New partnership: U.S. Economic Development Administration

The Innovation Growth Lab Collaborates with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to Strengthen the Tech Hubs Program

In a landmark partnership, the Innovation Growth Lab (IGL) joins forces with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to bolster the newly launched Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) Program. This collaboration will focus on intensifying the impact of EDA-funded interventions, thereby fostering the development of globally competitive innovation centres nationwide.

The Tech Hubs Program aims to transform select regions into formidable innovation powerhouses within a decade. By knitting together a fabric of industry, academic institutions, and governmental bodies, the program seeks to stimulate inclusive economic growth and quality employment. 

Through this partnership, EDA aims to enhance its ability to evaluate the impact of the Tech Hubs Program and to contribute to fostering economic growth through technological innovation and entrepreneurship. IGL will assist the EDA in cultivating an experimental mindset and exploring how designing and conducting rigorous Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and other evaluative studies could enhance the impact of programs and generate useful evidence. "The future of innovation depends on our willingness to explore and validate new ideas," remarked Albert Bravo-Biosca, Director of IGL. "Our collaboration with EDA will enhance the Tech Hubs Program, and help reshape how we measure, understand, and foster innovation"

“We believe in the importance of experimental evidence for the generation of impactful policies” said Eric Smith, Director of the Tech Hubs Program. “We are looking forward to our engagement with IGL and its research network to build the evidence base for and strengthen the impact of our programs.”

To discover more about the program, please visit EDA's official website. For further information about the Innovation Growth Lab and its pioneering work in policy experimentation, please visit IGL's official website.