The Obama Administration today announced the winners of the $37 million Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, a multi-agency competition launched in May to support the advancement of 20 high-growth, regional industry clusters. Investments from three federal agencies and technical assistance from 13 additional agencies will promote development in areas such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, aerospace and clean technology, in rural and urban regions in 21 states. Projects are driven by local communities that identify the economic strengths of their areas, with funding awarded to the best proposals.

These public-private partnerships are expected to create more than 4,800 jobs and 300 new businesses, as well as retain another 2,400 jobs and train approximately 4,000 workers for careers in high-growth industries, according to grantee estimates. Each of the 20 awards average about $1.8 million per project, and winning clusters will contribute another $13 million in total matching funds.

The winning projects of the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge announced today include:

• Rockford, IL: Rockford Area Aerospace Cluster
• Southeast, MI: Southeast Michigan-Advanced Energy Storage Systems Initiative
• Pittsburgh, PA: Southwestern Pennsylvania Revitalization
• Northeast, OH: Northeast Ohio Speed-to-Market Accelerator
• FL: Space Coast Clean Energy Jobs Accelerator
• Knoxville & Oak Ridge, TN: Advanced Composites Employment Accelerator
• Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Regional Water Accelerator Project
• MO and KS: KC Regional Jobs Accelerator
• GA: Atlanta Health Information Technology Cluster
• AR, MO, OK: The ARK: Acceleration, Resources, Knowledge
• St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Bioscience Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Project
• OR and WA: Portland Regional Clean Tech Advance Initiative
• San Diego, CA: San Diego-Imperial Valley Renewable Energy Generation Training and Demonstration Center
• Puget Sound, WA: Washington Interactive Media Accelerator 
• Hudson Valley, NY: New York Renewable Energy Cluster
• Finger Lakes, NY: Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative
• MT, ND, SD: Upper Missouri Tribal Environmental Risk Mitigation 
• South Central, KS: Center for Innovation and Enterprise Engagement
• Northeast, MN: Minnesota's Mining Cluster
• Northern, Maine: GreenME

The Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge is part of the Obama Administration’s Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative, an interagency, place-based effort coordinated by the White House. The following federal agencies are collaborating to support this competition: U.S. Department of Agriculture; U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, International Trade Administration, Minority Business Development Agency, and National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership; U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; U.S. Department of Labor; U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Department of Treasury; Environmental Protection Agency; National Science Foundation; and Small Business Administration.[Complete Release]