Scope of Work for University Center Grantees

Under this EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance letter invitation for application, current recipients of EDA University Center (UC) Grants may apply for funding under one or more of the following Scope of Work elements that have been pre-approved by EDA.

An EDA Award to a UC grantee must support authorized activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, or respond to economic injury as a result of coronavirus. Such activities shall include one or more of the following:

• Providing technical assistance to entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities to assist in their economic recovery efforts from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, including providing business counseling and helping individuals, businesses, and communities as they navigate coronavirus-related resources; conducting feasibility studies, resilience plans, market research, economic impact surveys and analysis; and providing other types of necessary technical assistance focused on helping communities recover from economic injury and foster vibrant economic ecosystems.
• Assisting the university and its partners in finding solutions to move courses to an on-line platform to support the business and entrepreneurial community and to provide seminars and training on topics relevant to addressing the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, such as preparing businesses for e-commerce and business recovery.
• Supporting or accelerating technology commercialization and entrepreneurship by assisting entrepreneurs in the establishment of companies to commercialize technology or innovative products and services, conducting targeted commercialization of research, and/or by assisting in licensing and patenting activities for research, all aimed at the prevention of, preparation for, or response to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Supporting product development and manufacturing aimed at the prevention of, preparation for, or response to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic by using student and faculty expertise and university laboratories and equipment to develop prototypes and innovative product manufacturing techniques and processes, including for personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Conducting, sharing and disseminating applied research to address specific challenges, meet specific needs, or solve specific problems resulting from the economic impacts of coronavirus that are being experienced by communities, businesses, innovators, entrepreneurs, economic planners, and cluster-based industries in the Recipient’s service area.
• Assisting communities in identifying, defining, and supporting their workforce talent, including through the creation of skill development and workforce training programs, professional and leadership development, and core business training, with the goal of helping communities recover from the economic impacts of coronavirus.