The Economic Development Administration (EDA) wants public feedback on its plans to promote innovation and global competitiveness in the U.S. technology sectors by creating regional Tech Hubs, the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) announced recently.
The EDA is investing $500 million appropriated by Congress for the program to "build and evolve innovation centers in key U.S. regions; accelerate regions’ evolution into a global leader in an industry of the future; and strengthen U.S. global competitiveness within critical technologies," the DOC states in the Feb. 14 announcement. The Tech Hubs Request for Information (RFI), published in the Federal Register at that time, asks for public input on the program's design, structure and evaluation, according to the announcement.
“It’s critically important to ensure that industries of the future start, grow and remain in the U.S.," Alejandra Castillo, assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, said in the announcement.
Castillo called Tech Hubs "another critical tool in EDA’s economic development toolkit," saying in the release that the EDA "look(s) forward to hearing from stakeholders on the ground and in communities about how we can best design this program to maximize the taxpayers’ investment in our nation’s future.”
The EDA is seeking comment on several components of the Tech Hubs program, including designing the program to support a region's progression into a worldwide industry leader that strengthens its and the country's economic and national security; creating guidelines to assess the success of Tech Hubs; developing a selection process for Tech Hubs that is accessible, competitive, inclusive and supports both innovation and geographic diversity; and how to structure designations and grants to "maximize the desired impacts of the Tech Hubs program."
“With the Tech Hubs program, we can better ensure America remains at the leading edge of developing and delivering critical, emerging technologies," DOC Sec. Gina Raimonda said in the announcement. "This also means we can ensure more Americans have the tools they need to get into the high-paying, quality jobs of the future.
"This is imperative not just for our economic security, but for our national security,” Raimondo said.
