Under the program established in section 1862p–2 of this title and the activities authorized under this section, from amounts made available to the Directorate, the Director, in coordination with other Federal agencies as determined appropriate by the Director, shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to advance the development, adoption, and commercialization of technologies, consistent with the purposes of the Directorate under section 19102 of this title.
The Director shall make awards under this section to eligible entities to establish collaborative innovation resource centers that promote regional technology transfer and technology development activities available to more than one institution of higher education and to other entities in a region.
The Director shall ensure regional and geographic diversity in issuing awards under this section.