RIS awardees plan to bring products to market

In the most recent round of Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) funding, 42 organizations from 28 states were awarded $17 million to support the creation and expansion of tech transformation networks (i6 Challenge) and early-stage seed capital funds (the Seed Fund Support). In total, EDA’s awards leveraged over $22 million in private, state and local matching funds. Eight of those winners are members of SSTI and we heard from several of them on what this award will mean for their organization.  SSTI’s Innovation Advocacy Council has been instrumental in supporting the program, working with members of Congress to ensure its continued success.

Oregon BEST funds and supports innovative cleantech startups across Oregon, working as an economic development catalyst, connecting startups with state and federal resources while preparing them for follow-on investment through a series of focused programs. They received a $499,972 award. David Kenney, president and executive director, said the funding will enable Oregon BEST to support those tech entrepreneurs who are developing products that are critical to solving environmental challenges, but are difficult and expensive to bring to market.

"In this project, we'll be expanding the content of our accelerator curriculum to include product manufacturing, an important topic for many of the companies we support, and we will also be replicating our successful Oregon proof-of-concept project model in Washington state," Kenney said.

UI LABS was awarded $500,000 for its City Digital program, a public-private partnership that uses Chicago as a testbed for data-driven technology improvements to enhance residents’ quality of life and the city’s efficiency. The grant will accelerate regional innovators’ development of commercial solutions for global urban markets. City Digital Executive Director Brenna Berman said the funding will fast-track their ability to deliver commercial solutions to urban markets. “The i6 Challenge award will support our innovation delivery engine, which brings together diverse stakeholders in the Chicago region to solve critical challenges with transformative technology,” she said in prepared statement.

Another RIS awardee, BioGenerator – the investment arm of SSTI member BioSTL – was awarded $300,000. “We are very pleased to receive a grant from the EDA’s Regional Innovation Strategies program and appreciate the federal government’s confidence in our ability to create new opportunities and jobs for St. Louisans,” said Eric Gulve, president of BioGenerator. “This funding will allow us to capitalize on our retooled investment strategy that quickly scales companies to attract downstream investors, while also building new companies with a faster timeline to sales of commercial products or services.”

Ben Johnson, vice president of programs at BioSTL was named the new chair of the IAC this month and has been involved with its work for several years. Gulve recognized the importance of continuing to work to ensure programs supporting innovation are supported at the federal level.

“The work of the Innovation Advocacy Council, SSTI and partners across the country has helped sustain and grow the valuable RIS program, which is generating economic impact through innovation in urban and rural communities across the nation,” Gulve said.