Friday, September 21, 2007
Governor Culver Announces New Funding To Encourage Job Creation, Innovation And Workforce Training
$3.5 Million in Three New State Funds will Grow Iowa’s Targeted Industries and Prepare the State’s Next-Generation Workforce
(Des Moines) Today, Governor Chet Culver announced the creation of three new state funds totaling $3.5 million to boost commercialization, innovation, job training and high-quality job creation in Iowa.
The Demonstration Fund, IT Training Fund and IT Joint Venture Fund are part of a strategy to grow Iowa’s targeted industries: advanced manufacturing, biosciences and information technology.
Last session, Governor Culver signed H.F. 829, appropriating $3.5 million a year from the Values Fund to IDED for targeted industries services in fiscal years 2008 through 2015.
“Iowa’s targeted industries are positioned for major growth and job creation in the short and long-term,” said Governor Culver. “We must do all we can to help our workforce keep pace with Iowa’s growing economy. These funds will provide Iowa companies with the right tools and training necessary to discover new technology and keep our economy moving forward.”
"The BioScience Alliance of Iowa designed a program that provides early stage, pre-seed funding which meets the needs of Iowa's technology-based businesses,” said Ted Crosbie, Vice President for Global Plant Research at Monsanto and Iowa's Chief Technology Officer. “The Demonstration Fund provides a vehicle to make innovative and strategic state investments based on industry review and will support Iowa's growing entrepreneurial community for the next several years."
"Iowa’s information technology industry is dynamic and ever changing,” said Irving Hahn, President of QCI and Chair of the Iowa Information Technology Council. “The training dollars respond to our need for flexibility and just-in-time training to ensure our highly-skilled, highly-competitive workforce continues to grow and is trained in the latest applications. The joint venture program will fuel Iowa’s economy by encouraging business connections to leverage the next generation of specialized technologies developed by Iowa’s leading companies".
“Providing technology training to Iowa companies will help our workers stay connected to the latest innovations,” said Iowa Department of Economic Development Director Michael Tramontina.
Applications for all three funds are currently available from IDED.
The Demonstration Fund
The Demonstration Fund provides $2.5 million in seed capital for small and medium-sized Iowa companies in targeted industries with high-growth potential. The purpose of the fund is to encourage commercialization of innovation, fostering competitive, profitable companies that create high paying jobs and wealth in Iowa. Awards are available up to $150,000 for FY08. Companies must match the award with at least one dollar of non-state funding for every two dollars of state funding.
The IT Training Fund
The information technology industry has unique training needs that requires a more flexible and responsive program to access for training dollars. The IT Training Fund provides assistance for Iowa IT firms or IT departments of companies in targeted industries to upgrade the technical skills of existing high-level employees. Funding is available for information technology companies and information technology departments of Iowa companies. Five hundred thousand dollars are available for FY08. Funding is limited to $25,000 for any business site. An applicant must demonstrate the ability to secure two dollars of nonstate monies for every one dollar received from IDED.
The IT Joint Venture Fund
Iowa’s IT producer base is predominantly composed of small firms in the IT services sector. Iowa has a large IT-user base in the state, especially concentrated in the large finance and insurance sector and also across numerous manufacturing OEMs with substantial IT demands. The Information Technology Joint Venture Fund establishes a program to provide financial and technical assistance to Iowa IT-user companies and IT producer companies to work on joint R&D programs to develop the next generation of specialized IT products and services. Five hundred thousand dollars are available for FY08. Funding is limited to $100,000 per project. An applicant must demonstrate the ability to secure two dollars of nonstate monies for every one dollar received from IDED.
For more information, visit http://www.iowalifechanging.com/business.