Newsletter
Periodic News 
May 20, 2014
The U.S. Cluster Mapping Project is a national initiative that provides open data on regional clusters to support U.S. business, innovation and policy.  It is led by Professor Michael Porter through the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, and supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.
June 2014: Launch of Brand-New Website

Stay tuned for the public release of the newly designed U.S. Cluster Mapping website, which will go live in June at clustermapping.us. New features will include a national and regional map explorer, custom region builder, site-wide and external search, data exporting and sharing, as well as cluster and region dashboards for every state, economic area, county and city.
In the News
Jay Williams Confirmed as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development 

The U.S. Senate voted today to confirm Jay Williams as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. As head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), Jay will be responsible for fulfilling the agency's mission of leading the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy.  Learn more
U.S. Small Business Administration: Notice on Contracts for Regional Cluster Initiative Services 

The SBA intends to award three to four contracts (each with a base year and four option years) to contractors to head cluster initiatives throughout the United States. Cluster initiatives build off organic clusters by purposely integrating companies, non-profits, and universities for business funding and research opportunities that create jobs, attract capital, and have long-term economic impact. The base year is expected to be for a firm-fixed, not-to-exceed (level-of-effort) price of approximately $500,000 to $600,000.  Learn more
U.S. Small Business Administration
Launches $2.5M Competition for Accelerators
The U.S. Small Business Administration is launching a $2.5 million competition for accelerators and other entrepreneurial ecosystem models to compete for monetary prizes of $50,000 each to fund operating budgets. To award the prizes, applicants will be judged by an expert panel that will consider each applicant's mission, founding team members and business goals among other core components. The application deadline is August 2, 2014.  Learn more
Upcoming Events
Northeast
 
June 4, Pittsburgh, PA:  2014 C2ER Annual Conference (Council for Community and Economic Research)  Learn more
  • 8:30 - 10:00 am et:  State Researchers Roundtable  
    (Presenter:  Sarah Jane Maxted, Research Manager of the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project)
June 25, Boston, MA:  Cluster Mapping for Economic Development (Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness)
  • 8:30am - 4:00pm et:  One-day workshop
    (Presenters:  U.S. Cluster Mapping team at Harvard Business School)

Mid-Atlantic


June 26-27, Gaithersburg, MD:  Meeting of the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge, Rural Jobs Accelerator, and Make it in America awardees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  • Presenter:  Member of the U.S. Cluster Mapping leadership team
South

May 21, New Orleans, LA:  International Conference on Business Incubation
(National Business Incubation Association/NBIA)  Learn more
  • 12:00 - 4:00pm et:  U.S. Cluster Mapping Focus Group  
    (Presenter:  Sarah Jane Maxted, Research Manager of the U.S. Cluster Mapping Project)
Midwest

July 13, Omaha, NE:  Midwestern Legislative Conference of The Council of State Governments  Learn more
  • Presenter:  Lee Munnich, project partner and Director of the State & Local Policy Program at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
West
 
July 30, Sacramento, CA:  Cluster Mapping for Economic Development
(Labor Market Institute with the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness) 
  • One-day workshop (Presenter:  Member of the U.S. Cluster Mapping team at
    Harvard Business School)
International
 
May 24, Tijuana, Mexico:  MBA Entrepreneurship Symposium - Challenges and Achievements in New Ventures Creation (Cetys Universidad)
  • 11:45am - 12:45pm ct:  Keynote address by project partner Burke Murphy, Education and Economic Development Specialist on Competitiveness
Please contact us if you are interested in attending an event or have recommendations for relevant events.