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TBED Mergers, Consolidations & New Starts

February 27, 2006

Sometimes, the economic advantages of consolidating state and local initiatives addressing different elements of building tech-based economies outweighs any potential dilution of specific efforts. Other times, the addition of an entirely new entity is required to provide concentrated focus on specific needs or activities. Here are a few of the most recent examples of the realignment of the TBED community:

The Utah Information Technology Association (UITA) and the Utah Life Science Association are merging in March to become the Utah Technology Council. UITA President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Nelson will provide leadership for the new council. A new Life Sciences director position will be added to the staff.

The Greenville Digital Alliance has been reformulated as the NEXT Initiative to serve the larger Upstate region of South Carolina through its expanded partners of Clemson University’s Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Greenville Tech Buck Mickel Center, the Small Business Development Center, the City of Greenville, InnoVenture, and the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

BayBio, the life science trade association for Northern California, is spinning off its life science educational efforts as the independent nonprofit BayBio Institute, originally incorporated as the Bay Area Bioscience Center.

Zydetech, the information tech council for Lafayette, LA, is converging with the technology committee of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce to serve the needs of the larger Arcadiana region.

The University of Akron Research Foundation, in partnership with northeast Ohio economic development organizations and private equity investors, has created the Akron Regional Change Angels Network, or ARCHAngels.

MdBio and the Tech Council of Maryland are merging to form a new trade association supporting both life science and advanced technology businesses. Members of the reformulated Tech Council will fall within one or both of two divisions, MdBio or a new Tech Alliance division.

Louisiana