By Anne Barth
Economists assess 70 percent of U.S. growth in the last 50 years has been due to technology and innovation. While some may automatically think of Silicon Valley or the Research Triangle, there is growing evidence that a culture of entrepreneurship is beginning to spread around the country, including rural areas.
In West Virginia, a collaborative initiative is underway to develop a robust innovation culture by advancing science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship across the state. This initiative is led by TechConnect West Virginia, a nonprofit coalition of members from private industry, higher education, research and the public sector. The organization serves as a forum and facilitator to enhance awareness, spur collaboration and raise the discussion of issues needed to strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem.
Another key role of TechConnect is to coordinate innovation development efforts as one. TechConnect works in close partnership with the West Virginia Department of Commerce; Marshall University; West Virginia University; the West Virginia High Technology Consortium; the Higher Education Policy Commission; Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center; West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust; the Chemical Alliance Zone and the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing. Other partners include Chesapeake Energy, Dow, service providers like Steptoe & Johnson, Arnett Foster Toothman and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
TechConnect’s efforts to grow the state’s innovation ecosystem follow the “West Virginia Blueprint for Technology-Based Economic Development,” developed in association with the Battelle Institute and released in 2009. It identified four areas of technology opportunity:
- Chemicals and Advanced Materials
- Biometrics and Identity Management
- Biotechnology
- Advanced Energy
These four areas are ones where state development efforts have real potential to turn innovation into enterprise. And, thanks to the support from Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, the West Virginia Legislature and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, TechConnect has begun implementing this strategic plan.
TechConnect works with entrepreneurs and startup companies in the four targeted platform sectors. The model is for TechConnect member organizations to provide the services and mentorship needed by entrepreneurs and startups. This might be business and technical assistance, market analyses, legal and accounting expertise, identifying management personnel or exploring options for capital. This is the same guidance that companies in Boston, Seattle and San Francisco have been enjoying for decades.
Some of the programs TechConnect has implemented to help spur greater economic development include StartUp West Virginia Manufacturing, StartUp West Virginia Venture, the Innovation Adoption Program and the Innovation Transfer Consortium.
StartUp West Virginia Manufacturing
TechConnect and the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing (RCBI) are partnering on this program to help individuals and entrepreneurs turn ideas for new products or processes into reality, generating new jobs across the state.
StartUp West Virginia Venture
TechConnect and the INNOVA Commercialization Group are partnering on this program to provide commercialization services, such as mentoring, legal, financial and accounting assistance or marketing help, to selected small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Innovation Adoption Program
In collaboration with the Pittsburgh-based Innovation Works and the RCBI, TechConnect has launched the Innovation Adoption Program, designed to assist existing small manufacturing companies in new product development, operational excellence and process improvement.
Innovation Transfer Consortium
West Virginia’s small colleges and universities will have new opportunities to commercialize innovative research and products through the Innovation Transfer Consortium. The consortium links researchers at nearly 20 institutions of higher education with technology-transfer services and private-sector partner opportunities, while also enhancing students’ learning experiences.
The StartUp West Virginia Manufacturing program, launched in March 2012, is already showing positive results. Carbon Fibers of Hurricane uses carbon fiber fabrics and aerospace-quality resin to produce composite airframe parts to exacting standards. Through the StartUp West Virginia Manufacturing program, the company is utilizing the expertise and equipment at RCBI to develop a full-scale flying prototype aircraft to be sold on the aircraft kit market.
Extreme Endeavors is a research and development company that literally goes to the ends of the earth for its clients. The company, based in Philippi, WV, specializes in diverse, high-risk engineering projects involving the monitoring, control and protection of critical infrastructure systems, including mining, water/wastewater, communications and oil and gas.
The StartUp West Virginia Manufacturing program is providing Extreme Endeavors with a mechanical design of the sensing elements for a system to monitor the propane level inside a tank. The company’s objective is to develop a mechanical design that will be practical for home use and will keep the sensor system at an affordable price.
TechConnect also sponsors and partners with other organizations on conferences, forums and other special events to enhance awareness, spur collaboration and raise the discussion of issues needed to strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem. This has included the hosting of a biometrics forum and a Women in Technology Conference, and the co-hosting of events such as the Teaming to Win Conference, West Virginia Biosciences Summit and the TransTech Energy Conference.
TechConnect also advocates for policies that will help build the infrastructure—both intellectual and physical—needed for innovation. The organization supported the creation of the state’s Research Trust Fund, or Bucks for Brains program, designed to strengthen university research and attract faculty whose scientific research will lead to new patents and products. TechConnect also supported the creation of the West Virginia Angel Investor Network to address a gap in early stage and seed capital funding. Angel network members are successful West Virginia businesspersons who grasp the importance of reinvesting in their communities and in the bright, young risk-takers who offer so much promise. TechConnect advocates for reinstatement of the High Growth Investment Tax Credit to incentivize angel investors and help spur job growth.
Finally, TechConnect hopes to raise the level of conversation and understanding among policymakers and opinion leaders regarding the innovation economy and the critical role it plays in creating wealth, growing jobs and helping traditional industries compete and prosper.
Studies show the best way to create more jobs in a state is to grow them at home. That’s why TechConnect is working to maximize university research, strengthen the partnership between researchers and entrepreneurs and develop a coordinated pathway for commercialization across the state.
To learn more or to get involved, visit www.techconnectwv.org.
About the Author
Anne Barth is the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia where she manages a variety of programs aimed at fostering entrepreneurs and startup companies, leads development and fundraising efforts to implement programs and activities and is involved in a number of educational, cluster development and work force initiatives. Barth, who was awarded the U.S. Small Business Administration’s District Director’s Award in 2012 for her efforts with TechConnect, also serves on a variety of boards and organizations including the Southern Technology Council of the Southern Growth Policies Board, to which she was appointed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in 2011. Before joining TechConnect, Barth worked for more than two decades for the late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd.
