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

Types of Financial Assistance From The Department of Education
The US Department of Education was initially created to encourage the promotion of student achievement and their preparation for global competitiveness by way of fostering academic excellence and ensuring equal access to quality education.

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National Endowment for the Arts: Literature Translation Fellowship 2012
The National Endowment for the Arts has constituted the Literature Fellowship for Translation Projects grant. The grant provides fellowships for published translators as they translate specific works of prose, poetry or drama.

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The Future Leaders Exchange Program: Host Family and School Placement and Monitoring
The ECA has constituted the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program wherein it seeks to promote mutual understanding between the citizens of the United States of America and the inhabitants of Eurasia by way of sending secondary school students from Eurasia to live in an American community for a full academic year.

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Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program
The Institute of Museum and Library Services has established a funding opportunity to support the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture Program wherein they intend to provide the African American museum staff with added knowledge and ability in all the areas of management, operations, programming, collections care, and other museum skills.

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