Evaluation of the EDA Regional Innovation Strategies Program 2014-2017
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Innovation
Economic Strategy
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) operates two primary initiatives focused on scaling innovation and supporting high-growth entrepreneurship. These competitive initiatives fall under the Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) Program, a national grant program aimed at increasing regions’ capacity to translate innovation into jobs. The two competitive opportunities, the i6 Challenge and the Seed Fund Support Program, are available to organizations supporting innovators and entrepreneurs.
The EDA wanted to analyze the RIS Program’s effectiveness and economic impacts to determine if the program was achieving its goals, how it could be improved, and whether it should be continued or terminated.
Our Approach
Fourth Economy Consulting was selected through a competitive review process to evaluate the Seed Fund Support (SFS) and the i6 Challenge (i6) projects awarded between 2014-2017. The evaluation included analyzing participant performance metrics and outcomes, as well as creating case studies illustrating the variety of approaches used. We reviewed the overall function of the RIS Program, how well the component programs (SFS and i6) worked together, and how the individual programs progressed toward their specific goals and metrics.
The Results
The RIS Program is highly competitive. While the program’s budget has grown since 2014, requests greatly exceed available funding. Even with increases, the program can only support about 20 percent of requests. The RIS Program serves a range of communities seeking to develop their innovation capacity—from small, rural areas to dense, urban centers—and is not solely focused on established innovation hubs. The program allows for flexible approaches, enabling regions to define strategies and scopes of work tailored to their specific needs and unique assets.
Since our report, the RIS program has been revamped and rebranded as the Build to Scale (B2S) program. Per our recommendations, B2S has implemented a pre-application review process to ease the burden on applicants, and other critical aspects of the program have been retained. Demand for the program remains high.
Location
National