Iowa Innovation Corporation Wins National Award
Des Moines – Nov. 12, 2012 — The Iowa Innovation Corporation was the recipient of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) 2012 award for Best Approach for Technology-Based Economic Development.
The award was presented October 16 during NASVF’s 19th Annual Conference in Cleveland, attended by more than 200 local, regional and national leaders in innovation capital and technology-based economic development. The award recognizes the achievements by a technology-based economic development organization in the development of innovative best practices and effective economic development models.
The award this year was presented to Karen Merrick, Chief Operating Officer, Iowa Innovation Corporation.
“The Iowa Innovation Corporation is honored to be the recipient of the NASVF award along with being recognized as one of the leaders in the field of technology-based economic development,” said Jack Harris, president and CEO of the Iowa Innovation Corporation.
As a business-led independent non-profit, the Iowa Innovation Corporation works with the state’s universities and colleges, businesses and government to facilitate Iowa’s innovation economy. It was created by the state legislature in 2011 to employ economic development strategies that focus on supporting home grown businesses with the potential to develop products and processes that meet the test of relevance in the marketplace. The Innovation Corporation does this by ensuring the innovation ecosystem works effectively and efficiently.
NASVF is an international membership organization that advocates for the growth of seed and early-stage innovation capital. NASVF connects the people in the world of venture capital with regional economic development. The organization collaborates with public and private fund managers and tech transfer professionals who build their local economies by investing in entrepreneurs. Established in 1993, NASVF began as an ad-hoc group of practitioners seeking the best models to encourage capital formation in their states, particularly for new technology ventures. These founders continued to meet each year and in 1997 formally incorporated the group as a not-for-profit organization named the National Association of State Venture Funds. The name was changed to NASVF in 2000 to reflect the Association’s expanding service to private sector funds and programs.
