities, disconnected youth, individuals in recovery, individuals with past criminal records, including justice-impacted and reentry participants, individuals participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and veterans and military spouses.

[1] A “quality job” is defined as a job that exceeds the local prevailing wage for an industry in the region, includes basic benefits (e.g., paid leave, health insurance, retirement/savings plan),and/or is unionized, and helps the employee develop the skills and experiences necessary to advance along a career path. “Prevailing wage” is defined by the Department of Labor as “the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the area of intended employment.”

[2] For purposes of this NOFO, EDA defines clusters as geographic concentrations of firms, workers, and industries that do business with each other and have common needs for talent, technology, and infrastructure. Clusters are essentially networks of similar, synergistic, or complementary entities that are engaged in or with a particular industry sector; have active channels for business transactions and communication; share specialized infrastructure, labor markets, and services; and leverage the region’s unique competitive strengths to stimulate innovation and create jobs. Clusters may cross municipal, county, and other jurisdictional boundaries.