Last week, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) posted a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program. In doing so, the EDA has invited regional consortia across the country to apply for federal funding awards to accelerate the scale-up of their advanced industries as part of a new wave of place-based economic development.
The NOFO is the first of two for the Tech Hubs program, and launches the $500 million competition as a down payment on an authorized—but not yet fully funded—$10 billion initiative to transform the nation’s industrial geography.
Envisioned by Brookings Metro and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in 2019 and structured by last year’s CHIPS and Science Act, the Tech Hubs program represents a key part of the nation’s new push to build global economic leadership by unlocking development in new places. It shows that, at last, the nation is urgently investing in the creation of good jobs in more places.
The Brookings Institution
by Mark Muro, Joseph Parilla, and Martha Ross
Tuesday, May 16, 2023