Opportunity Information: Apply for EDA ATL TA ATRO 2022 2007229

The FY 2022 EDA University Center Competition - ATRO is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA), under CFDA 11.303. It is designed to fund the establishment and operation of EDA-supported University Centers that deliver economic development technical assistance using the assets of accredited institutions of higher education. The core idea is to translate university-based expertise, research capacity, convening power, and workforce development capabilities into practical, regionally grounded support that helps communities build stronger economic ecosystems centered on innovation, entrepreneurship, resilience, and inclusive growth.

This competition supports projects that focus on one or more specific economic development priorities: advancing regional commercialization efforts (moving research and innovations into the marketplace), advancing high-growth entrepreneurship (helping startups scale), cultivating innovation (strengthening the conditions that generate new ideas and technologies), encouraging business expansion within a region's innovation clusters, developing a high-skilled regional workforce, and increasing regional resiliency (improving a region's capacity to withstand and adapt to economic shocks and long-term disruptions). EDA is looking for University Center activities that are not just academic, but clearly tied to real-world outcomes like quality job creation, stronger talent pipelines, and measurable business growth in targeted clusters.

Eligibility is limited to accredited public, state-controlled, or private institutions of higher education, as well as consortia of accredited institutions. A key constraint is geography: applicants must be located in, and propose programs that target only, the areas served by EDA's Atlanta Regional Office or EDA's Seattle Regional Office. The Atlanta Regional Office coverage includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Seattle Regional Office covers a large footprint including Alaska, Arizona, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nevada, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, the Republic of Palau, and Washington. The notice indicates that the Seattle Regional Office has a separate posting and application package for applicants from that region, which matters for institutions ensuring they are using the correct application materials.

The program emphasizes collaboration and service to regional economic development strategies rather than isolated campus initiatives. University Centers are expected to work alongside other EDA partners, including Economic Development Districts (EDDs), and to provide expertise that helps communities develop, implement, and support regional plans that lead to tangible economic outcomes. Examples of supported technical assistance include workforce training program design or support, applied research center activities aligned to regional needs, technology commercialization assistance, feasibility studies, market research, economic impact analyses, training, and other analytical or capacity-building services that help communities and businesses strengthen local and regional innovation ecosystems.

EDA also highlights an equity and access lens. While not a formal requirement in the summary provided, EDA encourages applicants to design efforts that reach historically underserved populations and places, including communities of color and women, as well as groups facing labor market barriers. The notice explicitly names individuals with disabilities, disconnected youth, individuals in recovery, people with past criminal records (including justice-impacted and reentry participants), and participants in programs such as SNAP, TANF, and WIC, along with veterans and military spouses. In practice, this means a competitive University Center proposal would often describe how its technical assistance, entrepreneurship support, training pathways, and cluster development work will be accessible and beneficial to these groups, and how outcomes will be tracked.

The NOFO provides definitions that signal what EDA cares about in outcomes. A "quality job" is described as one that exceeds the local prevailing wage for the industry in the region, includes basic benefits like paid leave, health insurance, and retirement or savings options, and/or is unionized, and supports advancement along a career pathway. "Prevailing wage" is aligned with the Department of Labor definition as the average wage paid to similarly employed workers in a specific occupation in the intended area of employment. The notice also defines "clusters" as geographic concentrations of firms, workers, and industries that interact through shared talent needs, technology, infrastructure, and business relationships. Importantly, clusters can cross municipal and county boundaries, reinforcing EDA's regional approach rather than a strict city- or county-limited model.

From the funding details provided, the opportunity number is EDA ATL TA ATRO 2022 2007229, the award instrument is a grant, the posted (creation) date is March 1, 2022, and the original closing date is April 29, 2022. The award ceiling is listed as $200,000, and EDA anticipated making around 10 awards. Taken together, this points to relatively modest, targeted awards intended to fund high-leverage technical assistance and coordination rather than large capital projects. The overall purpose is to help universities function as active economic development partners, deploying their expertise to strengthen innovation-driven regional growth, expand and modernize the workforce pipeline, support resilient regional planning, and improve access to opportunity across a broader set of communities.

  • The Department of Commerce in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2022 EDA University Center Competition - ATRO" and is now available to receive applicants.
  • Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.303.
  • This funding opportunity was created on Mar 01, 2022.
  • Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 29, 2022. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
  • The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
  • Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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