Space Coast Task Force Recommends Competitive Grant Program for Transition Plan

Nearly 90 percent of government funds available for transition assistance in the Space Coast region would be used for a fast-track competitive grant process through the Economic Development Administration (EDA), according to recommendations from a task force convened by President Barack Obama. Under the plan, $35 million in grants would be awarded to the most promising job creation and economic development programs aimed at creating a strong economic base in the region as the Space Shuttle program winds down. Another $5 million would fund a Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center supporting commercial space launch and reentry activities, according to the report.

To help transform the Space Coast economy and prepare its future workforce, the task force, co-chaired by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, developed action items that fall under four key areas: sustaining regional investments already underway; spurring immediate opportunity; investing in smart economic growth initiatives through a new competitive fund; and, building lasting infrastructure for success. The group was charged with developing a plan for how to best invest $40 million in FY11 transition assistance for new and immediate investments in the region.

Central to the plan is the creation of a fast-track competitive grant process to quickly identify and fund promising job creation and economic development initiatives aligned with regional cluster and competitive analysis. EDA would launch the competition on Sept. 1 with finalists announced this fall. Several initiatives may stem from ideas proposed over the past three months by regional stakeholders, including elected officials, economic development organizations, and universities, according to the report.

Other action items include retraining for displaced workers, investing $600,000 of the EDA and Small Business Administration budget to support small business and industry, facilitating a technology export exposition to increase access to international markets for small- and medium-sized businesses, and engaging a public-private partnership to work with the federal government, private sources of capital, and corporations to catalyze new business creation along the Space Coast over the long term.

The report includes a number of emerging development principles seen as critical to sustaining an entrepreneurial system that supports nascent industries and generates job creation in the long term. These principles include promotion of regional innovation clusters, emphasis on technology-based economic development, promotion of open innovation networks, improved access to capital, investment in cutting-edge regional infrastructure, and development of partnerships between federal, state, and local government.

Read the report: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/475699main_Space_Industry_Report_to_the_President.pdf.