After a nine-month hiatus, the Economic Development Administration has reopened its Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs with an updated Notice of Funding Opportunity. In the past, this funding has supported a variety of technology-based economic development projects, including research commercialization centers, business incubators and accelerators, revolving loan funds, workforce development initiatives, and regional strategic planning activities, as well as other infrastructure and economic development projects in economically distressed communities.  

SSTI recently examined the investment histories of 31 Venture Development Organizations (VDOs) across 20 states to quantify their impact and help to characterize how the broader technology-based economic development (TBED) community supports long-term innovation-driven economic and financial returns. Our top-level findings showed that  VDOs have invested in 4,600 companies,  VDO-backed companies employ 323,000 people and pay nearly $29 billion in annual wages,  companies supported by VDO investments have gone on to raise $25 billion, and  the median deal size for VDOs is $260,000.