Sec. 7. Regional innovation program
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Section 27 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3722 ) is amended to read as follows: In this section: The term eligible recipient means— a State; an Indian tribe; a city or other political subdivision of a State; an entity that is a nonprofit organization, an institution of higher education, a public-private partnership, a science or research park, a Federal laboratory, a venture development organization (as defined in section 6(a) of the Startup Act ), or an economic development organization or similar entity that is focused primarily on improving science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship; or a consortium of any of the entities described in subparagraphs
(A)through (D). The term regional innovation initiative means a public or nonprofit activity or program implemented in a specific geographic area to address issues of greatest need in the local innovation systems— to increase the success of innovation-driven startups; to strengthen the competitiveness of existing businesses through new product innovation; to improve the pace of market readiness and overall commercialization of innovation; and to enhance the overall innovation capacity and long-term resilience of the region. The term State means one of the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States. The Secretary shall establish a regional innovation program to encourage and support the development of State and local initiatives designed to increase innovation-driven economic opportunity within their respective regions. As part of the program established under subsection (b), the Secretary may award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible recipients for activities designed to strengthen the competitiveness of new and existing innovation-driven businesses within the geographic regions identified by eligible recipients before receiving a grant under this subsection. Grants awarded under this subsection may be used for activities determined appropriate by the Secretary that strive to achieve 3 or more of the following outcomes: Increasing the availability and investment of private and philanthropic financing that supports innovation-based business ventures within geographic regions and populations that have historically received less venture capital than the average per capita amount of venture capital received by businesses throughout the United States during the previous 3 years, as determined by the Secretary. Completing the research, development and introduction of new products, processes, and services into the commercial market by United States companies, as measured by increased revenues, increased sales, greater market share, reduce costs, increased market value, or overall profitability increase, as reported by the participating companies to the Secretary. Increasing the number of full-time equivalent employment opportunities within innovation-based business ventures in the geographic region that pay wages that are higher than the median for the geographic region. Using innovation, technology, and innovation-based business ventures to help the public and nonprofit sectors— to reduce costs associated with carrying out their missions and services; or to achieve other quantifiable efficiencies, savings, or reductions in carrying out their operations and service delivery. Achieving quantifiable, positive benefits to, or measurable enhancements for, the economic performance of the geographic region or the population within the region identified by the regional innovation program grant recipient through increased collaboration, productive partnerships, and strengthened network relationships (internal and external to the region) that support the regional innovation system. Grants awarded under this subsection may not be used to pay for— costs related to the construction, expansion, demolition, renovation, or installation of physical assets; costs related to the recruitment, inducement, or associated financial or tangible incentives that might be offered to relocate an existing business from a geographic area to another geographic area; or costs associated with offsetting revenues forgone by one or more taxing authorities through tax incentives, tax increment financing, special improvement districts, tax abatements for private development within designated zones or geographic areas, or other reduction in revenues resulting from tax credits affecting the geographic region of the eligible recipients. An eligible recipient shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require. Each application submitted under subparagraph
(A)shall include a description of the regional innovation initiative supported by the proposed activity, including— whether the regional innovation initiative is supported by the private sector, State and local governments, and other relevant stakeholders; which 3 or more of the outcomes described in paragraph
(2)will the regional innovation initiative address by implementing the activities described in the application; what activities the regional innovation initiative will undertake and how those activities will achieve the outcomes described in paragraph (2); how the eligible recipient will measure progress toward, and attainment of, the outcomes addressed by the regional innovation initiative; whether the participants in the regional innovation initiative have access to, or contribute to, a well-trained workforce and other innovation assets that are critical to the successful outcomes specified in the application; whether the participants in the regional innovation initiative are capable of attracting additional funds from non-Federal sources; and if appropriate for the activities proposed in the application, the likelihood that the participants in the regional innovation initiative will be able to sustain activities after grant funds received under this subsection have been expended. The Secretary shall provide feedback to program applicants that are not awarded grants to help them improve future applications. The Secretary shall give special consideration to— applications proposing to include workforce or training related activities in their regional innovation initiative from eligible recipients who agree to collaborate with local workforce investment area boards; and applications from regions that contain communities negatively impacted by trade. The Secretary may not provide more than 50 percent of the total cost of any activity funded under this subsection. The Secretary shall conduct outreach to public and private sector entities in rural communities to encourage those entities to participate in regional innovation initiatives under this subsection. The Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies to support grants and activities under this subsection. As part of the program established under subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish a regional innovation research and information program— to gather, analyze, and disseminate information on best practices for regional innovation initiatives, including information relating to how innovation, productivity, and economic development can be maximized through such strategies; to provide technical assistance, including through the development of technical assistance guides, for the development and implementation of regional innovation initiatives; to support the development of relevant metrics and measurement standards to evaluate regional innovation initiatives, including the extent to which such strategies stimulate innovation, productivity, and economic development; and to collect and make available data on regional innovation initiatives in the United States, including data on— the size, specialization, and competitiveness of regional innovation initiatives; the regional domestic product contribution, total jobs and earnings by key occupations, establishment size, nature of specialization, patents, Federal research and development spending, and other relevant information for regional innovation initiatives; and supply chain product and service flows within and between regional innovation initiatives. The Secretary may award research grants on a competitive basis to support and further the goals of the program established under this section. Data and analysis compiled by the Secretary under the program established in this subsection shall be made available to other Federal agencies, State and local governments, and nonprofit and for-profit entities. The Secretary shall incorporate data and analysis relating to any grant awarded under subsection
(c)into the program established under this subsection. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that the activities carried out under this section are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, other programs at the Department of Commerce or at other Federal agencies. The Secretary shall explore and pursue collaboration with other Federal agencies, including through multiagency funding opportunities, on regional innovation strategies. The Secretary shall ensure that such collaboration with Federal agencies prioritizes the needs and challenges of small businesses. Not later than 5 years after Congress appropriates funds to carry out this section, the Secretary shall competitively award a contract with an independent entity to conduct an evaluation of programs established under this section. The evaluation conducted under paragraph
(1)shall include— an assessment of whether the program is achieving its goals; the program’s efficacy in providing awards to geographically diverse entities; any recommendations for how the program may be improved; and a recommendation as to whether the program should be continued or terminated. Not later than 1 year after the first grant is awarded under subsection
(c)and annually thereafter until 5 years after the last grant recipient completes the regional innovation initiative for which such grant was awarded, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that describes the outcome of each regional innovation initiative that was completed during the previous 5 years. From amounts appropriated by Congress for economic development assistance programs, the Secretary may use up to $100,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this section. .
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Sec. 7
Regional innovation program
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