December 19, 2002
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December 19, 2002 |
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When you’re at Rose-Hulman Ventures, it’s not hard to visualize what could be in store for Indiana’s future, Lt. Governor Joe Kernan said during a visit to the Terre Haute incubator today. The lieutenant governor stopped in at Elastic Image, Inc., an Indianapolis-based technology company that uses a laboratory within the facility, to talk about “Energize Indiana,” the administration’s proposal to grow companies and jobs in four targeted industry sectors: advanced manufacturing, information technology, 21st century logistics and life sciences. “Take a look around you, at the sensor technology and the people working with the articulated arm – this is where many parts of the state are already headed,” said Kernan. “And Energize Indiana will not only help the folks who have started down this path of developing high-skill, high-paying businesses, but also those who’d like to get going.” Governor Frank O’Bannon and Kernan’s Energize Indiana plan is a 10-year, $1.25 billion initiative focused on job growth and educational attainment, and how the two are intertwined. Among its features is the creation of the $360 million Indiana Growth Fund, which will pump money into the highly successful Indiana 21st Century Research and Technology Fund (21st Century Fund), as well as support the innovative ideas that come out of the 21st Century Fund. A requirement of 21st Century Fund projects is that they must involve academic and private sector partners. One hundred and thirty-five million dollars ($135 million) will be invested in the Indiana Growth Scholars Program, which will provide scholarships for as many as 22,000 students who pursue college studies in the four targeted areas. And $25 million will be dedicated to university capital construction projects – places where scientists can perform their experiments, computer experts can develop new applications and students can learn. In addition, $200 million will be invested in K-12 education to supplement the state’s commitment to school accountability and higher standards through Public Law 221. “Our proposal touches on many aspects of economic development, from improving the skills of our current workers to ensuring that tomorrow’s workforce is ready to jump into the jobs our plan will produce,” the lieutenant governor said. Rose-Hulman Ventures is a technology-based business incubator and product-development center that provides faculty and students with unique educational and professional development opportunities. It is the only technology-based incubator that has its own venture capital fund as an integral part of the incubator.
“The most important part of the Energize Indiana program is the essential strategy of the program: taking an aggressive, proactive approach, not just reacting to events driven by the actions of others,” said Dr. Jim Eifert, president of RHV. “We need to create and shape our own future and Energize Indiana is a great way to start. “The specific components of the initiative address many of the pieces of infrastructure Indiana needs to underpin its ‘Innovation Economy,’” Eifert added. “The establishment of this innovation layer in our economy is critical to our economic competitiveness in the global marketplace.” Elastic Image provides graphic images used to pre-decorate three-dimensional formed products for such diverse markets as point of purchase and outdoor advertising, consumer goods packaging, automotive, consumer electronics and business equipment. “This company was faced with a technical bottleneck before it hooked up with Rose-Hulman Ventures,” said Kernan. “It could not have taken the next step to the commercialization of its products without facilities like this one. It’s a great example of what lies ahead for us.” In order to pay for Energize Indiana, the O’Bannon-Kernan administration proposes to use as collateral some of the future payments from the settlement of the nationwide lawsuit against the tobacco industry. They want to leave untouched money (60 percent of each year's payment) now used for important health programs. But the rest (the other 40 percent) of the annual settlement proceeds will be used to pay off the bonds over time. The plan also taps federal economic-stimulus money; encourages the Public Employees Retirement and the Teachers Retirement funds to invest in certain business ventures; and encourages the Indiana Port Commission to sell bonds to invest in companies in the four targeted industry sectors. “With yesterday’s release of the revenue forecast for the next two years, we know recovering from the national recession is going to be a long process,” said Kernan. “Let’s work together to get Energize Indiana passed, and make sure our economy continues to make gains, sooner rather than later. For more information on Energize Indiana, go to
www.in.gov/gov/energize/. |
