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Johns Hopkins, Baltimore Mayor Invest Millions to Boost City’s Innovation Ecosystem
Last week, Johns Hopkins University released an action plan to cultivate and support a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the university and the Baltimore region. The implementation plan, which represents $40 million in new university investments in innovation initiatives over five years, is a response to the 22 specific recommendations for university innovation included in a May 2014 innovation report. The initiatives included in the implementation plan will be carried out by Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, a new organization that encompasses technology licensing, corporate and industry relations, and FastForward, the university’s business accelerators.
In her State of the City speech on March 9, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced pieces of her small business and entrepreneurship plan, including a $1M innovation fund to promote growth in high-tech businesses. The plan includes 20 specific action items along four key goal areas: increasing resources for small businesses, cultivating the innovation economy, promoting an inclusive economy, and making Baltimore more business-friendly.
Although details on the $1M fund have yet to be finalized, it is expected to primarily provide incentives through loan programs with some grants potentially made available. The city is also implementing a new software platform that assists small business owners in navigating the licensure process and utilizing the resources available to them by both Baltimore and the state of Maryland, and a separate software program to identify real estate properties and economic development projects. The budget of Baltimore’s Small Business Resource Center would double under Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s plan to $466,000, and is expected to include additional programming for minority and immigrant populations.