The National Science Foundation has selected 34 semifinalists for an inaugural competition that seeks to promote regional growth, teaming and innovation in several technology areas, including advanced manufacturing, bioeconomy, microelectronics, quantum, logistics and supply chain and sustainable energy.

NSF said Wednesday it received 188 concept outlines for the Regional Innovation Engines competition and selected the semifinalists after a review of proposals.

The semifinalists are led by companies, universities, nonprofits and other organizations from various U.S. states and territories.

The agency will assess each team’s competitive advantages, workforce development efforts and resources and budget for proposed research initiatives.

NSF plans to announce the teams that will transition to the final round in July.

Each awardee under the NSF Engines competition, which was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act, will initially receive approximately $15 million over a two-year period.

According to the agency, semifinalists not selected to secure an award through the contest may be eligible for up to $1 million in NSF Engine Development Award for two years to help develop their initial ecosystems, compete for additional funding and further develop partnerships.

Click here to see the full list of NSF Engines semifinalists.

Laura Stanton, a General Services Administration official, said federal agencies looking to improve employee performance, offer compliance-related courses and flexible learning options and provide training on cloud, software and other information technology areas should consider using the Training Courses Special Item Number on the Multiple Award Schedule.

The departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Social Security Administration and other federal agencies spent more than $46 million on services through the Training SIN in 2022, Stanton, assistant commissioner for the office of IT category at GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, wrote in a blog post published Thursday.

Stanton discussed how a government agency used the IT Training SIN to facilitate the installation of distance learning options in support of its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She cited how the special item number enabled a military base to immediately deploy virtual courses for enlisted personnel and officers and tap the services of small businesses.

“This meant that even during an almost two-year pandemic, more than 75 critical employees received training through one thousand hours of CLP-accredited courses. It also allowed the base to track certificates of completion in real-time,” Stanton wrote.

The Department of Defense has selected an Army Research Laboratory-led project team that aims to advance precision weapons with quantum technology as the winner of the 2024 Applied Research for Advancement of Science and Technology Priorities competition.

The CLassical quantum hybrid constructs to Advance Weapons Systems project will receive $45 million in funding to develop a quantum-based capability that would enable “greater precision at longer range, lower collateral damage and more agile platforms,” the DOD said Wednesday.

CLAWS is among the three finalists selected from the nine proposals received for the ARAP competition. Each finalist team was given the opportunity to brief DOD’s Science and Technology Executive Committee on its proposal.

The winning project was chosen based on its ability to address capability needs, eligibility for applied research funding and capacity to boost collaboration across the U.S. military.

The Army Research Laboratory submitted the CLAWS project in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for data, engineering and software, said the service is adopting a more agile approach to software development and that approach is reflected in the Army’s plan to use software initial capabilities documents and capability needs statements and to work with a team that could help refine the requirements in development sprints.

“That’s really game changing, because instead of giving us a 200-page document, which is kind of how we’ve operated for a long time, it will be a short, pithy high-level ‘this is what we need’ [document],” Swanson told Defense One in an interview published Thursday.

She noted that the service is transforming how it is asking vendors to deliver products, particularly the “show me” aspect in proposals.

“The other thing is that we’re not just evaluating the solution, we’re evaluating the company’s ability to be agile, because that’s where we have stumbled in the past,” Swanson said.

“So, you can show us a shiny solution and a demo. But if we give you new requirements, how fast can you turn those new requirements into a new release?,” she added.