The Department of Energy today drew upon the recommendations of an Obama administration-wide effort to boost regional economic development, announcing that DOE would team up with six other federal agencies to
create an energy-related regional
innovation cluster dedicated to developing and commercializing new
building efficiency technologies. The other agencies joining the effort
are the Small Business Administration, the National Science Foundation,
the Departments of Labor and Education, and the Department of Commerce’s
Economic Development Administration and Manufacturing Extension
Partnership.
The key feature of the proposal unveiled today is that these seven
federal agencies will seek bids from regional
economies around the country, requiring a “bottom up” self-organizing
effort by states and localities, universities and federal research labs,
workforce development agencies and the private sector. This was one of
the key recommendations in our paper, “The
Geography of Innovation,” and is widely regarded among economic
development experts and innovation gurus as the best way to build
regional innovation clusters in the United States. Capitalizing on our
country’s unique regional science and technology strengths,
entrepreneurial flair and strong work ethic, targeted federal funds will
help these regional clusters self organize and compete on a global
scale.
To read the full, original article click on this link: DOE Leads Federal Funding for a Regional Innovation Cluster
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