With a large land mass and a population surpassing the 21 least populated states and the District of Columbia combined, California has scores of public programs and nonprofit organizations dedicated to encouraging technology-based economic development on the state, regional, local and sub-local levels. Best practices in the field, then, could have applications in a number of other states and communities.
Last week, Governor Gray Davis announced the 12 winners of the 2002 Governor's Technology & Innovation Awards, which honor non-profit organizations, public-private partnerships, educational institutions, individuals, and philanthropic programs that help foster California's tech-based economy in exemplary and innovative ways. The program is administered by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation of the California's Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency.
Award winners — which include a business incubator, a high school principal, a workforce training program, community tech-access programs, a public-private science education collaborative, a trade organization, and a science learning center — will be featured in a "Governor's Technology & Innovation Compendium of Best Practices." Recipients include: