Commerce Sec'y Announces Cluster Promotion Program, Outreach Efforts, Etc.

Commerce Secretary Bryson said the Commerce Department will soon announce a call for proposals to support clusters specifically in advanced manufacturing -- through a competition called the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, in remarks at the “Future of Manufacturing Conference” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston May 9. These funds are not targeted to create clusters, Bryson said, because that’s not the government’s role. Instead, according to Bryson, Commerce wants to give a boost to existing clusters that have already formed on their own, and which show strong potential to drive innovation and create good jobs.

In his remarks, Bryson also said that over the course of the next several weeks, leaders throughout the Commerce Department will fan out across the country in a program called “Commerce Comes to Your Town,” and that Commerce has released a report on manufacturing called “The Benefits of Manufacturing Jobs” (here).