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FRUITFUL EFFORT. Under the leadership of Tom O'Neal, GrowFL is gaining national approval.

Quite apparently, GrowFL is blooming.

Thanks to the specialized support its GrowFL program provides to growing second-stage companies throughout the state, the Florida Economic Gardening Institute at the University of Central Florida has been designated a Certified Economic Gardening Program by the National Center for Economic Gardening, which is affiliated with the Edward Lowe Foundation. As a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship, the Edward Lowe Foundation is home to the National Center for Economic Gardening and has established a certification process for programs and individual professionals to earn accreditation in economic gardening.

The state-funded Florida Economic Gardening Institute is the first organization nationwide to receive Program Certification in the Center’s top-ranking Level Three, representing the highest engagement of economic gardening principles that is attainable.

Nice start.

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Strength in Numbers

Can't help but be pleased with this news about job creations. Several Tampa Bay company expansions have resulted, or will result, in relatively high-paying new jobs.

Creonix LLC, an advanced electronics manufacturing services company, is expanding its Manatee County facility and plans to add 105 employees over the next five years, according to the Manatee Economic Development Council.

Humana Inc.’s Humana Cares division, headquartered in St. Petersburg, is hiring 177 additional associates to handle the expansion of the company’s national chronic care management programs.

xByte Technologies, a reseller of information technology equipment, plans to more than double its footprint in Manatee County and add 38 new jobs in the next five years.

Madico's recent acquisition of St. Petersburg manufacturer Solamatrix Inc. will result in growth for the company, which already is a leading manufacturer of laminating and coating solutions, and will create more than 60 new jobs in Pinellas County while retaining the existing staff of 52.

Also, increased enrollment and growth at the University of South Florida's Polytechnic campus in Lakeland is resulting in about 40 staff members’ moving into a new building. USF will hire 36 new faculty members, and the recently completed move provides space for them on campus.

These days, almost any job creation is worth saluting, especially those that increase the wage scale.

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 ROI in Action

 According to a new study, the state-funded Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s Matching Grants Research Program has leveraged $53 million over 14 years to create a direct and indirect economic impact of $1.3 billion in the Florida High Tech Corridor.

Through research partnerships conducted with companies in the 23-county area at the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and University of Florida, the program has generated an impact of 3,276 jobs downstream. Completed by Innovation Insight Inc., the study also found that one job is created in the Florida economy for every $16,180 the state invests in the nationally recognized program.

The study utilizes reports from many of the 300 corporate partners that participated in the Matching Grants Research Program and that have documented direct outcomes (jobs, new product lines, attracted research funding, etc.) that have made a substantial impact on their business. Since 1998, one such partner, Melbourne-based Harris Corp. has partnered with FHTCC on more than 25 research projects, totaling $4.4 million in Corridor and corporate funds and in-kind investments. Those projects produced technologies and innovations that were connected with at least 18 Harris projects and technology areas, valued at approximately $101 million. Small research firms have used the program for similar return on investment. Photonics startup OptiGrate in Orlando has leveraged the Corridor Council’s investment of more than $600,000 in 20 projects to attract $8.6 million in contracts and grants. The company’s success in securing Small Business Innovation Research grants equals a 14 to 1 return on investment.

Impressive.

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And Away We Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cycling through treetops? And to help save the environment?

Slated to open in July of this year, Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida promises a “groundbreaking new ecotourism experience,” called the Cypress SkyCycle, which will take guests on a cycle ride through the treetops of the 4,700-acre Forever Florida Wildlife Conservation Area in St. Cloud. In turn, a significant portion of all Safari revenues will go to support the Allen Broussard Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the fragile ecosystems of Florida’s native wilderness.

The new attraction will be the first of its kind in the United States. Guests set off on a one-hour journey as they pedal along on specially designed SkyCycles — think of them as reclining bicycles suspended from a network of high-tension steel cables. The course takes guests on a winding journey over the pine flatwoods and through Turkey Slough, an area of forested wetland. Guests also pass over a pond housing George, a popular 13-foot alligator that has called Forever Florida home for the last 60-plus years.

In January 2009, Florida EcoSafaris carved out a niche for itself by opening the first full-scale zipline canopy tour in Florida.

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Learning Pays Dividends

Call it a $1 million opportunity for Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay region has registered to compete against some 50 U.S. cities for the $1 million Talent Dividend Prize awarded by CEOs for Cities. ONE BAY: Lifelong Learning, an initiative of the Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Research and Education Foundation, is working to coordinate all three major Tampa Bay metro areas (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice; and Lakeland-Winter Haven) in the competition to increase educational attainment over the next few years. The prize, to be awarded to the metropolitan area that exhibits the greatest increase in the number of postsecondary degrees granted per 1,000 population through 2013, will be used to launch a national promotional campaign centered around talent development for the winning city.

Educational attainment is the biggest predictor of success for cities and metro areas today, according to research done by CEOs for Cities, a national organization that serves as a “civic lab” to advance the next generation of great American cities. The better educated the region’s population, the more robust its economy will be. CEOs for Cities research indicates that 58 percent of a metro area’s success, as measured by per capita income, can be attributed to the percentage of the adult population with a college degree.

An opportunity worth pursuing, for sure.

Tags: leadership, technology