Knight Foundation awards $3.1M

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has announced matching grants totaling more than $3.1 million to nineteen community and place-based foundations to support local news and information projects.

Awarded through the Knight Community Information Challenge, the grants will support projects in cities from Miami to Anchorage. Grantees include the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County, which received $305,500 to expand the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network; the Hawai'i Community Foundation, which will use its $240,500 grant to create a statewide student news network in partnership with PBS Hawaii; and the New York Community Trust, which received $110,500 to broaden civic dialogue in New York City by strengthening ethnic media through digital training.

For a complete list of grantees and their projects, visit the Knight Foundation Web site.

“Locally Focused Foundations Increase Support for Community News and Information Projects.” John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Press Release 9/12/10.

Accelerating Innovation Research

To accelerate the process of innovation, NSF is undertaking two related, new activities. The first will encourage the translation of the numerous, technologically-promising, fundamental discoveries made by NSF researchers, while drawing upon and building the entrepreneurial spirit of the researchers and students. The second activity will foster connections between an existing NSF innovation research alliance (including consortia such as Engineering Research Centers (ERC), Industry University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC), Partnerships for Innovation (PFI), Science and Technology Centers (STC), Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC), Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSEC) grantees) and other institutions, whose complementary focus will spur the development of discoveries into innovative technologies through collaboration. Both of these activities are designed to strengthen the U.S. innovation ecosystem. WEBINAR: A webinar will be held in September 2010 to answer any questions about this solicitation. Details will be posted on the Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) website (www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=iip) as they become available.

Link to Full Announcement

NSF Publication 10-608