An official website of the United States government.
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
A competitive funding opportunity to develop and implement accelerator programs that support small businesses and entrepreneurs commercialize ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes-based technology and information services supporting the U.S. Ocean Enterprise.
The Ocean Enterprise comprises all entities in the public and private sector that provide infrastructure or capacity to collect or deliver operational ocean information products and services. The critical insights derived from this ocean data are growing in importance and are often reliant on the application of highly adaptable technologies, suited to a spectrum of data and information applications across multiple industries and use cases.. The overarching goal of NOAA’s Ocean Enterprise program is to support the development, commercialization, and adoption of new ocean data technologies and services for economic and societal benefit to the United States and our growing blue economy.
The Ocean Enterprise Accelerators program, which grew out of the Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators funding opportunity, is distributed throughout the U.S. and focuses on supporting U.S. Ocean Enterprise small businesses and entrepreneurs. These businesses will ultimately provide commercial products and services to key marine and coastal sector industries, including offshore energy, coastal management, marine carbon, water quality, aquaculture, shipping, ports, tourism, and others.
These accelerator organizations will continue engaging and working with NOAA and many external industry partners to identify the greatest needs and opportunities for innovation within the Ocean Enterprise. Accelerators will then prioritize supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs poised to meet those needs through commercial products and services.
The four accelerators are:
- StartBlue Ocean Enterprise Accelerator. UC San Diego-Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Rady School of Management: $13.5 million.
- gener8tor Great Lakes Innovation Accelerator. gener8tor Management, LLC: $13.4 million.
- VentureWell Ocean Enterprise Accelerator. National Collegiate Inventors & Innovators Alliance, Inc. (dba VentureWell): $13.5 million.
- The Continuum. Tampa Bay Wave, Seaworthy Collective, St. Petersburg Innovation District, Braid Theory, University of South Florida, Ocean Exchange, World Ocean Council: $13.9 million.
News
WHAT ARE ACCELERATORS?
Business accelerators are entities that support the development of innovative early- to mid-stage businesses with training, resources, mentorship, and/or funding with the aim of bringing products to market.
Background
The focus of this funding opportunity was to partner with and fund eligible organizations to develop business accelerators that provide specific programming and opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to innovate and bring new technologies and information services to market. The program will foster public-private partnerships to develop and support sustainable business models around ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes observation technologies, products, and services that address needs and opportunities in coastal and marine industries.
NOAA technical assistance was made available for organizations applying for and receiving funding. NOAA will continue actively partnering with awardees through cooperative agreements, providing scientific and management expertise.
Access the Marine Technology Society OEA site here.
Download the Phase 1 Kick-off Meeting Synthesis Report here (pdf, 4.12 mb)
