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On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the designation of 12 new communities as part of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. This second round of manufacturing communities was selected by an interagency panel to receive targeted support from 11 different federal agencies and programs. The IMCP initiative is intended to accelerate U.S. manufacturing by investing in partnerships and long-term economic development strategies in key regions. More than $1 billion in federal assistance will be available to the 12 designated communities.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) released a notice of intent to issue two future Federal Funding Opportunities (FFOs) in 2016 for the recompetition of state MEP centers in 22 states. Each state MEP center provides manufacturing extension services to primarily small- and medium-sized manufacturers in their respective state.

Through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, an effort among multiple federal agencies led by the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), up to $35.5 million in funding is now available to provide investments in communities and workers negatively impacted by changes in the coal industry a

Two private venture firms have committed to raising a total of $125 million to invest in rural, early stage startups under the Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Investment Program. The program was launched last April, when Advantage Capital Partners launched the first $150 million Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) fund.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a new round of funding for the Innovation Corps Sites (I-Corps Sites) Program. NSF will commit up to $1.5 million to establish up to 15 new I-Corps Sites at institutions of higher education. Applications are due June 27.

As a component of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Skills for Business initiative, The Communities That Work Partnership is a new joint project aimed at accelerating industry-led workforce development and training efforts.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules to update and expand Regulation A, an existing exemption from registration for smaller issuers of securities.  The new Regulation A+ will enable smaller companies to offer and sell up to $50 million of securities in a 12-month period, subject to eligibility, disclosure and reporting requirements. Under Regulation A+, there are two tiers of offerings that companies may make that include:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has release a solicitation (NSF 15-562) seeking public and private partners for four new Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs. The hubs would build on the Obama administration's National Big Data Research and Development Initiative by creating a nationwide network of local stakeholders invested in overcoming technology barriers to large-scale data processing and interpretation.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) issued a Federal Funding Opportunity for nonprofit organizations to operate state MEP centers in 12 states – Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The objective of the MEP Center program is to provide business and technical services to small- and medium-sized manufacturers within the state of operation.

This week, the White House released details on its ninth planned institute within the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The Department of Defense will award $75 million for a new manufacturing hub focused on Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles. Regional manufacturers, universities and nonprofits will soon be invited to compete for the funds, which require a 1:1 cost share. The institute will be the sixth funded through the Defense Department. Three others have received support through the Department of Energy.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Energy (DOE) far outpace their peer agencies in patenting output per dollar, according to a new study by Battelle's Technology Partnership Practice. Research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the focus of the study, generated one patent for every $16.9 million invested by the federal government between 2000-2013.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology-Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST-MEP) announced the award of 10 new five-year cooperative agreements to manage Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers. In an open competition, the existing MEP centers in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, were selected to receive a total of $26 million in funding – an increase of about $10 million (nearly 60 percent). In addition to the additional federal funding:

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to classify broadband as a public utility. Once rules have been put in place this summer, providers will no longer be able to selectively block access to legal content, throttle access based on content or services or offer paid prioritization of traffic. In addition, the FCC also voted to preempt state laws that impair the deployment of community broadband providers.

On Monday, President Obama released his $4 trillion budget request for FY16. His proposal is again unlikely to find support in Congress, but serves as a useful guide to the administration’s priorities and a source of new ideas.

President Obama’s proposed FY16 budget would provide $25 million for the EDA’s Regional Innovation program, a key legislative initiative for the technology-based economic development community. The Regional Innovation Program was authorized under the American COMPETES Act and is designed to provide funding to support regional innovation activities. The program received its first funding of $10 million in FY14 after extensive work on the Hill by SSTI, its members and others.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a second round of the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) competition. IMCP, a cross-agency initiative, coordinates federal investments behind long-term economic development strategies in manufacturing communities. The first four designee communities were announced in May 2014.

Funding for public colleges decreased by 12 percent overall from FY03 to FY12, while tuition rates for all public colleges rose by 55 percent during the same time, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).  Driven in part by the impact of the recent recession on state budgets, the decline in state funding has had a significant impact on college affordability for students and their family.

Earlier this week, congressional appropriators reached a tentative agreement on spending levels for the 2015 fiscal year just a few days before the Thursday deadline. The continuing resolution omnibus, “cromnibus,” spending package would, if approved by the House, Senate and president, avert a government shutdown and again defer budget negotiations until next September. Under the agreement, most agency budgets would remain at similar levels to those enacted for FY14.

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez announced details of a new $100 million grant competition to expand apprenticeship opportunities in high-growth industries. The program will specifically target industries that are using H-1B visas to hire foreign workers.  By investing in collaborative efforts around the country, officials hope the program will help develop clear career pathways through apprenticeship, particularly for underrepresented populations.

As part of President Obama’s recent executive order on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a number of new policies and regulations intended to capitalize on the skills of foreign workers, researchers and students. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy published an explanation of how the new rules will also be used to attract immigrant entrepreneurs through two new pathways to legal residency.

On November 20, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) held its annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. During the daylong event, panelists focused on two important issues – secondary market liquidity for securities of small businesses and the potential revision of accredited investor definition.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed a permanent $1.5 billion increase in the cap of the E-rate program as part of the largest overhaul of the initiative in 18 years. The E-rate program is the federal government’s largest educational technology program, funding broadband and wireless access for schools and libraries with a portion of the funds received through the Universal Service fee for interstate communications.

The Department of Defense (DOD) released a federal funding opportunity (FFO) to establish an Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IP-IMI). Administered by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Integrated Photonics Institute will assist in developing an end-to-end photonics ecosystem in the U.S. and support photonics-focused research and development efforts across the country (see related Digest article).

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a Request for Applications (RFA) for cities seeking economic revitalization through the National Resource Network (The Network), a public-private initiative that works with national experts and strategic partners to increase the economic competitiveness of cities and reverse population decline, job loss, and high poverty rates.

As part of Next Century Cities, a new bipartisan, city-to-city initiative, 32 cities and their elected leaders from across the United States are uniting to recognize the importance of leveraging gigabit-level Internet for economic development. The initiative enables participating cities to work together to learn about best practices in engaging and assisting communities in developing and deploying next-generation broadband Internet so that every community has the resources needed to succeed.