Friday, December 19, 2008

Inside Public Policy

Vermont: Committed to tech-based development

With our nation struggling through the most severe economic downturn in decades, it is clear that Vermont’s prosperity will depend on the foundation provided by the technological innovations derived from basic research and on the continued optimism of our entrepreneurial community.

For over 15 years, the Vermont Technology Council, in close partnership with state and federal government, education institutions and other economic development organizations, has promoted strategies for creating an environment conducive to commercialization of products and services and the growth of technology companies.

The council has long recognized the importance of Vermont’s colleges and universities to the economic vitality of our state, especially when it comes to turning science and engineering innovations into viable business opportunities. Under the leadership of president Daniel Fogel, the University of Vermont has stepped up its commitment to tech-based economic development in recent years. The university’s technology transfer program has grown significantly, with increasing numbers of patents and spinoff companies resulting from the innovative research of its scientists and engineers.

The university, under its UVM Ventures program, has introduced two grants to provide entrepreneurial faculty and staff with hard-to-get financial support for early-stage development. These funds are intended to accelerate innovation, increase the potential for investment by traditional venture capital funds, and enhance the prospect of success for startups.

The university has renewed its support for the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, its on-campus technology business incubator. VCET, which recently expanded its facilities, strives to increase the number of technology-based small companies originating in or relocating to Vermont, and to promote and accelerate university and industry technology transfer and commercialization. VCET presently serves 10 companies with diverse technologies, including software development, diagnostics and materials.

The Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, also located at the university, plays a key role in helping small companies obtain federal SBIR grants to grow their companies. EPSCoR provides up to $12,000 to small companies to fund feasibility studies or other research to improve their competitiveness for SBIR grants. Since 1992, nearly 100 companies have benefited from this program.

The Vermont State Colleges, under chancellor Robert Clarke, provide critical infrastructure for a number of programs relating to the growth of tech-based companies. One of their campuses, the Vermont Technical College, houses two programs, the Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center and the Vermont Small Business Development Center, which provide direct assistance to a broad array of businesses. VMEC recently expanded its services beyond its traditional manufacturing consulting and now helps firms develop their innovations using best practices. On a sad note, the Vermont Enterprise Center, a small-business incubator run by the Vermont Technical College and home of a central office of the Vermont Small Business Development Center, was destroyed by fire. Its tenants included several technology firms.

With its focus on electronic game development and related technology education, Burlington’s Champlain College, led by president David Finney, has played a growing role in promoting information technology-based economic development in the region. Its new Emergent Media Center fosters the development of creativity, entrepreneurship and professional skills for students in emergent media fields, particularly electronic game development. Champlain College also houses the Vermont Information Technology Center and has been a strong supporter of the recently created Vermont Software Developers’ Alliance. With more than 60 member companies, the alliance is a trade association dedicated to fostering a healthy software industry in Vermont.

The Vermont Technology Council has long pointed to our state’s higher education community as a cornerstone of our technology-based economic development strategy, and we are encouraged by the growing commitment of our colleges and universities, exemplified by programs at Norwich University, Middlebury College, and Marlboro College as well as those described above, to foster an environment where technology companies can thrive.
 

Paul Hale is executive director of the Vermont Technology Council and associate vice president for research and economic development at the University of Vermont. He can be reached at paul.hale@uvm.edu.