Help us DESIGN the Southern Oregon Innovation Hub

Key area partners are exploring the concept of a regional Innovation Hub to enhance the business support ecosystem. Though often thought of as a physical space dedicated to supporting industry-changing products and services, a Southern Oregon  Innovation Hub could take many forms, and provide a range of services. The ideation and design phase will run through early summer. It is led by key local partners and funded by Business Oregon as a part of the State’s 10 year Innovation Plan.

What are Regional Innovation Hubs?

Regional Innovation Hubs are a key strategy in Business Oregon’s 10-Year Innovation Plan to advance innovation in the state. Hubs build and advance a regional innovation ecosystem, as well as provide access to technical assistance, capital, networking, mentorship, and talent development for science and technology-based entrepreneurs.

Hubs should be an innovation cultivator and a facilitator of networking, serving as a regional network of service providers and their collaborators to assist Oregon’s innovation-based companies in achieving growth. The intent of the Regional Innovation Hub program is not to create a new entity, but to incentivize the coordination of existing resources to maximize support for innovation-based entrepreneurs. Hubs must be intentional in partnering and collaborating with a variety of innovation-related stakeholders in the region, especially including underserved entrepreneurs in their partnerships.

As the first stage in a two-stage process, all 11 of Business Oregon’s regions have received a Regional Innovation Hub Planning Grant to determine how they can create and sustain a Hub in their region. 

Help us design the Southern Oregon Innovation Hub by filling out this survey at  https://airtable.com/shrndSAIZYgB1ANDb