When Congress and the White House began prioritizing largescale investments in regional economic growth leading up to the passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, Lewis-Burke recognized this moment and founded the Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) Practice that leveraged over a decade of expertise in this space to provide unmatched intelligence, advocacy, insight, and quality products. The full impact of Lewis-Burke’s services in this space manifested with Congress’ approval of the Regional Tech Hubs program at the Department of Commerce (DOC). The program is one of the largest and most competitive place-based economic development initiatives in American history that seeks to drive diverse, regional coalitions across the country to advance global competitiveness around key technology areas. Lewis-Burke was on the ground floor of this initiative as it made its way through Congress. As such, the firm was intimately aware of both the promise of the program as well as all that needed to be successful. To ensure clients had a leg-up, Lewis-Burke’s TBED Practice went to work months before the solicitation was even released to position clients to succeed, including providing advance intelligence and guidance materials that align with Congress and DOC’s visions for the program; in-depth consultation to lay the groundwork for broader community partners; meetings with federal officials; and more. By the time the solicitation was released, engaged clients were ready.
Through these initial efforts and a myriad of support throughout the application process, our clients enjoyed great success. EDA would eventually receive 370 applications from regions across the country, and of the 31 Tech Hubs designated by EDA to be eligible to receive additional funding, over a dozen involved Lewis-Burke clients and of the 12 Hubs selected to receive the initial round of implementation funding, seven involved Lewis-Burke clients. Moreover, a research management organization client would go on to serve as a backbone entity for the program’s implementation. The TBED practice at Lewis-Burke aims to position clients of all sizes to accomplish their regional innovation goals.