TECHBELT REGION - PITTSBURGH, PA (March 12, 2013) The TechBelt Initiative, a network of technology and innovation stakeholders collaborating to accelerate economic growth within the Northeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Northern West Virginia region,  has recieved $5,000 from the Raymond John Wean Foundation, $25,000 in grant funding from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, as well as $100,000 in funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. This support will enable the TechBelt to organize collaborative economic development activities and to identify new opportunities to attract investment to maintain the momentum of growth in the TechBelt region. 

The TechBelt initiative members represent economic development organizations, foundations, researchers, and chambers of commerce within the tri-state area.  Since its formation in 2008, the TechBelt has built upon its first focus on Life Sciences to include additional  sectors like energy and advanced manufacturing .TechBelt has been working to forge new industry and university partnerships, responding to competitive grant opportunities and connecting cross-state resources to attract new investment. These TechBelt efforts have provided a total return on investment of $195:$1!

The goal of the TechBelt Initiative to establish the TechBelt region as a global center for public and private investment, research, and manufacturing. The Initiative is currently making an impact in the region by bringing more than $74 million in funding and research to the area. Of particular note is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), which brought $30 million in federal investment, as well as $39 million in additional matching dollars to the area.  NAMII provides a method for TechBelt to reinvigorate manufacturing in the region, by creating the resources to support a relationship with the NAMII through grant funding like this.

“In 2013 we plan to use this foundation funding to leverage the momentum being generated by NAMII, “ stated Eric Planey, Vice-President, International Business Attraction for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, and Co-Chair of the TechBelt Initiative.  ‘”We have identified advanced manufacturing as a sector that will have a lasting, positive economic development impact on the region.”

The energy sector is another focus for the TechBelt, where the Initiative is organizing a supply chain for Small Modular Reactors and other aspects of baseload energy by working with private sector companies in the region to capture the need and meet the 100 percent domestic content production required by regulation for theses systems. In addition, 2013 will focus on combining the respective strengths on Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northeastern Ohio in biomaterials and medical devices, by bringing together a group of professionals and researchers to determine the focus of efforts in this area. 

About the TechBelt Initiative
The TechBelt Initiative began as a regional conversation about developing a strategy to reinvigorate the Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh-to-Morgantown corridor and surrounding region. The continued transition to a technology and knowledge-based economy combined with our industrial and academic assets, dictates that the region is poised for renewed growth. To achieve success we must identify opportunities to collaborate in the creation of new products, technologies, companies and wealth.  The conversation has resulted in the formation of a collaborative effort known as the TechBelt Initiative. www.techbelt.org

www.techbelt.org 

Thursday, August 16, 2012 

Today in Youngstown it was announced that the proposal for the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation pilot, titled the TechBelt Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute was selected as the winning proposal by the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce.  Read more about this exciting news

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.