Dr. Edward Metz directs the SBIR program at the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, which provides seed funding for the R&D of innovative forms of commercially viable education learning technologies. Metz specializes in working with industry leaders in the development of education technology, research to test implementation in schools and the promise of games to increase learning, and on business models for private sector commercialization. Metz’s work through SBIR has included leading the annual ED Games Expo and cross-agency stakeholder initiatives focusing on building capacity for games for learning in education. In recent years, ED/IES SBIR has been a leading funder in the games for learning space, making awards to industry leading game development firms such as Electric Funstuff, Sokikom, Spry Fox, Filament Games, Teachley, Schell Games, Kiko Labs, and Strange Loop Games.