TechBelt - Youngstown, OH – August 25, 2011 – Imagine a world where
businesses have access to the capital they need to drive innovation and
collaboration. Additionally, an educated workforce stands ready to have
companies compete for their employment, instead of the workforce competing amongst
each other for jobs. And, what if this world aggressively encouraged university
start-ups and on-shore manufacturing through tax credits and other rebates?
This is the world the Department of Commerce’s Innovation Advisory Board
is trying to create, with the help of regional business executives, nonprofits
and economic development organizations from across the country. This Innovation Advisory Board is a 15-member
committee who advises the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the
National Economic Council and other federal agencies, on the development of a
study focusing on America’s innovative capacity and global economic
competitiveness. The Innovation Advisory
Board was established by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010,
signed by President Obama in January of this year. Board members offer advice
and solicit feedback from stakeholders across the country, serving until the
completion of the study – required before January 4, 2012.
On August 25, 2011 at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of
Business, regional thought leaders from across the TechBelt convened to share
their ideas and concerns surrounding global competitiveness, workforce
development and innovation ecosystems. A roundtable of nearly 50 executives had
their voices heard in an active discussion, which featured the Acting
Department of Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, as well as the Department’s
Chief Economist and Strategic Planning officials.
Two Innovation Advisory Board members, Rebecca O. Bagley, President and
CEO of Cleveland’s NorTech, and James Clements, President of West Virginia
University, hosted the event and focused the discussions around goals set by
the TechBelt Initiative. “The discussion represented a cross section of many
industries, all who are trying to survive and thrive during tough economic
times,” Bagley said. “With the information and feedback we received, the
Innovation Advisory Board will be able to formulate recommendations to promote
positive change for global competitiveness.”
The roundtable discussion focused on ways the Department of Commerce and
federal government can help or assist businesses in achieving success
throughout the TechBelt. Common themes included expedited access to capital,
increased investment, revised tax codes and balancing the portfolio of federal
funding. “As we enter the second decade of this new century we have a unique
opportunity to establish the legacy of the 21st Century as one in
which America again prospered in spite of unprecedented challenges,” added Jack
Scott, President of Youngstown-based Applied Systems and Technology Transfer
(AST2). “We cannot afford to delay action in support of embracing
funding and programs that will provide technology solutions to the imminent
need to reestablish the US as the global economic power.”
Participants were asked to prepare written statements surrounding the
themes of the roundtable, which will be assembled into an eBook, to be
distributed to the event’s attendees, the Department of Commerce, the
Innovation Advisory Board and posted to the TechBelt’s website.