The White House Council on Environmental Quality has issued a call for industry proposals to modernize federal environmental review and permitting processes.
The Permitting Innovators Call for Solutions, launched in collaboration with NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, invites companies, startups, researchers and nonprofits to propose technologies that could improve how agencies manage permitting workflows, the White House said Tuesday. Submissions are due June 2.
What Is the Permitting Innovators Program?
The call is part of the Permitting Innovators program, which seeks to connect federal agencies with private sector technologies to accelerate permitting timelines and improve coordination.
The initiative builds on the Permitting Technology Action Plan, a governmentwide strategy to address challenges such as outdated systems, fragmented data and manual processes that slow environmental reviews. The plan outlines goals for improving data integration, transparency and timeline predictability across agencies.
“America’s innovators have solutions to improve how Federal agencies manage environmental reviews and permitting — and this program gives them a direct path to put those solutions to work,” said CEQ Chairman Katherine Scarlett.
What Types of Tools Is CEQ Seeking?
CEQ is prioritizing technologies that support business process modernization, workflow automation, digital-first documentation and tools that improve schedule predictability.
The goal is to help agencies move away from disconnected, manual systems and adopt more efficient, integrated platforms that enable faster and more consistent decision-making.
How Will Submissions Be Evaluated?
A panel of experts will review proposals and select up to 50 capabilities to be demonstrated at the Permitting Innovators Expo, scheduled for July in Washington, D.C. Selected participants will present their technologies to federal agency leaders and explore potential partnerships.
Qualifying technologies will also be included in a Permitting Innovators Solutions Catalog, which agencies can use to identify vetted tools as they implement modernization efforts under the Permitting Technology Action Plan.
