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Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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The Northeast Ohio Experience

Dorothy Baunach

Cleveland Tomorrow

Today's Presentation

  • Give an overview of Northeast Ohio.
  • Describe our technology infrastructure and model.
  • Share lessons learned.

Northeast Ohio Overview

  • Eight-county region with two major urban areas, Cleveland and Akron
  • Almost 3 million people (fourteenth largest consumer area in the United States)
  • Twenty-three percent of jobs are in manufacturing
  • About half as high-tech as San Francisco or Boston
  • High-school educated region
  • High-poverty region, 11.8 percent
  •  

     

Northeast Ohio's Technology Infrastructure

  • Years of experience (making it up as we go along)
  • But the key has been a comprehensive partnership with industry; academic and research organizations; state, federal and local governments; and foundations.
  • All partners are organized and managed to harness technology for economic benefit.
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Targeted R&D/Industry Clusters

  • Automotive—large employment base, losing inventive edge.
  • Aerospace—anchored by NASA Lewis Research Center.
  • Biomedical—eighteenth largest city for receipt of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
  • Polymers/advanced materials—ranks in top five U.S. regions for industry and research and development (R&D).
  • Information/telecommunications—impacts all other segments.
  •  

     

Our Strategy

  • Increase the competitiveness of businesses in key sectors of the economy.
  • Form, incubate, and retain new businesses.
  • Support research collaborations and tech transfer.
  • Develop the workforce—general, highly skilled, entrepreneurial.
  • Figure B-1.

Our Vehicle Enhanced: A Complementary Set of Financial Tools

  • Primus Venture Partners ($350 million venture capital fund)
  • Cleveland Development Partnership ($60 million real estate development fund)
  • Ohio Innovation Fund ($11 million in seed capital)
  • Figure B-2.

Economic Impact

This has been difficult to track and measure. Anecdotes abound and a few accomplishments are worthy of note:

  • Manufacturing employment has stabilized and CAMP's (Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program) GLMTC (Great Lakes Manufacturing Technology Center) has reached annual fees of $5 million from industrial projects.
  • Industrial research consortia and networks have formed around several key technologies.
  • Incubator tenants have returned state investment in payroll taxes.
  • Biomedical research base has tripled and company formation is improving.
  • Companies started during the past 15 years are making real contributions to the economy (STERIS Corp. is an example).
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Figure B-1

Northeast Ohio technology intermediaries and funding trends

Technology Leadership Council Lessons Learned

  • Leadership matters.
  • Public/private partnerships work.
  • It's really hard to maintain long-term commitments.
  • Partners and programs need to innovate as region learns/changes over time.
  • Federal funds are critical to regional science and technology strategies.
  • Toughest support to find is for early stage, technology-based business formation.
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Figure B-2

Technology Leadership Council Model

Examples of Federal Government Role in Technology-Based Economic Development, Northeast Ohio

  • Research grants—National Science Foundation (NSF), NIH, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), etc.
  • Small Business Innovation Research grants
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology—Manufacturing Technology Center funding; Advanced Technology Program
  • NSF Science and Technology Center
  • EDA (Economic Development Administration) grant for urban Bio-Enterprise incubator
  • NASA—RTTC (Regional Technology Transfer Center), incubator, education grants
  • DoD ECRC (Electronic Commerce Resource Centers) funding
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
×

Technology Leadership Council, an Executive Network

  • Enhance the model by identifying and implementing select initiatives.
  • Facilitate activities among intermediaries to remove barriers, build linkages, and garner support.
  • Communicate and advocate the importance of technology to regional economic growth.
  • Target technology investments to build on regional strengths and focus on economic development returns.
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
×
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Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Page 140
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Page 141
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Page 142
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Page 143
Suggested Citation:"The Northeast Ohio Experience." National Research Council. 1999. Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9456.
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Page 144
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Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National and Regional Priorities Get This Book
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This book is largely based on a 1998 forum where participants from across America discussed ways to improve the utilization of science and technology for economic growth over the next several decades. A steering committee of prominent Americans, co-chaired by SEMATECH Chairman William Spencer and former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, developed consensus recommendations from the forum input.

Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future puts forward long-term goals for the nation and associated action items. It includes background papers and talks from the forum, covers the economics of science and technology-based growth, industry trends, the role of government, education, research universities, and the international context.

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