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The partnership creates an accessible pathway between Naval technologists and Kitsap’s growing startup ecosystemView original postKEYPORT, Washington (April 17, 2024) —Today, NavalX Pacific NW Tech Bridge and Vibe Coworks announced a formal partnership to enhance collaboration between Naval technologists and the region’s leading private sector innovators, through an agreement with Impact Washington.The unique partnership effectively integrates NavalX Pacific Northwest Tech Bridge resources into the local startup ecosystem present at Vibe Coworks, expanding opportunities for startups, scaleups, small businesses, academic institutions, local governments, and other nontraditional innovators to work with the Department of the Navy more easily.The Pacific Northwest program specializes...

Watson Unveils New Expansion and Manufacturing Improvements for 2024 Watson Furniture Group, the industry leader in function-first design and respectful manufacturing, has completed a multi-million-dollar business expansion and process enhancement that includes a 10,000-square-foot warehouse addition, and new precision tooling on the factory floor.According to Watson President CK McKenzie, these upgrades will improve capacity, reduce waste, and safeguard the supply chain, without compromising the refinement and reliability that Watson customers have come to expect from their best-in-class lines of office furniture.“While the market is slower, we’re taking the time to invest in more space, equipment, and employee training,” McKenzie said. “We’re...

Innovative Environmental Initiative Recognized for Remarkable Impact on Puget Sound Ecosystem, Economy, and Community SILVERDALE, WA –  The Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster (WAV-C), a program of the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance (KEDA), is thrilled to announce that its Illahee Waterway Tire Cleanup Project has been honored with the prestigious Project of the Year award by the Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA). Bruce Kendall, WEDA Awards Committee Chair who also serves as President & CEO of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County added, “We received a number of impressive nominations from communities across Washington. The nominations reflect a unique array of the...

Join us October 20th, from 1-5pm at the Kitsap Conference Center for a look at the opportunities & challenges shaping Kitsap's future economy.   Get your tickets now Registration closes October 11th.    KITSAP'S ECONOMY; Opportunities, Challenges & the Future KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  Martin Karl Vanags, Martin Karl Consulting Martin Karl Vanags is an economic development professional of thirty-five years. He has worked in a wide range of roles in economic development, community development, city management and entrepreneurship. After years working in Illinois, Indiana and New York State, Vanags is leading efforts to lead economic developers through the...

Applications for the Entrepreneurship World Cup are now open to entrepreneurs everywhere ready to take their startup to the next level. Founders will compete for a share of US$1M in prizes plus additional investment opportunities and in-kind support.   The prizes are epic - but this is more than a pitch competition. It's a life-changing experience for all applicants, not only the winners. Just for registering, founders will have access to US$1,000 worth of perks and training to get started. LEARN MORE  

Deadline Extended: 5:00 pm EDT, May 27, 2022 The Applied AI Challenge is looking for innovative and promising AI solutions to fast-track the deployment of AI and related technologies in the federal government.  Challenge finalists will pitch products to federal agencies and have an opportunity for follow-on awards. GSA invites startups and leading edge technology companies to submit a 3-page white paper demonstrating innovative and promising AI solutions to bolster federal operational capabilities.About the Applied AI Challenge    Submission period: Extended! 5:00 pm EDT, May 27, 2022 Challenge type:Technology demonstration and hardware Total cash...

The Department of Defense announces the opening of the following SBIR and STTR funding opportunities: •    Air Force CSO SBIR X22.4 •    Air Force CSO STTR X22.D   IMPORTANT DATES: •    May 18, 2022: CSOs open, begin submitting proposals in DSIP •    July 25, 2022: Topic Q&A closes to new questions at 12:00 p.m. ET •    August 9, 2022: CSOs close, full proposals must be submitted in DSIP no later than 12:00 p.m. ET Full topic descriptions and instructions are available on DSIP at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and at https://rt.cto.mil/rtl-small-business-resources/sbir-sttr/.  Proposers are encouraged to...

The Department of Defense announces the opening of the following Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topic: USSOCOM SOCOM22D-ST01: “Phase I Open Call for Science and Technology (S&T) Innovation”  Full topic descriptions and instructions are available on DSIP at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and at https://rt.cto.mil/rtl-small-business-resources/sbir-sttr/.  IMPORTANT DATES: •    May 17, 2022: Topic opens, begin submitting proposals in DSIP •    June 8, 2022: Topic Q&A closes to new questions at 12:00 p.m. ET •    June 16, 2022: Topic closes, full proposals must be submitted in DSIP no later than 12:00 p.m. ET Topic Q&A   Topic Q&A is...

Two RFS (Request for Solutions) Releases With a focus on 5G technology, the Government has released an RFS for both the Gray Summer and the Misty Night opportunities. Gray Summer Solutions Deadline: 13 June 2022 12:00 PM ET 5G Core Based Threat Identification and Warning  S²MARTS Project No. 22-07 Misty Night Solutions Deadline: 13 June 2022 12:00 PM ET  5G Threat Assessment and Warning S²MARTS Project No. 22-08  

The Department of Defense announces the opening of the following Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topics:    DARPA •    HR0011SB20224-04: “Innovative Fabrication Techniques for Millimeter-wave Linear Beam Vacuum Electron Devices” •    HR0011SB20224-05: “Readout Integrated Circuit Development for 2-micron Cutoff Linear Mode Staircase Avalanche Photodiodes” •    HR0011SB20224-06: “Hardening Aircraft Systems through Hardware (HASH)” Full topic descriptions and instructions are available on DSIP at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login and at https://rt.cto.mil/rtl-small-business-resources/sbir-sttr/   IMPORTANT DATES: May 11, 2022: Topics open, begin submitting proposals in DSIP June 7, 2022: Topic Q&A closes to new questions at 12:00 p.m. ET June 14, 2022: Topics...

GSA invites startups and leading edge technology companies to submit a 3-page white paper demonstrating innovative and promising AI solutions to bolster federal operational capabilities.About the Applied AI Challenge    Submission period: Open until 05/16/22 02:00 PM PDT Challenge type:Technology demonstration and hardware Total cash prizes: $50,000   LEARN MORE The Applied AI Challenge will assist federal agencies to adopt AI and related technologies to better serve the American people. The challenge is seeking white papers that address one or more of the following market segments:  Unified Platforms – AI platforms providing a...

KEDA's  2022 Annual Meeting is over but you are in luck! You can view the Annual Report and Annual Plan video by clicking here. View Economic Preview - The Economy in 20 Minutes video by clicking here View Featured Presenter: Skylar Olsen, Tomo Economic by clicking here Presentation slide decks are available for viewing by clicking the images below:   

Ready to build something amazing for the future economy?    Here's a rare forward-facing opportunity to dream and build something entrepreneurial -- fully funded. The Kitsap Economic Development Alliance (“KEDA”) is looking for a creative, connected and entrepreneurially-minded team to take our economic development moonshot: Help us launch the Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster, a program funded for two years by the Washington Department of Commerce Innovation Cluster Accelerator Program (“ICAP”). Apply to be our WAV-C Program Manager role or Business Development and Growth Lead at https://kitsap-economic-development-alliance.breezy.hr/   In this role we’re looking for you to lead in innovation, engage broadly,...

Reposted from SmallGovCon Reposted from SmallGovCon John Holtz AttorneyKoprince McCall Pottroff LLC 785-200-8919Email Ah, the Federal Acquisition Regulations, or FAR. Quite numerous and complex, yes, but they provide a standardized set of rules and procedures that govern federal government procurements.  Regardless of what contract you’re dealing with (other than a few exceptions such as the FAA, which is not subject to the FAR), you can be sure that the rules of the FAR govern it. Unfortunately, that last statement is not true. Since 1989, the Department of Defense (and as time has passed, more and...

Joe Morrison, KEDA Executive Director for the Kitsap Sun  As I write this, the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance (KEDA) is in the final stages of signing a $500,000 contract. We are set to receive a two-year grant to launch an innovation cluster in autonomous and unmanned water vehicles.  Let’s break it down a little — and talk a little bit about economic clusters, entrepreneurship and innovation, and why it’s important communities and economies are aspirational. Economic clusters date back to 1890, when English economist Alfred Marshall first described them as a "concentration of specialized industries in particular...

NEWS RELEASE:  March 7, 2022 Kitsap Economic Development Alliance to develop Autonomous Water Vehicle Cluster under 2-year innovation grant   SILVERDALE, WA - Washington Department of Commerce announced today the Kitsap Economic Development Alliance (KEDA) was awarded a two-year $500,000 grant to launch the Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster, or WAV-C.  Innovation cluster accelerator models bring key players together – business, entrepreneurs, academia, investors and government – to solve industry challenges that limit growth and innovation. Washington State piloted this approach in 2017 with its Maritime Blue initiative. Under the Washington Department of Commerce’s Innovation...

Number of challenges: 11 Number of Agencies: 7 Total Prizes Offered: $2,512,500 January was an exciting month for federal prize challenges! Seven federal agencies launched 11 prize competitions with a total prize purse of over $2.5 million. Two agencies launched a new phase of their multi-phase challenges: Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2 from NASA and MagQuest Phase 4 by National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA).  The National Eye Institute kicked off the Eye on the Future Video Contest Challenge. The challenge seeks video submissions from high school students answering the question: why is science relevant to your life...

  NextCycle Washington: An inclusive accelerator for business models that prevents waste and improves reuse, recycling, and use of recycled materials. NextCycle Washington is an accelerator that focuses on providing technical support and funding pathways for business models that prevent waste and improve reuse, recycling, and use of recycled materials. We welcome stakeholders and partners with lived experience from frontline communities - those most likely to be impacted by climate change and the shift to a more circular economy - to attend, ask questions, and provide feedback to help refine NextCycle Washington prior to public launch in...

New space plane would fly directly into orbit from a runway   Radian Aerospace has a plan to make a “holy grail” of spaceflight a reality. Reposted from freethink.com One of the “holy grails” of spaceflight could hit the skies this decade. On January 19, Washington-based startup Radian Aerospace came out of stealth mode, announcing that it had secured $27.5 million in funding to develop the Radian One, a first-of-its-kind space plane that flies into orbit after taking off horizontally from the ground. Why it matters: No one has built such a spacecraft before,...

Current challenges: (to see complete list of challenges go to https://www.challenge.gov/)   Taking Action: COVID-19 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Challenge Identifying systemic strategies to address long-term impacts of COVID-19 on DEI in STEM. NSF is seeking submissions in a 3-page narrative format describing the steps that IHEs have taken, or will take, to mitigate the long-term negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on DEI in STEM. Submission period: Open until 01/30/22 08:59 PM PST Challenge type:Ideas Total cash prizes: $200,000 Learn more   American-Made Challenges...