Regional Innovation Strategies: From Idaho to Puerto Rico, EDA awards over $16m to support local capacity for high-tech innovation and job creation
December 4, 2018
EDA’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is adding 24 exciting new i6 Challenge projects to its Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program portfolio. Together with 16 new Seed Fund Support awards, EDA is catalyzing a new cohort of capacity-building projects in its diverse RIS portfolio, which has already created over 8,200 jobs and $1 billion in follow-on capital during the program’s first four years of operation.
The 2018 RIS Notice of Funding Opportunity brought in 160 i6 Challenge applications from across the nation. EDA designed the i6 Challenge to increase productivity and accelerate growth through entrepreneurship that translates innovations, ideas, intellectual property, and applied research into new businesses, accelerated paths to export, increased foreign direct investment, and new jobs.
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October 5th kicked off Manufacturing Month with Manufacturing Day, a day to recognize the progress the U.S. has made on its growing manufacturing revival. The Trump Administration is celebrating this month by focusing on leveling the playing field and encouraging innovative opportunities to create more jobs across the country. According to an 
When Hartford, Connecticut’s Swift Factory closed its doors in 2005, the city lost a large business anchor. M. Swift & Sons, a leading source of gold leafing for state capitol buildings and historic landmarks across the country, was housed in the Swift Factory for 120 years. It employed many citizens in Hartford’s struggling north end neighborhood. In 2017, EDA awarded $2.8 million to non-profit company Community Solutions, Inc to revitalize the vacant industrial building.
Founded in 1936 and currently the only deep-water port located on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Port of Brownsville handles a wide variety of cargo including steel products, liquid, break bulk, and dry bulk commodities. With the facilities and knowledge to handle international cargo, the port facilitates efficient movement of goods between the United States and Mexico. This enables the promotion of international and retail trade, tourism, and manufacturing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
This month, we mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria that devastated parts of Texas, the Southeast U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the past year, EDA’s regional offices have been working closely with Economic Development Districts (EDDs), federal, state and local officials and other partners in areas impacted by the hurricanes to assist with economic recovery and growth. Supporting local efforts to boost businesses is a major priority for EDA, and we are proud to assist our nation in building back better and stronger.
Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas as a Category 4 storm on August 25, 2017. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has stated that Harvey was “the most significant tropical cyclone rainfall event” in U.S. history with up to 48-60 inches of rain over five days. 300,000 structures were flooded, the storm surge crested at over seven feet, and winds in excess of 130 mph caused significant damage. Current estimates place the total damage from Hurricane Harvey at $125 billion, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. The Presidential Disaster Declaration included 41 counties for individual assistance and 53 counties for public assistance.
One year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, much is still being done to rebuild and revitalize the communities that suffered from the storms. With more resources and unwavering commitment to helping rebuild after these natural disasters, EDA’s focus on the area is as strong as ever.