The Forum - 04/20/2003
Incubator Findings 'Favorable'
A consultant hired by North Dakota State University said his preliminary findings are “very favorable” for a business incubator in the school’s research park.
The Senate also has earmarked $1.5 million for the project, as proposed in Gov. John Hoeven’s budget.
The appropriations bill is now in conference committee.
“There’s a lot of support,” said Sen. Tony Grindberg, R-Fargo, executive director of the NDSU Research and Technology Park who also sits on the conference committee.
“This is something a lot of folks are gravitating toward to put more emphasis on the research universities to spin off companies that will help the entire state,” he said.
California-based consultant Chuck Wolfe will visit Fargo next week to present a draft of his report to key business, university and community leaders interviewed during his initial visit in February.
Based on their input, a final decision on whether to move ahead will come within the next few weeks, Wolfe said.
“Preliminary findings have been very favorable, which prompted the (Senate) request pending the final recommendation,” he said.
The $1.5 million “Centers of Excellence” grant, listed in an amendment to the Department of Commerce appropriations bill, would be distributed Oct. 1 through the department’s development fund.
The same amendment provides $1 million to double the size of the technology incubator at the University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation.
Bruce Gjovig, director of the Grand Forks center, said he has invited NDSU to collaborate with UND’s center.
“I do not see us as in competition,” Gjovig said. “I see us as being very complementary of each other.”
The NDSU incubator would provide space for early-stage tech startups in the region, creating jobs and helping NDSU to commercialize its research, Wolfe said.
“You’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of innovation, and the key here is to support the region,” he said.
The building would cost around $6 million or $7 million, although plans are still preliminary, Wolfe said. The state appropriation would require matching funds from NDSU, either in the form of federal dollars or private donations.
The incubator’s size -- 35,000 to 40,000 square feet -- would determine its location in the research park, Wolfe said.
For the project to succeed, NDSU must collaborate with economic development and other area agencies, he said.
The Fargo-Cass County Economic Development Corp. expects 15 percent to 20 percent of the area’s new jobs to emerge from ventures such as those spawned in a tech incubator, president Brian Walters said.
“An incubator definitely enhances our capability in promoting entrepreneurship,” he said.
It also would bring attention to the proposed research corridor between Fargo and Grand Forks, Grindberg said.
House and Senate conferees agreed Tuesday to adopt an amendment for $200,000 in “image-building” funds to market the Red River Valley Research Corridor over the next two years, he said.
Wolfe’s report is expected to be completed in early May.
Establishing an incubator will take time, he said, because the region is still in its infancy in regards to technology entrepreneurship.
“This is really planting the seed,” he said.
Mike Nowatzki, mnowatzki@forumcomm.com, (701) 241-5528
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