EDA Know Your Region Blog
Regional Strategies. Innovation. Results.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and International Trade Administration’s (ITA) Commercial Service have announced a U.S. Clean Technology Trade & Investment Mission from November 29 – December 4, 2010, to begin in Lyon, France at Pollutec, a tradeshow that features the world’s leading international exhibit for the environment and sustainable development markets. The trip will conclude in Brussels, Belgium where U.S. companies and communities will participate in a U.S. Embassy reception, NATO cleantech roundtable, and other networking opportunities.

The mission will bring together a mix of U.S. community delegates and businesses within their regions to catalyze the process of connecting U.S. communities with opportunities to increase exports and attract foreign direct investment (FDI), with a particular emphasis on advancing the green economy and creating jobs in the United States.  Community delegates and business leaders are encouraged to apply at http://export.gov/cleantechmission/.

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Major U.S. Economic Development Administration Grants Advance Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Create Jobs in Auto Impacted Communities

By John Fernandez, EDA Assistant Secretary

EDA Assistant Secretary John Fernandez

President Obama has begun to lay the groundwork for an economic climate where innovation can flourish and over the last year and a half, a new foundation for sustainable growth is emerging. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is doing its part by promoting recovery and creating sustainable, economically-robust communities. We strive to create new opportunities and leave adversely impacted communities better off than they were before.

For instance, in June 2008, GM announced plans to close its Moraine, Ohio assembly plant, eliminating 5,000 direct jobs and thousands more indirectly. Within two weeks of GM’s announcement, EDA’s Chicago staff began working with state and local officials to develop a strategic response to the plant closure to provide technical assistance and capital.

Recently, EDA announced three major grants to support innovative entrepreneurship and national and global investment in communities that have been severely impacted by the downturn of the automotive sector.

Our $5.9 million investment in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will administer the Auto Adjustment Entrepreneurial Support Initiative to provide comprehensive entrepreneurial support to businesses in six regions in Southeastern Wisconsin and North-Central Illinois.

The initiative is part of a larger regional collaboration that will provide comprehensive entrepreneurial support at every stage of business development through the sharing of resources, facilities, curriculum, training, and collective expertise.  The components of the proposed services include technical assistance, global resource development, market diversification, marketing and technology valuation, business retention programs, facilitation of foreign investments, capital needs assessment, interactive GIS mapping of business resources, rapid prototyping, and clean energy curriculum.

To promote innovation and small business development in the auto-impacted cities of Akron, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gary, Ind.; St. Paul, Minn.; and Duluth, Minn., EDA has invested $1.5 million in JumpStart, Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio to develop regional entrepreneurship action plans (REAP) and training and assistance programs for entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses.  The project will spur collaboration and help the communities maximize the utilization of local resources to boost job growth through increased innovation and entrepreneurship.

This grant will help JumpStart replicate its proven approach, which has seen success in Cleveland and throughout northeastern Ohio, to significantly bolster innovation and regional collaboration efforts in the six cities. JumpStart will examine entrepreneurial eco-systems and create REAP programs in these communities that have been affected by the restructuring of the American automotive industry.  Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, respectively, have the first-, second-, and fourth-highest number of automotive manufacturers in the United States.

JumpStart will work to increase access to capital in each region and conduct educational events for entrepreneurs. The events will provide training and information, short- and long-term critical analysis and mentorship, and will connect entrepreneurs and investors.

And to further encourage collaboration in auto-dependent communities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, EDA has provided a $200,000 grant to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) of Ann Arbor, Michigan to execute a conference that will explore ways to help them attract national and global investment.

This kind of collaboration is critical to helping auto-impacted communities remain competitive.  The conference will advance the public-private partnerships that are critical to helping these communities grow their economies and create jobs.

The conference is a follow-on event to the summit CAR held in April 2009.  Details of the 2010 conference will be made available in the near future on the CAR Web site: (http://www.cargroup.org/carhome.asp).

These EDA investments are part of a concerted and coordinated strategy by the Obama Administration to engage multiple federal agencies in support of auto communities, suppliers and workers in transition.

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