Experience the article in
EdgeDiscovery
magazine.
New Jersey strives to create a community where creativity and innovation flourish and provides pathways for the State’s diverse talent to reach their full potential; strengthening New Jersey’s long-term economic competitiveness. With a mission of helping to grow the state’s economy, TechUnited New Jersey is a member consortium that offers business development, education, and networking opportunities to help nurture and strengthen organizations. “We help empower entrepreneurs, instigators, and innovators to build a better future for all,” says Aaron Price, President & CEO, TechUnited. “Our programs, along with our mentorship, investment, and job opportunities, all focus on supporting the thought leaders of the region.”
TechUnited aims to establish New Jersey as a world-recognized model for creating a diverse and inclusive technology community. “We want to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs’ businesses by helping them to raise capital, hire talent, and find corporate clients,” says Price. “Our fund, the Tech Council Ventures, invests in community members and helps companies grow inside the doors of corporate organizations, like our partners Verizon or the Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG). One of the main strengths of the region is the very strong talent pool, and we want to ensure that we’re connecting both sides of that marketplace.”
Joining in TechUnited’s commitment to creating a region of prosperity and opportunity, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) implements programs and initiatives that invest in local businesses and communities and builds a diverse workforce. Richard Kasmin, Chief Economist and Director of Policy and Data Analytics at NJEDA, helps the Authority deliver on their mission of making New Jersey a national model for sustainable and equitable economic growth.
Kasmin manages policy and data analytic efforts, including overseeing competitive grant programs and reviewing different state programs using economic program analysis. “As an economist, I try to think in terms of costs and benefits and making those elements calculable,” says Kasmin. “When determining how to allocate funds, we can make more informed decisions by adding the language of economics to the discussion.”
“The survey provided insights into the needs AND challenges, as well as opportunities, for New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem.”
– Dr. Forough Ghahramani
“We want to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs’ businesses by helping them to raise capital, hire talent, and find corporate clients.”
– Aaron Price
“The access to talent and the ability to network with other organizations are very important factors to a healthy innovation ecosystem.”
– Richard Kasmin
“This survey is a huge step in helping us understand, in detail, how innovative companies in New Jersey are using advanced technologies.”
– Dr. David G. Belanger
Fostering Community Involvement
TechUnited, NJEDA, Edge, and the New Jersey Big Data Alliance (NJBDA) recently joined together to distribute a State of the State of Innovation in New Jersey online survey to the broader New Jersey community to gather input from organizations on what they feel is working well in the State and where additional resources are needed. “Upon first look at the data gathered from this survey, the respondents agree that the availability of skilled human capital in New Jersey is exceptional,” shares Kasmin. “The access to talent and the ability to network with other organizations are very important factors to a healthy innovation ecosystem. The areas we need to improve include broadening access to localized financial capital and developing more of an investment ethos in the State. To help achieve this desired culture of innovation, the efforts within New Jersey need to become more cohesive. We already have many skilled people in the public and private sectors that are helping build an innovation ecosystem and culture. With more focus on this goal from a larger portion of the population, I believe we can begin to make significant strides.”
Price agrees that New Jersey must lean into the strengths of the region and showcase the State as a beneficial place to start and grow a business. “The community does recognize the strong talent pool in New Jersey and the impressive colleges and universities that help create career-ready graduates. One of the biggest challenges we hear from local start-ups is a lack of funding because there is not a large community of investors in New Jersey. We do see several corporations in the State that are eager to acquire and grow companies and be seen as innovators. My hope is that a greater number of entrepreneurs who are building businesses choose New Jersey because of the community of people who want to see them succeed and are committed to helping that happen. Then as the business community and relationships within the region continue to grow, we, in turn, attract more investors.”
Once the State of the State of Innovation in New Jersey results are published, industry, academia, and government communities, along with the entrepreneurship and innovation community, will be able to gather more in-depth insight into the opportunities that are available and the challenges the State has yet to overcome. “Information we gather from this survey will provide a narrative that’s backed by data and gives a starting point for leaders to begin discussing where the need for improvement exists,” says Price. “The survey provided insights into the needs and challenges, as well as opportunities, for New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem, “ says Forough Ghahramani, Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Sponsored Programs at Edge, “The findings and recommendations will serve as important input to the State, academic institutions, the investment community, resulting in enhanced service offerings and educational programs for innovators and entrepreneurs. Results of the survey will inform policy decisions as well as curriculum decisions for institutions of higher education about the skill requirements for the necessary workforce and the resource and services that universities can provide for entrepreneurs and the innovation ecosystem. Organizations such as Edge, NJBDA, and TechUnited will leverage the results to develop necessary programming to strengthen the New Jersey Innovation ecosystem. In addition, TechUnited advocates from a state policy perspective and we’re able to leverage these data-driven results to shine a light on the region’s top challenges and hopefully work toward finding solutions.”
Kasmin adds, “With this gained knowledge, we will likely have greater advocacy for changes in certain public policies; helping promote diversity inclusion and creating a stronger and fairer economy in New Jersey.” Further notes Dr. David G Belanger, Senior Lecturer, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Vice President-Entrepreneurship at New Jersey Big Data Alliance, “This survey is a huge step in helping us understand, in detail, how innovative companies in New Jersey are using advanced technologies such as Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning; and what they view as their current and upcoming needs. For the academic member institutions of NJBDA, this valuable information will show us what we need to bring to New Jersey in terms of skilled employees and research capabilities.”
