Positive impact on New Mexico's economy, communities

Through our relations and partnerships across government agencies, laboratories, universities, and industry, Los Alamos National Laboratory delivers the best possible science and technology results for the nation while making a positive impact on our New Mexico communities and economy.

Check out the Economic Impact on New Mexico webpage for the latest information and data on our efforts in

• economic development, including investment and technical assistance
• small business procurement
• employment

Regional Development Corporation

Our primary economic development partner in Northern New Mexico is the Regional Development Corporation (RDC), a nonprofit organization with a mission to create and retain jobs. It offers a suite of business assistance services to support the local economy.

The RDC administers the Venture Acceleration Fund (VAF) which gathers a number of local investment partners (including the Laboratory's managing contractor) to support local businesses with seed capital funds. Since its establishment in 2006, VAF has helped 66 companies with early-stage seed capital, directly creating or retaining over 693 jobs. 
• Learn about the 2018 VAF awardees

New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program (NMSBA)

New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program (NMSBA) helps for-profit small businesses in New Mexico access cutting-edge technologies, solve technical issues and gain knowledge from technical experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The assistance is provided at no cost to the small businesses.

Since 2000 the program has assisted over 2,648 small businesses in all parts of New Mexico.

Economic and business development partnerships

The Laboratory is involved with the Northern New Mexico business community through economic development and business service partners. We participate in the following organizations:

• American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexico
• Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Española Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Greater Espanola Valley Community Development Corporation
• Las Vegas First Independent Business Alliance
• Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce
• Mora Valley Chamber of Commerce
• NM IDEA
• Regional Development Corporation
• Greater Sandoval County Chamber of Commerce
• Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce
• Taos Entrepreneurial Network
• Taos County Chamber of Commerce

LANL Major Subcontractors Consortium

The Laboratory's major subcontractors have economic development requirements as part of their subcontracts with the Laboratory, making each major subcontractor a valuable source of resources for the region's economic development.

Subcontractors with contract awards of $5 million or greater submit a Subcontractor’s Regional and Community Development Plan to address economic development, education enrichment, and corporate citizenship in Northern New Mexico. The LANL Major Subcontractors Consortium enables these subcontractors to collaborate and increase the impact of their regional community development plans to enhance the economy, education system and quality of life in Northern New Mexico.

Economic Development Grant Pool

The LANL Major Subcontractors Consortium's Economic Development Grant Pool is a program that allows members to leverage their resources for the diversification of Northern New Mexico's economy for greater impact in education and economic development. Grants have been awarded to nonprofits in two areas: Youth Entrepreneurship and Industry Cluster Development.

Native American Venture Acceleration Fund

The Native American Venture Acceleration Fund  makes awards to tribally-owned companies for critical technical services, which leads to increased revenues and employment for the company. Awards are intended to provide services to tribal business entities that will allow the company to diversify revenue, create new jobs and have systems in place that lead to growth.

In 2018, a record nine Native American businesses received grants and to date, more than $330,000 has been invested in the regional economy through the Native American Venture Acceleration Fund. The program is administered by the Regional Development Corporation.