Optimal Contracted to Support SBA’s Regional Innovation Clusters Initiative

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COLLEGE PARK, MDOctober 18, 2010 – Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) has been contracted to work with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on the “Innovative Economies” Regional Cluster Initiative (RCI) support services project.

Innovation economies are marketing principles that rely on innovation—including knowledge, technology, and entrepreneurship innovations—as the central tenant to a growing economy. SBA is supporting two types of innovative economies: Regional Innovation Clusters and Advanced Defense Technologies. The seven Regional Innovation Clusters focus on providing business training, commercialization and technology transfer services, counseling, mentoring and other services that support the growth and development of small businesses in the cluster region.

The SBA also worked with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to identify areas around the country where regional innovation clusters can help meet critical defense technology needs. Three Advanced Defense Technology awardees will focus on providing business training, counseling, mentoring, matchmaking and other services to small businesses that focus on critical DoD technologies.

Optimal will support the SBA to identify best practices for small business integration and support, developing program evaluation framework and metrics, and monitoring and evaluating RCI awardees. Optimal will further assist in the evaluation and identification of best practices to ensure that the clusters will create sustainable job growth, be capable of competing on a national and global scale, and be able to continue attracting business investment.

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Founded in 2000, Optimal Solutions Group, LLC is a non-partisan public policy research firm dedicated to rigorous and evidence-based research. Optimal’s clients are local, state, and federal governments; non-governmental organizations; and corporations and foundations. Located in the M Square Research Park, Optimal has grown quickly by building on a reputation of exceptional services and products. Our clients benefit from our innovations, value, and efficiency, which we have been able to establish through a robust technology-based infrastructure, uncompromising and documented quality-control procedures, and effective employee recruitment techniques. Optimal has four research centers: health, education, workforce development, and housing.

The SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy. The SBA helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

For more information, please contact Optimal's Communications Department at 301.306.1170 or info@optimalsolutionsgroup.com.