ND Technical Skills Training Grant

Through funding from Racine County, a Matching Grant Program (MGP) was established with the goal of providing a means for existing small and medium-sized companies to obtain the professional services necessary for a strong foundation for continued business growth and to provide jobs for Racine County residents. This grant reimburses up to 50% of eligible cost – up to $5,000 per applicant. Additional grants are available specifically to residents of both Burlington and Sturtevant.

The Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites Program (PA SITES) was established to provide grant and loan funding to eligible applicants to develop competitive sites for businesses to relocate or expand within the Commonwealth. The Construction Grants and Loans component provides grants and loans to serve as gap financing for strategic sites that need financial assistance to help reduce development risk for businesses. The grant and loan funding is intended to help finance strategic investments that will enhance sites across the Commonwealth to effectively compete for expanding and relocating businesses. The program will help reduce development risk for businesses by timeline reduction from the development of public infrastructure or reducing unknown development costs.

The Registered Apprenticeship Incentive is designed to offset the extraordinary costs of utilizing a Registered Apprenticeship training program. Applications are reviewed quarterly by the WDC Grant Review Committee. Funds for this grant are distributed after apprentice completes 500 hours of on-the-job training (175 hours for Youth Apprenticeship)

The Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program. The Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research in the monitoring, identification and/or quantification of biological analytes and phenomena using innovations that exist at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, and information technology. Projects submitted to the program must advance both engineering and life sciences. The Biosensing program encourages proposals that, in addition to advancing biosensing technology, address critical sensor needs in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensics, environmental protection, and homeland security. Proposals are especially encouraged in areas of critical need: sensing technologies that can enable monitoring and surveillance of the environment and/or individuals for novel infectious agents; platform technologies that can readily be modified as soon as new agents are detected, sequenced, and/or otherwise characterized to enable rapid deployment of sensors in clinics and the environment; and adaptive and/or multiplex sensing technologies that can help the nation prevent the spread of the next global pandemic. Major areas of interest for the program include: -Novel signal transduction principles and mechanisms that enable sensitive and specific biosensors, suitable for measurements in multiple areas; -Design of novel biorecognition elements and appropriately designed transducing systems to enable adaptable and/or reconfigurable operating parameters in response to environmental changes or application needs at levels of device, system, or data analysis; -Development of adaptive and/or evolvable biosensing systems for detection of novel target analytes or analytes under novel conditions; -Novel synthetic biology approaches for the development of cell-free and cell-based biosensors; and -Combining biosensors with artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve sensor specificity and response time.

The Innovation Voucher program is part of Rhode Island Commerce’s Innovation Initiatives Portfolio created to support Rhode Island’s small businesses and entrepreneurs. The Innovation Voucher funds strategic investments in local businesses that catalyze growth through research and development (R&D) innovation. There are two types of vouchers in this program, both for $5,000 to $75,000. Knowledge Provider Voucher: The Knowledge Provider Voucher helps small businesses tap the expertise and resources of local research institutions such as colleges, universities and hospitals (“knowledge providers”) to advance innovation and business growth. With a Knowledge Provider Voucher, the R&D needed by a small business is executed by the knowledge provider. Manufacturing Voucher: Rhode Island manufacturers can access funding for internal research and development through the Manufacturing Voucher. This voucher supports specific R&D projects that Rhode Island manufacturers need to advance or reinvent their product offerings and remain competitive within their industry.