2012 University Center Economic Development Program Competition

by: Michael Saunders

The Economic Development Administration, otherwise known as EDA, is a federal government agency operating within the United States Department of Commerce that is largely responsible for providing grants to economically distressed communities in an effort to help generate new job opportunities, assist in retaining existing jobs and stimulating industrial and commercial growth.

The grants of initiatives of the EDA are all geared towards the realization of its primary agency mission which is to "lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy."

In keeping with this mission, the Economic Development Administration has recently established the 2012 University Center Economic Development Program Competition wherein they intend to solicit grant applications from higher education institutions stating their intent to establish and operate special University Centers that are focused on leveraging university assets in order to create regional economic ecosystems that will support high-growth entrepreneurship.

Higher education institutions or a consortia of institutions can take part in this program as long as they are willing to establish and operate a University Center, and in the process, form a collaboration with several other EDA partners in order to provide, develop, implement, and support regional strategies and approaches that would certainly pave the way to the creation of more jobs, the development of high-skilled regional talent pools, and the expansion of regional businesses.

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2012 University Center Economic Development Program Competition
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About The Author Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com one the the most comprehensive Websites offering information on government grants and federal government programs. He also maintains Websites providing resources on environmental grants and grants for youth programs.

Additional Resources

category - Education Grants

ENGAGE: Learning to Solve Problems, Solving Problems to Learn
The ENGAGE program is initially seeking to uncover proposals for innovative research studies that would lead young students to be more "engaged" in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM).

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What is the Difference between Getting a Federal Student Loan and a Private Student Loan?
Student loans can be very tricky, and are very confusing to most. In many situations, families are accepted for all different kind of loans and then are left in the dark when it is time to pay it back or fail to realize that they owe as much due to accrued interest.

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Summer Seminars and Institutes Program
The National Endowment for the Humanities has recently established the Summer Seminars and Institutes Program wherein it aims to provide support to faculty development programs in the field of the humanities for school, college, and university teachers.

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SMART Grants - Educational Grants for the Student of Math, Science and Languages
National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants assist those undergraduate postsecondary students that major in foreign languages or certain designated technical fields. Financial grant assistance is provided on need-basis to help these students meet their educational expenses.

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