Jobs & Innovation Accelerator Challenge

“This cluster concept is so important… When you get a group of people together, and industries together, and institutions like universities together around particular industries, then the synergies that develop from all those different facets coming together can make the whole the greater than the sum of its parts.” -President Barack Obama, Cleveland State University Winning the Future Forum; February 22, 20ll

• Federal Register Notice (PDF)
• FAQ
• Federal Funding Opportunity Notice: Expected in May 2011
• Additional Resources & Materials
• Contact Us

The Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge is an initiative of 16 federal agencies and bureaus to accelerate innovation-fueled job creation and economic prosperity through public private partnerships.
Understanding that jobs are created in America’s regions, the Obama Administration is committed to smarter use of existing federal resources to support regional innovation and sustainable economic prosperity.
The Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge offers a combination of funding from three agencies and bureaus and technical assistance resources from 13 additional agencies and bureaus to support customized solutions for approximately 20 competitively selected industry clusters in urban and rural regions across the nation and across all sectors. Each Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge investment will serve as a catalyst for leveraging private capital in the regions from an array of sources such as foundations, financial institutions, corporations and other private sector partners.
Subject to funding availability, total proposed funding for the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge is approximately $33 million in direct federal support from funding agencies.