With support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), SSTI launched a Tech-Based Economic Development (TBED) Community of Practice (CoP), active from 2022 to 2026.

This initiative grew the capacity of EDA grantees to achieve greater impacts for their regional innovation economies.

SSTI’s TBED CoP work emphasized:

  • Identifying and distributing best practices in structuring, measuring and planning TBED initiatives
  • Fostering community among grantees around types of TBED activities and target audiences/technologies
  • Facilitating communication with external stakeholders, including funders, clients and partners

The TBED CoP primarily targeted grantees across all EDA funding programs—Build to Scale, Economic Adjustment Assistance, Public Works, Technical Assistance and more.

 

Subcommunities of Practice

Through the TBED CoP, SSTI supported subcommunities that focused on strategies within the field. Given the broad nature of the TBED field, we believe that fostering networks within more specific areas of practice will help achieve these goals.

The three subcommunities were: Entrepreneurship Development; Innovation Finance; and Lab-to-Market.

 

Community Events

Past Events

Recordings and slides from previous TBED Community of Practice webinars are available in SSTI's Webinar Library. 

 

Research & Tools

Key Technology Area Investment Data Tool

SSTI has released a new data tool that defines investment activity, one indicator of the vibrancy of a region’s innovation economy, in each of 18 technology areas. Comprising two interactive visuals and a downloadable data file, this tool includes three investment data points by state, year (2013-2023), and investment stage (e.g., seed, angel, venture) for technology verticals that were selected to align with many of the key technology areas defined in the CHIPS and Science Act and included in the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Tech Hubs program. 

Access the data tool.

 

State SBIR/STTR resource guide
SSTI has created a new SBIR/STTR resource guide that includes examples of state-level initiatives in four broad categories: 

  • Proposal assistance and mentorship,
  • Technical assistance and networking,
  • Financial assistance, and
  • Commercialization support

The resource guide includes a downloadable Excel file of all programs and their offerings. Additionally, there is a map to visualize which types of financial assistance are available in different states. Lastly, the guide provides examples by state of the different types of support programs available nationwide.
Access the State SBIR/STTR Resource Guide.

 

Federal Funding Video Library

To help organizations that implement TBED strategies better-understand the wide variety of programs that can fund their work, SSTI has created the Federal Funding Video Library. Find brief explainer videos on the following programs:

  • EDA STEM Talent Challenge
  • EDA Build to Scale Capital Challenge
  • EDA Build to Scale Venture Challenge
  • EDA Revolving Loan Fund
  • Appalachian Regional Commission
  • EDA Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA)
  • SBA Regional Innovation Clusters Inititative (RIC)

View the full Federal Funding Video Library. 

 

Note: The TBED Community of Practice is a project of SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations of resources on this page are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce