Federal Ecosystems Development, Inc.

Federal Ecosystems Development, Inc. is a non-profit building Federal ecosystems in rural communities to help them leverage Federal R&D funding and contracts to drive innovation, economic development, economic stability and job and wage growth. We achieve our mission by: (i) educating target communities about Federal R&D and contracting opportunities; (ii) training entrepreneurs, inventors and businesses how to leverage Federal R&D and contracting dollars; and (iii) facilitating events and initiatives to foster the relationships required to create vibrant regional Federal ecosystems. FED is initially targeting the South Bend - Elkhart Region (SBE) with the launch of two tactical initiatives: the Industry 4.0 Consortium and an SBIR|STTR Accelerator. The Industry 4.0 Consortium is a coalition of manufacturers teaming with industry, universities and national laboratories to leverage Federal R&D funds, resources and experts to establish our region as the center of Industry 4.0 R&D in the United States. The goal of the SBIR|STTR Accelerator is to recruit and train executives and entrepreneurs from the midwest to pursue SBIR|STTR funding. These two programs provide approximately $2.5B annually to businesses of 500 or fewer employees to drive research and development. The funds are non-dilutive cash awards. The businesses own all the IP they develop with the awards, and the awards subsequently serve as powerful Federal R&D and contracting vehicles for any tech and related services that are developed under the award, that complete technology developed with the award, or that are a natural extension of the technology developed under the award.