Parren J. Mitchell Entrepreneurship Education Program (United States)

This curricula must be practical and targeted to building the skills necessary to yield real results for entrepreneurs in a defined period of time. Further, classes or modules under this Program must be broadly available to the community and cannot be limited to traditionally-enrolled students.

Priorities 

• While there is a set of broad skills needed to successfully manage business ventures, it is critical that skills be aligned to opportunities, especially those that meet market needs. To that end, MBDA has established the following two Priority Areas for the PJM program. Applicants must address at least one of the below Priority Areas in their proposal.
  • Priority Area 1: Leveraging Regional Assets
    • MBDA recognizes that entrepreneurs and businesses operate in complex interconnected ecosystems and that institutes of higher education are poised to help them identify, navigate, and leverage regional assets. To that end, to address this Priority Area, the curricula developed and implemented by successful applicants should include curriculum elements designed to ensure that entrepreneurs are able to align their ventures with the innovation clusters that exist within the regions in which they operate. Applicants seeking to address this Priority Area should also design the implementation of their curricula to meet this priority.
  • Priority Area 2: Supporting Technology Development and Commercialization
    •  Universities play a significant role in the development and commercialization of new technology. The PJM Program will serve as a catalyst in technology development and commercialization by enhancing the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurs to access technology transfer resources. By partnering with small and medium sized firms, eligible institutions can advance technology and also promote market entry for entrepreneurs. This also ensures that eligible institutions and entrepreneurs can support critical supply chains that are essential for their nation’s economy and national security. To address this Priority Area, curricula developed and implemented under this NOFO should address directly technology development and commercialization or be expressly used to complement an existing evidence-based technology transfer program.

Funding Information

• In fiscal year (FY) 2025, MBDA expects to obligate approximately $5 million for multi-year financial assistance awards made under this NOFO for the selected proposals; the awards, which MBDA anticipates funding annually, will have an overall four-year period of performance. MBDA anticipates making approximately 10 awards under this NOFO.
• The funding amount for each award in FY 2025 will be approximately $500,000. MBDA anticipates that an equivalent amount will be available in FY 2026 through FY 2028 to support continuation of the program for the subsequent budget periods (12 months each) of the selected projects.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Under the MBDA Act , eligible applicants are limited to institutions of higher education described in any of paragraphs  through of section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Therefore, eligible applicants are limited to:
  • a Historically Black College or University;
  • a Hispanic-serving institution;
  • a Tribal College or University;
  • an Alaska Native-serving institution or a Native Hawaiian-serving institution ;
  • a Predominantly Black Institution;
  • an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution; or
  • a Native American-serving nontribal institution.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.