PORTLAND, Ore. – The Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) released a Request for Proposals today soliciting ideas from key industry sectors statewide for inclusion in the 2013 Innovation Plan that will be submitted to the Governor this fall.
Created in the 2005 legislative session, Oregon InC is charged with developing, in partnership with the Oregon Business Development Department, an innovation-based economic development strategy for the state. It received more than $15 million in Lottery Funds this biennium to fund initiatives that build and support new and emerging industries.
To create the Innovation Plan, Oregon InC looks for ideas every two years where the state’s unique strengths can be leveraged to create new jobs, new companies and diversify Oregon’s economy. In previous biennia, that search has led to initiatives supporting green building and clean energy technologies; electric vehicle design; bioscience and drug discovery; wave energy, nanotechnology and modernizing Oregon’s $6 billion food processing industry.
Since it was funded in 2007, Oregon InC has helped incubate 29 companies (18 survive) that have secured more than $100 million in private equity, and created a network of shared labs used by almost 300 organizations to perfect ideas as diverse as portable kidney dialysis machines and new malaria-fighting drugs.
The 2012 Request for Proposals also may be viewed at: www.oregon4biz.com
The 2011-13 Innovation Plan is available online at: http://www.oregon4biz.com/Innovation-in-Oregon/