Fiscal Year 2021 University Center Economic Development Program (UC) Competition

The U.S. Economic Development Administration has published the FY 2021 University Center Economic Development Program Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity (PDF), making $7.4 million in federal funds available to accredited institutions of higher education or a consortium of accredited institutions of higher education in EDA’s Chicago and Philadelphia regions. A combined total of $2.5 million is available for the first year of awards under this competition.

The purpose of EDA’s University Center program is to enable institutions of higher education and consortia of institutions of higher education to establish and operate University Centers (UCs) specifically focused on leveraging university assets to build regional economic ecosystems that support innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship, resiliency and inclusiveness. By responding to the economic development needs of their regions, University Center programs are demand-driven by nature. University Centers collaborate with other EDA partners, such as Economic Development Districts (EDDs), by providing expertise, applied research, and technical assistance to develop, implement, and support regional strategies that result in job creation, high-skilled regional talent pools, and business expansion in a region’s innovation clusters.

EDA University Centers provide technical assistance to build regional economic ecosystems that support innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship, resiliency, and inclusiveness. EDA encourages the submission of applications that will create and nurture regional economic ecosystems through science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skill development, workforce training opportunities, applied research and development, technology commercialization, and targeted activities that cultivate entrepreneurship and improve regional economic development.