FY 2023 Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program Phase 2 Notice of Funding Opportunity | EDA TECHHUBSPHASE2 2023

Opportunity Information: Apply for EDA TECHHUBSPHASE2 2023

The FY 2023 Regional Technology and Innovation Hub (Tech Hubs) Program Phase 2 Notice of Funding Opportunity is a competitive federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) that provides large-scale implementation funding to regions previously selected in Phase 1. Phase 2 is not open to new applicants; only consortia that were officially Designated as Tech Hubs during Phase 1 are allowed to apply. The program is grounded in federal statute (section 28(c) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, 15 U.S.C. 3722a(c)) and is designed to convert a region's Phase 1 designation into real, on-the-ground investments that accelerate technology commercialization, industrial growth, and workforce development.

At its core, Phase 2 is about place-based economic strategy and national competitiveness. EDA is looking to make concentrated investments in a limited number of regions that already show strong potential to become globally competitive centers of innovation within roughly the next decade. The policy purpose is explicitly tied to strengthening U.S. economic and national security by ensuring that critical technologies and emerging industries, the companies that build them, and the high-quality jobs they support can start, scale, and stay in the United States. In practice, this means implementation projects that help a region move from planning and coalition-building to execution, including scaling research-to-market pipelines, expanding manufacturing or production capacity in relevant sectors, building innovation infrastructure, and developing a workforce that matches the technical and operational needs of targeted industries.

Eligibility is structured around a consortium model, meaning a single organization does not apply alone; the applicant must be a designated regional partnership that meets specific membership requirements. Each eligible consortium must include at least one entity from each of five required categories: institutions of higher education (including HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other Minority-Serving Institutions), state/territorial/local/Tribal governments or political subdivisions (or a consortium of governments), industry groups or firms in the relevant technology, innovation, or manufacturing sectors, economic development organizations (or similar entities) focused on improving science and technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, or access to capital, and labor organizations or workforce training organizations. Beyond these required partners, the NOFO allows additional entity types to participate in the consortium as described in the full eligibility section, which commonly supports broader regional alignment across philanthropy, utilities, accelerators, incubators, and other supporting institutions when relevant to the hub strategy.

The funding instrument types listed for this opportunity include grants and cooperative agreements, which is an important signal about how EDA may manage awards. A standard grant generally offers recipients flexibility within approved scope and budget, while a cooperative agreement typically involves more substantial federal involvement during performance, such as coordination, technical guidance, or structured milestones. The activity categories span business and commerce, regional development, and science and technology research and development, reflecting that Tech Hub implementation is meant to blend economic development tools with technology-focused execution.

In terms of scale, EDA indicates it expects to make awards to roughly 5 to 10 designated Tech Hubs, with implementation grant amounts in the range of approximately $50 million to $75 million per hub, subject to the availability of funds. The posted award ceiling is $150,000,000, which provides flexibility for particularly large or complex implementation efforts, though the typical anticipated award level is lower than that ceiling. The opportunity lists an expectation of 10 awards, aligning with the stated target range.

Key administrative details include the funding opportunity number (EDA TECHHUBSPHASE2 2023) and the CFDA number 11.039. The opportunity was created on October 23, 2023, and the original application deadline was February 29, 2024. The NOFO makes the deadline consequence explicit: applications submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed or considered, which reinforces that this is a high-stakes, time-bound competition among already-designated regional hubs.

Overall, Phase 2 is essentially the federal government selecting a small subset of designated Tech Hubs for major implementation funding to rapidly build and scale regional technology ecosystems. The emphasis is not just on innovation for its own sake, but on measurable regional capacity to compete globally, strengthen domestic supply chains and production capabilities in critical sectors, and create durable, good-paying jobs supported by coordinated regional partners across academia, government, industry, economic development, and workforce organizations.

• The Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration in the business and commerce, regional development, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program Phase 2 Notice of Funding Opportunity" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.039.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 23, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 29, 2024. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EDA TECHHUBSPHASE2 2023

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