New Agency Spun Out of Illinois Coalition

Goal is improved service delivery, advocacy for tech community

To produce a more focused and effective effort in the areas of commercialization and advocacy, the Illinois Coalition has divided into two separate public-private organizations.

The coalition’s historical goal of enhancing Illinois’ research structure by advocating for large-scale research and development (R&D) investment will remain the same, while the newly formed entity, the Illinois Technology Development Alliance (IDTA), will work with technology enterprises in accessing capital and establishing growth.

The reorganized coalition hopes to improve the flow of federal research dollars by exclusively focusing its efforts on attracting large research grants for labs, universities, and large corporations, and conducting market development activities to pave the way for future contracts. In doing so, the coalition expects to bring more science and technology jobs to the state.

According to the coalition, the U.S. Department of Energy has two major projects coming up for bid, the Rare Isotope Accelerator and FutureGen. The new structure will enable the coalition to aggressively pursue these projects and others in the future. Funding for the coalition will continue through a public-private partnership with contributions coming from the state, universities and laboratories, and corporations.

The newly formed IDTA will have a two-pronged approach that will consist of providing business assistance and access to capital, and developing and maintaining a network and information bank. IDTA will employ the following strategies to achieve these goals:

• Focus on breakthrough technologies, primarily in the areas of engineering, information technology and life sciences;
• Place an emphasis on consultative evaluation by leveraging the expertise of the board of directors as well as a network of relationships with venture capital firms, angel investors and industrial partners; and,
• Bridge the early-stage development gap by assisting clients in attracting seed stage equity financing and federal funding opportunities in preparation for private investment.

IDTA will be led by Tom Thornton, formerly president of the Illinois Coalition, and governed by a 10-member board. The organization will be funded through contracts with the Small Business Association, the Department of Defense Office of Naval Research, and private contributions. New leadership for the restructured Illinois Coalition has yet to be named.