The Department of Defense (DOD) announced today a $7,049,590 grant from its Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) to Wright State University to provide community adjustment assistance to plan for anticipated reductions in regional defense industry employment.
These federal funds are part of a larger $7,832,876 project in which the University and its partners will plan and carry out strategies to diversify Dayton's economy. This will be done by conducting a holistic assessment of the region's research and development ecosystem and developing pilot programs to assist companies and workers in adopting and producing market-ready technologies. Ten subprojects will:
. Identify, organize, and assess regional stakeholder and partner capabilities;
. Develop a regional strategy to identify commercial market technology needs and intellectual property;
. Develop a regional strategy to identify commercially viable technologies, including plans to grow regional capabilities around market analysis, patent analysis, and management capability analysis;
. Develop a regional strategy to assess regional technologies;
. Develop a market push regional technology acceleration model;
. Develop a market pull regional technology commercialization model;
. Develop a platform to increase regional collaboration and identify local assets, including a network of technology development and entrepreneurial mentors;
. Develop pathways for workforce transition into the growing industries of medical manufacturing, unmanned systems, and information technology;
. Develop a regional international trade strategy; and,
. Develop a sustainability plan to ensure projects continue beyond the grant period.
The grant is awarded under OEA's Defense Industry Adjustment Program to assist states and communities which have been significantly impacted by reductions or cancellations in DoD spending. States and communities can request OEA assistance to: organize themselves to respond on behalf of affected communities, workers, and businesses; plan local community and economic adjustment activities to lessen local economic impacts; and, carry-out plans to replace lost economic activity. OEA project managers work with impacted areas to coordinate a broader program of assistance from across the federal government when necessary. Proposals are considered for funding on a rolling basis and are subject to the availability of appropriations.
Further information about this program may be found on OEA's website at
www.oea.gov. The point of contact for this award is Mr. John Owen, Program Manager, Wright State Research Institute. He can be contacted by email,
john.c.owen@wright.edu, or phone, (937) 705-1025.