An unprecedented coalition of more than 70 partners, representing private industry, civic and philanthropic organizations, higher education, and state and local government—led by Case Western Reserve University—has been designated an NSF Engine, which could bring up to $160 million in federal investment to propel Northeast Ohio and the entire state as a national center for manufacturing innovation, technology and jobs.
In a multi-phased funding competition, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected the NSF NEO-SMART Engine in Northeast Ohio for its prestigious Regional Innovation Engines program.
The award (NSF agreement #2532460) means NEO-SMART (Northeast Ohio Strengthening Manufacturing for American Resilience through Technology) stands to receive up to $160 million over 10 years: $7.5 million in each of the first two years, $15 million annually for the following three years and $20 million for each of the final five years as milestones are met.
NEO-SMART partners also have already committed another $120 million for the first two years, with aspirations to attract a total of more than $500 million in public, private and philanthropic investment as the work progresses.
“This is great news for Northeast Ohio and for the entire state of Ohio,” said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. “When federal dollars come to our state to strengthen manufacturing and build up our workforce, every Ohioan benefits—and I am grateful for the extensive partnership effort that made this award possible.”
Plans to grow jobs, spur innovation
At the core of NEO-SMART’s vision is capitalizing on—and elevating —Northeast Ohio’s strengths in metals, polymers and chemicals and coatings to become a national hub for what is known as advanced manufacturing, integrating innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) for materials design, automation and robotics to improve production methods and create new products.
More specifically, NEO-SMART’s goals are to:
- Create or retain 20,000 jobs across the 18-county region through a strategy to re-industrialize Northeast Ohio. That includes training 12,000 workers over 10 years for “in-demand,” meaningful jobs through new curriculum in materials and manufacturing at the region’s universities and colleges.
- Reinforce domestic supply chains in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, defense and medical devices.
- Propel innovation by advancing key technologies, such as AI/machine learning in manufacturing, and fostering entrepreneurship. The partners plan to increase corporate research and development (R&D) by 50% and support 150 R&D projects over the next 10 years.
- Bolster industry-academic research partnerships that accelerate “lab-to-market” innovation—a strategy to support 1,000 ventures and provide more than 250 “seed” investments for start-up companies.
Multi-sector regional collaboration
Like many Midwest industrial centers that once drove American manufacturing, Northeast Ohio faced significant challenges and decline due to globalization, technological shifts and often disjointed strategies for regional economic growth.
Nick Barendt, NEO-SMART’s CEO, explained successful place-based innovation and economic growth is rooted in the alignment of partners from industry, higher education, government, nonprofits, economic development and philanthropy that co-create ecosystems to solve the research, translation and workforce challenges.
Coalition buy-in spans partners regionwide, from Greater Cleveland to Akron and Canton, and from Lorain County to Youngstown. Each sector will play a critical role in the vision’s success.
“The manufacturing challenges of the next decade will be solved by academic researchers, industry partners and factory floor teams who work in collaboration to turn scientific insight into commercial reality,” said Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler, the Morton L. Mandel Presidential Chair. “We are tremendously grateful for the extraordinary support and advocacy we received from federal, state and local elected officials that led to this funding opportunity. Together, we will advance the region’s growth and prosperity.”
Read the full press release via Case Western Reserve University.
