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 21^st 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.