North Carolina Innovation Initiative Position North Carolina as the leading location for innovation at all levels – entrepreneurial businesses, large businesses, educational facilities, non-profits and government through policy, leveraged use of existing resources and a community of innovators.

Entrepreneurs Wants/Needs - strong pool of potential employees - a community that supports startups - funding sources - larger organizations that can scale a new product Innovation is commercializing the one really new idea they have as a new product or service Represented by CED

Larger Businesses Wants/Needs - Good working environment - Great pool of smart, motivated employees - Infrastructure/community of other firms Innovation is extending an existing product or service or introducing a completely new product or service Represented by NCTA

Higher Education Wants/Needs - Great students and employment opportunities for those students - Interesting research - collaboration with leading industry/tech transfer Innovation in teaching methods and approaches Represented by NC State, UNC, Duke, UNC-G, UNC-C

State Government Wants/Needs - Strong base of business - Good, high paying jobs - Growth and Economic Development Innovation is a driver for these needs, and can impact the approach and methods of government as well

Current Situation State:a variety of programs targeting entrepreneurs, industry and economic development, none specific to innovation NCTA:a focus on larger technology organizations with some emphasis on innovation but not a primary focus CED:Trying to foster a climate and community for entrepreneurs with some emphasis on innovation

Innovation Opportunity State Government Entrepreneurs Large Firms Universities Innovation Opportunity

State Dept of Commerce NCTA Large companies CED Entrepreneurs - Want: Economic Development - Want: More high paying jobs - Innovation is important to grow new jobs. Uncertain how to foster. - Want: Good working conditions - Want: Good pool of employees - Innovation is a matter of corporate strategy - Want: Good people - Want: Positive environment - Want: Funding sources - Innovation is putting their one idea into action Education Universities - Want: Opportunities for students - Want: Research - Want: Tech Transfer/Commercialization - Want: Leading edge thinking - Innovation is becoming a topic they’d like to teach and research A state-wide focus on improving the conditions for innovation leverages all of these skills and makes North Carolina more attractive to employers, entrepreneurs and students, and brings benefits back to the community. Currently, none of these firms has specific responsibility to foster innovation, and all of them have different constituencies.

Recommendation 1.Look at what other states are doing: Rhode Island Economic Development Pennsylvania: Franklin Technology Partners Georgia: Enterprise Innovation Institute 2.Bring together the Department of Commerce, NCTA, CED and universities under one non-profit umbrella organization to promote NC as a center for innovation 3.Focus the non-profit on innovation that benefits each of the key stakeholders: - Universities – new teaching methods, teaching about innovation, attracting new faculty - Large businesses – encouraging innovation in a large organization, attracting talented people, encouraging risk and innovation locally - Small businesses and entrepreneurs – furthering the work of the CED, encouraging “open and collaborative” innovation between small firms and larger firms or small firms and universities - Government – Innovating government thinking and services 4.Create offerings for all of these constituents and have them all contribute

Organization Organize a new non-profit specifically focused on improving innovation in NC. Build a board composed of: - Someone from Dept. of Commerce - Someone from NCTA (Joanie Myers) - Someone from CED (Monica Doss) - Someone from the legal community (Turlington?) - Someone(s) from Universities (tech transfer or professors) - Someone from OVO (it’s our idea!) - May need other regional representation

Charter The North Carolina Innovation Initiative exists to promote the state of North Carolina as a center for innovation in the state government, universities and private businesses by creating networks that sponsor collaboration and open innovation and share resources, best practices and knowledge. The outcome is to create an environment where North Carolina is recognized as a location that promotes innovation in all facets of its existence – innovative government programs and operations, a business environment focused on creativity and innovation and new product development, and universities focused on new academic approaches and exciting new research.

Funding/Programs and Outcomes Seek funding from the state government, local government, large organizations and local funding sources like NC-Idea. Build programs to foster innovation in each of the constituent populations, leveraging things that exist (FastTrac at CED for example) and creating new programs and capabilities – for example, training programs to help improve innovation in large firms and in the government Hold conferences to encourage open, collaborative innovation between the larger firms who need new technologies or want to spin some out, with the smaller firms or universities who can create new technologies Create a best practices database that can be collected and shared across the state.