Techlink Receives Excellence In Economic Development Award From The International Economic Development Council

TechLink http://techlinkcenter.org/ received an Excellence in Economic Development Award in the "Technology-Based Economic Development" category for communities with populations of 25,000 – 200,000 from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, September 28 during the IEDC Annual Conference, September 26-29 in Columbus, Ohio.

"We recognize TechLink for providing successful strategies to promote new paradigms in economic development in this period of global recovery," said William Best, IEDC chair. "Our awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in communities. TechLink is showing that they are at the forefront of the economic development profession and are using innovative and effective practices that can be replicated in other communities."

TechLink is a nationally recognized, federally funded technology transfer center at Montana State University, Bozeman.

Its principal sponsors have included the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). TechLink fosters technology=based economic development by helping companies to access the diverse inventions, unique technical capabilities, and sizeable R&D funding available in the federal lab system, particularly the nation’s 100-plus DoD labs.

TechLink represents a strong technology-based outreach effort involving dozens of federal, state, and private non-profit partners. Working with these partners, TechLink has brokered over 800 technology partnerships involving hundreds of companies and entrepreneurs. TechLink also has pioneered a number of best practices that have been successfully replicated by more than a dozen other technology transfer organizations.

TechLink’s technology-transfer activities have resulted in substantial economic development-not only in Montana and its region (including Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota), but also nationally.

An independent economic impact study covering the 2000-2009 period determined that TechLink-facilitated partnerships generated $122 million of economic output in Montana, $363 million in the region, and $729 million nationally. The corresponding employment figures were 1,052 jobs created or retained in Montana, 2,529 in the region, and 4,290 nationally.

The Excellence in Economic Awards Program annually recognizes the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. The program honors organizations and individuals in 28 categories for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is the premier membership organization dedicated to helping economic development professionals create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities and improve the quality of life in their regions. Serving more than 4,500 members, IEDC represents the largest network of economic development professionals in the world. IEDC provides a diverse range of services, including conferences, certification, professional development, publications, research, advisory services and legislative tracking.