Press Room >> 2009 Press Releases
For Immediate Release:
September 15, 2009
SRI INTERNATIONAL ISSUES OHIO THIRD FRONTIER IMPACT STUDY
Joint Meeting of the Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission
Discusses Recommendations, Metrics, and Strategy
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission held a joint meeting today. A major agenda item for the day was a presentation and discussion of the SRI International report titled “Making an Impact: Assessing the Benefits of Ohio’s Investment in Technology-Based Economic Development Programs”. The report is now available at www.thirdfrontier.com.
The study by SRI International found that State expenditures related to the Ohio Third Frontier of $681 million generated $6.6 billion of economic activity, 41,300 total jobs, and $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits. According to the impact study’s figures, Ohio has garnered a nearly $10 return on every dollar of the State’s investment in the period from 2003 – 2008, with the expectation of increased impacts in the years to come.
“This report shows that the Third Frontier has made a major impact on job creation in Ohio,” Chancellor Fingerhut said. “Clearly we need to build on these efforts if we are to accelerate the economic rebirth of the State of Ohio.”
Ohio Third Frontier is slightly more than three-quarters through its first 10 years. Accordingly, the Ohio Department of Development sought a rigorous, objective, and credible assessment of the impact of the program to date. The Ohio Department of Development engaged SRI International and its partner, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, with the guidance of the Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission to conduct the impact study.
“By cultivating an entrepreneurial ecosystem in our state, Ohio Third Frontier is laying the foundation for technology-based economic development, capitalizing innovative companies and creating 21st century jobs for Ohioans,” Patt-McDaniel said. “Ohio Third Frontier’s efforts to build world-class research programs, nurture early-stage companies, and foster technology development are making existing industries more productive and spurring job creation today and continued growth for years to come.”
According to the SRI International study, Ohio Third Frontier has made an impact by:
- Dramatically increasing the availability of early-stage capital
- Improving the entrepreneurial environment for technology
- Improving research and development collaboration
- Driving employment growth in Ohio’s technology sector
- Contributing to the diversity and competitiveness of Ohio’s manufacturers
- Recruiting non-Ohio companies
- Charting a course consistent with tech-based growth in other regions
SRI International recommended several improvements in its report for Ohio Third Frontier moving forward. Recommendations to improve program cohesiveness include ensuring program continuity, fostering a better understanding of the program and its relationship to Ohio’s strengths, enabling a stronger balance between research support and commercialization focus, and a stronger emphasis on entrepreneurial support programs and technology company attraction and cluster expansion.
Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan commitment to create new technology-based products, companies, industries and jobs, has commercialized or created more-than 500 companies and attracted $3.5 billion in private investment to Ohio, a 9:1 return on investment since its inception.
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