California Announces Inaugural Designations of the Newly Established Innovation Hub Initiative

California Business, Transportation and Housing (BTH) Agency Secretary Dale E. Bonner today announced the establishment of six inaugural designations of California’s new, forward-thinking Innovation Hub (iHub) initiative that will enhance the state's national and global competitiveness by stimulating partnerships, economic development, and job creation around specific research clusters. The locations include Livermore, Orange County, San Francisco, Sacramento, Sonoma County, and Coachella Valley.

"California is home to some of the most innovative companies in the world and serves as the chief supplier of innovative research, and technology to the world," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "As a leader in developing new technologies, California will reap tremendous rewards for our economy from the newly established iHub initiative because each of the iHubs will serve as a regional network of public and private sector groups focused on promoting business creation, research, and investment.”

The goal of the initiative is to harness the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the state by encouraging regional collaboration between research institutions, start-up technology companies, local governments, venture capitalists, and economic development organizations with the common goal of creating jobs.

“The new ideas and technologies generated by the iHubs will help grow California’s economy and bring the benefits of innovation to the marketplace more quickly,” stated Secretary Bonner, whose agency developed the iHub initiative and will be providing program oversight. “This initiative will enhance California’s global competitiveness and promote investment around our state’s prominent research clusters.”

iHub designees will provide a platform for research clusters, startup companies, government entities, business groups, and venture capitalists by leveraging assets such as research parks, technology incubators, universities, and federal laboratories to foster innovation and job creation statewide. This collaborative effort will be especially important to the ultimate success of fledgling enterprises within an iHub.

“The California SBDC network applauds the State for its leadership and is pleased to enter a strategic partnership with the State that will bring federal SBDC resources,” said Kristin Johnson, state chair for the California SBDCs.

The BTH Agency consulted with numerous experts in the innovation field and worked with key stakeholders to create thorough guidelines for the initiative and a comprehensive selection process. In addition, an ad hoc committee comprised of innovation-minded representatives from organizations such as the Kauffman Foundation, NASA, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the Keiretsu Forum reviewed applications and made its recommendation of top tier applications, those who best exemplified the goals of the initiative and established guidelines, to BTH Agency Secretary Bonner, who then made the final iHub designations. The initiative will be a continuous process, and work on future designations is ongoing with other stakeholders.

To learn more about the iHub initiative or the designees visit: www.bth.ca.gov or www.business.ca.gov.

iHub Contacts:

i-GATE
Area: Livermore Valley
Lead Org: City of Livermore
Contact: Rob White, City of Livermore; Phone: (925) 960-4140

OCTANe
Area: Orange County
Lead Org: OCTANe
Contact: Matthew Jenusaitis, OCTANe; Phone: (949) 330-6569

Greater Mission Bay Area iHub
Area: San Francisco
Lead Org: San Francisco Center for Economic Development
Contact: Dennis Conaghan, San Francisco Center for Economic Development; Phone: (415) 217-5187

Sacramento iHub
Area: Sacramento
Lead Org: Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA)
Contact: Meg Arnold, Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance; Phone: (916) 231-0770

North Bay iHub
Area: North Bay
Lead Org: Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster
Contact: Michael Newell, Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster; Phone: (707) 794-1240

Coachella Valley iHub
Area: Western Coachella Valley / Greater Palm Springs
Lead Org: City of Palm Springs
Contact: Cathy Van Horn, City of Palm Springs; Phone: (760) 323-8175