Regional Innovation Strategies Program

Regional Innovation Strategies Program
Name	Regional Innovation Strategies Program
Established	2014
Country	United States

Regional Innovation Strategies Program

The Regional Innovation Strategies Program is a federal initiative that connects Economic Development Administration policy with regional innovation ecosystems such as Silicon Valley, Route 128 (Massachusetts), Research Triangle Park, Pittsburgh Technology Center and Boston clusters. It channels competitive awards to intermediaries including universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley as well as nonprofit intermediaries such as Brookings Institution, Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, and Kauffman Foundation. The program aligns with legislative frameworks such as the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 and interacts with federal agencies like the Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy.

Overview

The program was established to catalyze innovation in lagging and emerging hubs such as Rust Belt, Appalachia, Delta Regional Authority, Great Plains, and Native American communities while drawing on models from Small Business Innovation Research Program, Economic Development Administration, and regional initiatives like Next Generation Manufacturing and Barry Leiterman. It emphasizes partnerships among institutions such as community colleges, land-grant universities, community development financial institutions, and networks like Techstars, Y Combinator, MassChallenge and regional accelerators in Austin, Texas, Seattle, Detroit, Cleveland, and Denver. The program’s structure reflects precedents set by EDA Research and National Technical Assistance grants and coordination with state entities like California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

Program Objectives and Funding

Objectives include strengthening commercialization pipelines seen in Bayh–Dole Act outcomes, increasing scale-up capacity similar to Catalyst Fund efforts, and expanding inclusive entrepreneurship exemplified by initiatives in Oakland, Harlem, and South Bronx. Funding mechanisms mirror competitive solicitations used by National Institutes of Health, Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and federal programs such as Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership. Grant recipients have included consortia led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, and nonprofit partners like Communities Foundation of Texas. Award amounts vary and often leverage matching funds from state governments, Foundation Center donors, private equity firms, venture capital partners like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and regional angel networks.

Eligibility and Application Process

Eligible applicants encompass entities like economic development districts, research universities, tribal governments, municipalities such as City of Baltimore and City of Cleveland, and nonprofit intermediaries including Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Enterprise Community Partners. The application process follows federal competitive grant norms used by National Endowment for the Arts and Institute of Museum and Library Services, requiring technical proposals, letters of support from partners such as state governors and chambers of commerce, and budget narratives aligned with Federal Acquisition Regulation. Evaluation panels often include experts from venture capital, technology transfer offices at Johns Hopkins University and University of Michigan, and representatives from regional development organizations.

Types of Supported Projects

Supported projects include proof-of-concept centers modeled on QB3, startup accelerators akin to Techstars, manufacturing scale-up facilities similar to Advanced Manufacturing Partnership pilots, and talent pipeline programs inspired by Year Up and Job Corps. Other awards fund technology transfer offices at institutions like Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania, incubator networks in cities such as Milwaukee and St. Louis, and region-wide strategies tied to initiatives like Manufacturing USA institutes and National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. Projects also target sectors prominent in Pittsburgh (advanced manufacturing), Raleigh (biotechnology), Houston (energy technologies), and Minneapolis–Saint Paul (medical devices).

Implementation and Governance

Implementation is overseen by the Economic Development Administration within the Department of Commerce, coordinated with advisory panels drawing on expertise from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, National Governors Association, and major research centers like Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Governance structures often establish steering committees with representatives from partner institutions such as State University of New York campuses, Regional Technology Councils, and chambers of commerce, and include performance metrics consonant with standards used by Office of Management and Budget program evaluations.

Outcomes and Impact Evaluation

Evaluations measure milestones similar to metrics used by National Science Foundation innovation programs: startup formation rates like those in Silicon Alley, follow-on financing reminiscent of Series A trajectories, job creation comparisons to regions such as Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, and patenting activity paralleling trends at California Institute of Technology and University of Washington. Independent assessments have involved research from Brookings Institution, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and case studies of regions such as Madison, Wisconsin and Boulder, Colorado. Longitudinal analyses use data from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Criticism and Challenges

Critiques reference outcomes observed in programs like Opportunity Zones and discuss issues raised by scholars at Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, and think tanks like Urban Institute and Cato Institute: uneven geographic allocation favoring established hubs like Boston and San Francisco, limited absorption capacity in places such as rural Appalachia and Native American reservations, and administrative burdens similar to those documented for Economic Development Administration grants. Challenges include measuring long-term additionality akin to debates around Research Evaluation Framework, aligning with state strategies from Economic Development Agencies (state) and ensuring equitable access for historically excluded entrepreneurs from Black Business Associations, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Women's Business Enterprise National Council.

Category:United States federal economic development programs