Ohio BWC announces $30M Workforce Safety Innovation Grant

Columbus, OH — The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is making available $30 million in funding for research and development of personal protective equipment and technology innovations.

The Workforce Safety Innovation Grant, available via BWC’s Workforce Safety Innovation Center, is intended to bring “research, proof-of-concepts and prototypes from laboratories to the marketplace.” This is the fourth round of the funding. Key changes:

• A new research track has been created to go with the existing “proof of concept” and “prototype” tracks.
• Funding awards have increased and now range from $150,000 to $2 million.
• The grant cycle has been extended to two years.

To encourage strong collaboration between business, academia and research institutions, each award requires an industry partner to support innovation development. To be eligible, grant applicants must be from an Ohio research organization or nonprofit higher education institution. A notice of intent to apply for funding and a project abstract must be submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 13. Grant announcements are slated for July 1.

In a press release, BWC CEO/Administrator John Logue said the expansion of the program aims “to facilitate the translation of groundbreaking discoveries into practical, real-world safety solutions for Ohio’s workers.”