Originally posted on Quora September 7, 2022
The Commerce Department announced plans to prioritize “underrepresented” business owners, including women and racial minorities, when distributing $50 billion in federal funding for the semiconductor industry provided by the recent CHIPS act.
The move, which designates “underrepresented” business owners as those who are racial minorities, women, veterans or located in rural areas, is part of a broader strategy to “leverage collaborations to build out semiconductor ecosystems,” and “create inclusive and broadly shared opportunities for business,” according to the Commerce Department’s strategy report. Establishing a “resilient” domestic supply chain is “critical” to both the military and economic goals of the U.S., particularly by freeing the U.S. from reliance on an increasingly hostile China, according to the Commerce Department.
“The legislation authorizes investments to expand the geographic and institutional diversity of research institutions and the students and researchers they serve, including new initiatives to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions, and other academic institutions providing opportunities to historically-underserved students and communities, primarily through the National Science Foundation (NSF),” according to a White House fact sheet…
Proposals will also be preferred if they include “targeted” outreach to “women, people of color, workers in rural areas, and veterans,” according to the Commerce Department.