NWPA KIZ Five-Year Strategic Plan

12/23/08

FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

approved

December 19, 2008

  1. Executive Summary

The Northwest Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone (NWPA KIZ), encompassing Crawford, Mercer, Warren, and Clarion Counties, serves as a network for businesses, service providers and institutions of higher education (IHE) to collaborate, innovate, and create opportunities for economic, technological and entrepreneurial advancement. The NWPA KIZ strives to encourage and facilitate the creation of early stage companies while also supporting the region's existing KIZ businesses. Working with existing KIZ companies, the NWPA KIZ will encourage the development of a pipeline of new opportunities stemming from the intersection of institutions of higher education and new technology-based ideas and innovations. Along with encouraging entrepreneurship and new company creation, the NWPA KIZ will facilitate corporate research partnerships with participating IHEs, and foster community connections between IHEs and the private sector through public outreach and internships.

The four Target Industries for the NWPA KIZ are clean technology, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and life sciences. The primary target audience for the work of the NWPA KIZ includes private companies and entrepreneurs in targeted industry sectors, institutes of higher education, and service providers; economic and workforce development organizations, government entities, and private financial institutions. Some of the strategies employed to market the program include communicating the mission and initiatives of the KIZ program to the targeted audiences, educating partners and stakeholders about the benefits (financial and otherwise) available through the KIZ, and promoting "success stories" of existing partners and KIZ companies who utilized the benefits or services of the KIZ. These strategies are being implemented through the development of a KIZ website, media success stories that highlight the KIZ programs and businesses, participation by KIZ Board members on regional speakers' bureaus and relevant conferences, and sponsorship and/or coordination of student competitions that promote innovation.

The programs and services provided by the NWPA KIZ fall under six primary initiatives, each with the following specific goals:

1) Entrepreneurship Infrastructure - Enhancing existing regional and statewide entrepreneur-focused programs; facilitating the entrance of KIZ companies and entrepreneurs into the service provider network; raising the level of awareness of the KIZ program in the region; providing technical assistance to KIZ companies; matching academic-industry research opportunities and/or projects; and working with students, faculty and potential entrepreneurs to facilitate the creation of new KIZ companies and the commercialization of new technologies.

2) Regional Coordination - Providing each partner IHE with a point person to create the connectivity among IHEs, potential and existing KIZ companies, and the KIZ coordinator, and ensuring that uniform delivery of services occurs.

3)Focus Industry Student Interns - Working to place interns from participating IHEs in positions with NWPA KIZ companies and partner organizations in support of NWPA KIZ goals.

4)Business and Research Services - Performing business and research services for KIZ companies and partners in order to further their abilities to grow and succeed and to help the IHEs grow their capacity to participate in partnerships that lead to and/or stimulate commercialization and innovation; working with the Commonwealth's Innovation Partnership and PennTAP to connect NWPA KIZ companies with the federal government's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs; working with the NWPA KIZ delegates and faculty at partnering Colleges and Universities to call awareness to SBIR/STTR solicitation topics; working with existing NWPA KIZ industry sector companies to identify partnering opportunities; developing a proactive research funding service to match partner needs/strengths with other state and federal research opportunities; and developing a system of grant writing assistance to help KIZ companies to further secure funding.

5)Marketing and Outreach - Conducting outreach and public education including public presentations, a NWPA KIZ website, informational brochures, meetings with the media, etc., to facilitate the identification of potential and pipeline NWPA KIZ companies and engage them in KIZ related opportunities.

6)Capital Assistance - Developing enhanced support from banks through a better identification of company assets and the ability to leverage traditional financing through the use of other funding programs; enhancing support from economic development programs due to a thorough analysis of opportunities to support start-up companies; cultivating a greater awareness of investment opportunities that exist in the region for regional, statewide and national investors; and promotion of NWPA KIZ Micro Grant opportunities.

Originally established through the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission (Northwest Commission), the NWPA KIZ has moved toward stand-alone 501c3 status. As such, the existing KIZ Board of Directors has been formally reappointed, with representative membership from a broad cross section of regional stakeholders. The Northwest Commission's Business Development Manager will continue to serve as KIZ Coordinator and the Northwest Commission will serve as fiscal agent for all program expenses and income at the direction of the NWPA KIZ Board of Directors.

The NWPA KIZ has been awarded $250,000 in state funds in Year One, and will reapply for $187,500 in state funds in Year Two, and $125,000 in state funds in Year Three and $62,500 in state funds in Year Four.

The Board intends to develop a longer-term budget for the program that depicts a decreased reliance on state funds, with associated increases in other sources of funding and in kind contributions to help sustain the program. In order to ensure long-term financial sustainability of the KIZ program, the staff and Board will pursue various avenues of future funding to support coordination/administrative activities, programmatic and in kind services, and commitments of funding for future capital assistance grants. In addition to seeking continued

support from IHEs and partners, other targeted sources of future revenue/support include public and/or private foundations, banks and other financial institutions, and venture capitalists/angel networks.

2.Description of the NWPA KIZ

2A.Role of the KIZ Program in the Regional Economic Development Strategy

NWPA KIZMissionStatement:The Northwest Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone (NWPA KIZ) serves as a network for businesses, service providers and institutions of higher education to collaborate, innovate and create opportunities for economic, technological and entrepreneurial advancement.

The Commonwealth's Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) program providesfunding for community/university partnerships to generate job growththrough tech transfer and entrepreneurship. KIZs are designated zones,most often focused around campuses and property adjacent to colleges anduniversities.

The Northwest Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone (NWPA KIZ) wasestablished to foster innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities aspart of the Commonwealth's overall economic stimulus package. The NWPAKIZ is seen as a multi-faceted program that involves collaborationsamong Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), local communities,businesses and economic development partners. The creation of anentrepreneurial climate provides the focus for the NWPA KIZ, with theIHEs serving as the conduit to the creation of that climate.
Operating in designated zones, the NWPA KIZ aligns thecombined resources of educational institutions and the private sector byencouraging partnerships that focus on innovation, patent developmentand technological advances designed to help businesses and entrepreneursgrow and build their companies. This alignment of our IHEs and NWPA KIZbusinesses is the bedrock of the NWPA KIZ program andevery effort will be made to broker partnerships at the time ofcompany registration and throughout the life of that company'sinvolvement with the NWPA KIZ.

In March 2007, the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission (Northwest Commission), based in OilCity, and serving the counties of Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, Warren and Venango, received a $10,500 planning grant from Department of Community and Economic Development. The planning grant facilitated the completion of a planning process for a Crawford County KIZ, while also exploring development of a KIZ for Northwest Pennsylvania.

The NWPA KIZ planning grant initiated a process of regional collaboration that led to an understanding of regional assets in support of new company creation, especially as a result of collaborative research and development between our academic institutions and private companies, linking to existing resources in economic and workforce development. During the planning process, a large constituency of regional stakeholders convened to take a comprehensive view of innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities in the region. The collective work that had been undertaken in preparing county-centric KIZ applications, including work done in ClarionCounty as a result of a $25,000 planning grant, was synthesized into a structure that allowed the various partners' strengths to complement one another in the creation of a collaborative framework to stimulate regional economic growth.

The NWPA KIZ, which was designated in October 2007, reflects the growing collaboration that emerged throughout the planning grant process and has continued to develop over the past year. The NWPA KIZ includes four of the eight counties served by the Northwest Commission: Crawford, Mercer, Warren, and Clarion counties.

The Northwest Commission is the grantee of the funding for the NWPA KIZ and will be responsible for compliance with the contract(s) issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The Northwest Commission shall provide daily oversight for implementation of the NWPA KIZ work plan, which will be established by the NWPA KIZ Board. The Northwest Commission will oversee the distribution of all KIZ funds by adhering to the KIZ budget as established by the NWPA KIZ Board.

The Northwest Commission will act as the Fiscal Agent for the NWPA KIZ, and will hire and keep on staff a Business Development Manager, who will serve as the Coordinator for the NWPA KIZ. In addition to serving as the KIZ Coordinator, the Business Development Manager will also conduct activities related to the Northwest Commission's established goals in its Business Attraction program.

2B.Goals

Overall goals of the NWPA KIZ program are to:

• Provide outreach and business assistance to determine KIZ eligibility/service needs

• Create start-up businesses in the established geography of the NWPA KIZ

• Assist early-stage KIZ companies and pipeline companies

•Encourage spin-off technologies and entrepreneurship from established manufacturers

  • Create new full-time employment opportunities
  • Retain full-time employees

•Provide education/training to entrepreneurs

  • Assist colleges and companies in securing patents and protecting intellectual property
  • Place interns with established NWPA KIZ companies and partners
  • Develop student teams to assist with NWPA KIZ development and to foster community connection
  • Facilitate new projects that lead to corporate partnerships/research contracts with NWPA KIZ academic partners
  • Encourage articles to be published or aired on entrepreneur successes
  • Cultivate new investments in the region

2C. Major Activities

Major activities of the KIZ program initiatives detailed in Section Five of this Plan, include:

  • Developing entrepreneurial infrastructure
  • Facilitating regional collaboration
  • Placing student interns with registered NWPA KIZ companies and partner organizations
  • Providing business and research services
  • Marketing the NWPA KIZ programs through outreach and public education
  • Providing financial assistance to foster innovation and entrepreneurship

2D. Target Audience

There are several target audiences for the services provided by the KIZ program. The primary audience includes the businesses and entrepreneurs from the target industries (see Section 3 for more on Target Industries) located in or interested in locating in the geographic boundaries of the NWPA KIZ. These businesses and entrepreneurs can benefit from collaboration with NWPA KIZ Higher Education partners, as well as the KIZ program's tax benefits and micro-grants, which can be used to help grow and retain jobs in the region. While not a major goal of the program, cluster companies in the region not specifically located within the boundaries of the KIZ will be targeted for potential spin-offs for inclusion into the KIZ program and education of services available through the program.

In addition to the targeted companies themselves, other target audiences for the KIZ program include:

  • Entrepreneurs
  • Higher Education Partners
  • Service Providers
  • Economic development organizations (including County economic development corporations, redevelopment authorities, etc.)
  • Workforce development organizations (RegionalCenter for Workforce Excellence)
  • Professional associations within the target industries (National Tooling & Machining Association, etc.)
  • Government entities
  • Private financial institutions

These organizations can both help to "sell" the KIZ and its services to companies who might benefit from them and they can also provide additional business services that are complementary to those available via the KIZ.

2E. Geographic Description

The NWPA KIZ encompasses Crawford, Mercer, Warren, and ClarionCounties. Each county contains specific real estate nodes. The NWPA KIZ will use the Knowledge Node concept to define the geographic boundary due to the physical scale and scope of existing geography, and to help facilitate collaborations among IHE partners. Descriptions of the nodes are summarized below.

CrawfordCounty KIZ Node Sites

  • North Street and Park Avenue Business Corridors, Meadville
  • AlleghenyCollege Campus
  • PennPlaza, 600 Terrace Street, Meadville
  • CrawfordBusinessPark, 13690 and 13447 South Moisertown Road, Meadville
  • TalonBusinessCenter, 628 Arch St, Meadville
  • University of Pittsburgh at Titusville Campus, 504 East Main Street, Titusville
  • TitusvilleOpportunityPark, 701 East Spring Street, Titusville
  • TowneSquareConferenceCenter, 110 West Spring Street, Titusville

North Street and Park Avenue Business Corridors, Meadville

The North Street and Park Avenue Business Corridor was part of Meadville's original Main Street Program, one of the first designated Main Street communities in the Commonwealth. The proximity of the area to the Allegheny College Campus and MeadvilleMedicalCenter, combined with continual out-migration of city businesses leaving empty storefronts and second-story space, make this area vital as an economic development link, with special focus on expanding IT opportunities.

PennPlaza

This is the former grocery store space and Dutch Girl Cleaners space with access to Meadvillefrom the French Creek Parkway. The site is approximately 1.5 miles from the AlleghenyCollege campus and is ready for occupancy.

CrawfordBusinessPark

Located on the site of a former acetate fiber producing facility, the CrawfordBusinessPark is a state regional impact park and a national award-winning Brownfield site and model for environmental remediation. Located in VernonTownship, the park is about two miles from the Meadville interchange of Interstate 79.

The TalonBusinessCenter

The TalonBusinessCenter (previously known as the Meadville Industrial Complex and Business Incubator) is the former Talon Zipper headquarters and Plant 5 manufacturing facility. Located on Arch Street within the Meadville city limits, the facility is approximately three miles from Interstate 79 exit 147. The facility is zoned B3 Flexible Business and is well-suited for light manufacturing, tool and die, wood, plastics and electronics companies as well as services and professional office space.

TitusvilleOpportunityPark

The TitusvilleOpportunityPark is a 190-acre manufacturing and technology campus ready for occupancy. The site is designated as a Keystone Opportunity Zone and an Enterprise Zone. It is a half-mile from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville. Two specific buildings within this park, totaling 29.03 acres, have been granted KIZ designation.

Titusville Towne Square

This site is a component of the downtown anchor program. It includes a High-TechConferenceCenter and sits atop a four-story office condominium with speculative space.

All proposed properties are owned by the Titusville Redevelopment Authority and are available for sale or lease. All are within a previously designated Keystone Opportunity Zone, as well as, a PA Enterprise Zone. Since the properties have only been available since 2000, most if not all, of the 22 businesses within them are new start-ups, which would be potentially eligible for assistance under the KIZ guidelines. Companies within this Zone would be eligible for local designated Revolving Loan Funds to ensure a stable platform.

AlleghenyCollege

AlleghenyCollege is a national liberal arts college of 2,100 students located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1815, the College ranks in the top five percent of all liberal arts colleges in producing eventual Ph.D.s in all disciplines. A pioneer and leader in undergraduate liberal arts education, Allegheny challenges students with an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. Our students grow intellectually and professionally by working as partners with faculty on research.

AlleghenyCollege is one of 40 colleges recognized in Loren Pope's book, Colleges that Change Lives, where he writes that Allegheny “has a long and distinguished record of producing … future scientists and scholars.” Indeed, on a percentage basis, we produce twice as many scientists as the top-rated research universities. Allegheny ranks in the top 5% of schools whose graduates go on to earn Ph.D.s in all fields, in the top 4% in the science disciplines, and in the top 2% for producing chemistry Ph.D.s., based on data from the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium Study of the Doctorate Records File for the decade 1995-2004, derived from NSF data. Because of this strong record, we are one of a select group of institutions included in Peterson’s Top Colleges for Science.