Colorado gets edge on Oklahoma

BYLINE: G. Carl Gibson

I don't like losing to Colorado and I especially don't like it when other states (with similar population to Oklahoma) have "figured it out," are advancing a technology agenda, and are taking no prisoners in getting there. Recently I served as a panelist, at the request of Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology on a 13-state regional meeting sponsored by the Colorado Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) organization. This event happened to coincide with the national BIO conference, where most of Oklahoma's technology development elite were. Using a football vernacular, we came to the Colorado meeting equipped with a special teams player (me) and an assistant coach (Sherry Roberts, OCAST).

In a nutshell, more than $2 billion in federal SBIR funds are competitively awarded nationally to small businesses as incentives to solve complex technology applications in areas such as improving defense systems, solving human diseases and exploring the universe. In 2005 alone, private companies in these 13 west-central states won $221 million in SBIR funding from the 11 participating federal agencies. Of this total, Colorado won $87 million, or 40 percent of the region's total. Oklahoma private companies won $10 million, or 5 percent.

What is Colorado doing? Everything to make sure scientists and engineers have every opportunity to secure early stage funding and stay in Colorado. Do all of them end up growing successful companies? Statistically, 12 percent of all SBIR currently funded companies attract additional outside capital. Colorado is making sure they are growing a large population of early technology companies where capital bets can be made.

At the meeting, all of the SBIR participating federal agencies were in attendance and scientists and engineers (heavily dominated by Colorado) were listening and discussing research focuses with agency program managers from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Department of Energy; or they were discussing procurement needs with the Defense Department and NASA. This activity is where opportunities are made.

At Ekips Technologies, we have received almost $4 million in federally sponsored research in addition to an equivalent amount of venture capital. In Colorado, it has 15 companies that are doing the same thing. Will all of them be successful? No, but they have many more chances than Oklahoma.

The winning plan for Oklahoma is to keep our engineering and science talent in-state instead of exporting most of it to surrounding states. Employment opportunities are driven by funding. SBIR funding is but one avenue, but a large one that can be strategically exploited. OCAST has been supporting SBIR funding activities for a number of years and showing progress, but we are still outclassed by our neighboring state.

Gibson is chief financial officer of Ekips Technologies, Inc., a biotechnology company in Norman, and board member of the Oklahoma Venture Forum, a statewide nonprofit corporation with a mission to help grow new and existing business ventures.

The winning plan for Oklahoma is to keep our engineering and science talent in-state instead of exporting most of it to surrounding states.