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Commerce staff outlines OceanTech hub outreach and $5M-plus in pending grant applications
Summary
Staff updated the board on OceanTech hub efforts, noting EDA site visits, international interest, and pending applications for approximately $2 million and $3 million to support incubation, acceleration and workforce development in ocean technology.
Daniella (speaker 12) briefed the board on the corporation's push to position Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts as a national OceanTech hub. She described recent site visits with the Economic Development Administration'including a visit by acting assistant secretary Christina Killingsworth'industry tours in Bristol and New Bedford, and outreach to incubators and regional partners.
Daniella said the office submitted two applications on the same day: about $2,000,000 to the BuildScale program to support business incubation and acceleration, and another roughly $3,000,000 application focused on workforce development through the EDA or the Good Jobs Challenge. "We submitted and asked for about $2,000,000 through the BuildScale program... and just last month we submitted another application for about $3,000,000," Daniella said. She also noted national and international interest and that staff produced a video documenting the site visit.
An EDA representative (speaker 13) described the tech-hub program's objective to bolster regions with existing assets in critical technology areas and praised cross-state collaboration with Massachusetts. The board discussed next steps and outreach; staff said they will keep the board informed of funding decisions and ongoing partnership efforts.
