§19108 Regional Innovation Engines

Summary

The Director must give money to eligible groups to plan, start, and run Regional Innovation Engines. These Engines must boost hands-on research and tech development in key areas, tackle regional or national problems, work with partners from business, nonprofits, and government, and help train people in science, engineering, and entrepreneurship. Grant money can pay for applied research, helping turn discoveries into products, building or sharing test beds and labs (including computers and fabrication tools), funding graduate traineeships, doing outreach to include more people, and covering equipment, patenting, and operation costs as the Director allows. Awards run for an initial 5 years and a successful Engine can apply for another 5 years after review. An eligible entity is a college or university, a nonprofit, a private company, or a consortium of these. Applicants must partner with at least one of: a historically Black college or university, a Tribal college, a minority-serving institution, an EPSCoR institution, an emerging research institution, or a community college. They may also include other partners like industry, national or Federal labs, state or local governments, labor groups, or international partners. Proposals must show a lasting, shared partnership with governance, non-Federal funding, and plans for handling intellectual property. When choosing winners, the Director will weigh scientific merit plus the plan’s ability to create local jobs and ecosystems, work across many types of partners, broaden participation of underrepresented groups, and protect research, data, and technology from misuse. Reviews must be competitive and use diverse expert reviewers, avoid needless overlap with other Federal efforts, and may include coordination with other Federal agencies. Recipients must list existing resources and include partner commitment letters.