Current News

I6 Challenge announces winners for the third round of funding.  Winning projects are in California, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Virginia and Wisconsin- each receiving $1M to fund Proof of Concept Centers at universities and research consortiums that will create networks of experts to support innovator and researchers, expand access to capital, and connect mentors and advisors to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

EDA and USDA Rural Jobs and Accelerator Challenge. Announcing the 13 award winners of the $15M multi-agency competition to spur job creation and economic growth in distressed rural communities.  Funded by EDA, USDA, the Appalachian  Regional Commission (ARC) and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA).  11 other federal agencies will provide support.  

Employment Training Administration encourages state and local workforce investment areas to implement the American Job Center brand in accordance with state plans in order to establish a unifying name and brand for jobseekers and employers.

Energy Innovation Hub.  Department of Energy announced a new $120 million five-year multidisciplinary effort in energy solutions aimed at having a reliable source of rate earths and other critical materials as well as alternatives.  This is the fifth Energy Innovation Hub.  Institutions of higher education,  nonprofits organizations and private firms are eligible to apply and are encouraged to form partnerships with regional entities.  Concepts papers are due to DOE by June 29 2012.

Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge.  This $26M multi-agency competition is a partnership among the EDA, NIST MEP, DOE, SBA and DOL's ETA with follow-on funding from the NSF.  This initiative will assist the development and implementation of regionally-driven economic development strategies that support advanced manufacturing and clusters.  In addition to the six agencies, the initiative will leverage technical assistance from up to eight other Federal agencies.  Proposals are due on July 11, 2012.  

Moving America's Small Business & Entrepreneurs Forward.  This White House report is a comprehensive look at what investments the Obama Administration has made to keep small businesses moving forward.

Commerce and Transportation Departments Forge Partnership to Boost Domestic Manufacturing Across America  U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank today announced a partnership to encourage the creation of domestic manufacturing jobs and opportunities for U.S. suppliers through transportation investments.

The President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness releases their 2011 Year End Report, Roadmap to Renewal.  The report's recommendations include the following; Invest in Our Future through initiatives in Education and Innovation, Build on Our Strengths through Energy policy and Manufacturing, and Play to Win with Regulatory and Tax adjustments.

The Council on Competitiveness releases Make: An American Manufacturing Movement.  The report puts forth a strategy detailing five critical challenges and offering solutions to address them; support innovation from start-up to scale up, expand exports and reduce the trade deficit, harness American Talent, achieve productivity though Smart Innovation and Manufacturing, and create advantages through Supply Networks and Advanced Logistics.

Commerce Department releases COMPETES Report: A Roadmap for Strengthening U. S. Competitiveness.  The report addresses such topics as tax policy, trade policy, the health of the manufacturing sector, I.P. regimes, STEM education, export promotion, and others.

Revving Up American's Innovation Engine.  Susan Hockfield, co-chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership speaks about how to improve American's Innovation Economy.

Heidi Sheppard
heidi.sheppard@nist.gov
(301) 975-6975

INEAP: The Interagency Network of Enterprise Assistance Providers

A network of people whose mission is to assist small businesses through collaborations and partnerships that enable more effective service delivery and implementation.

INEAP Blog Post- Read the first blog posting about INEAP!

October INEAP meeting: Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment

October 17, 2012, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Clara Asmail, NIST MEP, presents Funding Growth Projects, Capital Access for Small and Medium Sized Manufacturing Companies.

The E3: Economy, Energy and Environment is a collaborative initiative among five federal agencies; Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, Small Business Administration, Department of Labor.

Resources

The US Census Bureau and SBA developed Go Global - Export 101, which is designed for companies and individuals new to exporting or looking to expand exporting capabilities.

The State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) program is an initiative that awards funds to states to help increase exporting by small businesses.

Export Import Bank has several programs to help small and medium sized enterprises to compete internationally, including loans, guarantees and insurance.

OECD Sustainable Manufacturing Metrics Toolkit and 101 Module This presentation describes how the Toolkit and 101 Module can assist manufacturers in their drive to implement sustainable practices.

STATSAmerica  StatsAmerica is an on-line source of information on the demographic and workforce data for any of the 50 states, population, housing, income, and labor force data for any of the United States' 3,141 counties, and a tool which allows you to compare up to four areas (choose among the United States, states, metros, micros, divisions, custom regions) across the nation. 

Cluster Mapping Tool  A tool that can assist innovators and small business in creating jobs and spurring regional economic growth.  The tool provides cluster initiatives and other economic development organizations an opportunity to register in a national database. The registry allows initiatives to showcase their activities and events to a wider public, search for appropriate partners across the nation, and learn from best practice examples of their peers. The site also provides free access to a rich database on the profile and performance of clusters and regional economies.

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms  Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAA), a federal program, provides financial assistance to manufacturers affected by import competition. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, this cost sharing federal assistance program pays for half the cost of consultants or industry-specific experts for projects that improve a manufacturer's competitiveness.

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SelectUSA, Business Investment in the U.S.  Presentation by Tazeem Pasha, Manager, Global Business Attraction, SelectUSA, at the July 2012 meeting.

Supplier Relationship Management, Federal Acquisition Service.  Presentation by Emile Monette, GSA at the July 2012 meeting.  This is a draft scorecard being developed for us in GSA's Alliant IT services contract.  The types of metrics and measures are being considered for other programs, contracts and market segments.  Please send your comments on this to Emile Monette.

GSA's Green Proving Ground Program - discussed at the July 2012 meeting.

Department of Energy, EERE, Office of Strategic Programs, presentation by JoAnn Milliken at the June 2012 meeting.

SBIR TT: A New Approach to Partnering, presentation by Clara Asmail, NIST MEP at the June 2012 meeting.

Department of Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, presentation by Leo Christodoulou at the June 2012 meeting.

ExporTech, An Export Acceleration System for Achieving Profitable Growth for Manufacturing Companies.

Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee, presentation by John Larsen at the May 2012 meeting.

Federal Trade Administration's Tariff Tool.  New online tool that highlights and simplifies tariff benefits of Free Trade Agreements for American Businesses.

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms, presentation by Bill Bujalos, of the Mid-Atlantic Trade Adjustment and Assistance Center at the May 2012 meeting.

MBDA Export Activity. A two page document describing the Activity of Minority-Owned Firms in Exporting.

Metrics Presentation, Presented by the American University Kogod School of Business MBA students: Ralph Kirkpatrick, Anthony Frazier, Adrian Montgomery, Raashi Binjrajka, Lee Brindle and Andres Bu Soto at the April 2012 meeting. 

Supporting Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses, Presented by Christy McFarland at the INEAP April 2012 meeting. The National League of Cities (NLC) conducted a multi-year effort to better understand how local governments can support growth in small businesses, startups and entrepreneurs, building off of research and identification of innovative local practices.  This document builds on research conducted by NLC and the insights of experts, city leaders, and practitioners from across the country.

Funding Growth Projects, Clara Asmail and Doug Devereaux presented information on capital access for manufacturing companies at the INEAP April 2012 meeting.

US Patent and Trademark Office Intellectual Property Assessment Tool.  Demonstrated by John Calvert at the INEAP March 2012 meeting.  This is a web-based tool designed to asses IP knowledge and to provide personalized training resources for small and medium sized enterprises and inventors.

General Services Administration Programs, Jiyoung Park's presentation at the INEAP February 2012 meeting.

NASA's Green Engineering Initiative, Ted Biess's presentation at the INEAP January 2012 meeting.

Florida's Space Coast Clusters and Colorado's ACE Regional Innovation Cluster, Linda Fowler's presentation at the INEAP January 2012 meeting.

Virtual Incubation Network Initiative, Charles Stewart Mott and AACC.  The Virtual Incubation Network effort encourages the creation of more start-up businesses through virtual business incubation services and supports by community colleges and their partners.

Presentation by the Optimal Solutions Group, LLC

Presentation by Charles Tansey, Small Business Programs, Ex-Im Bank