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News Room: News & Announcements |
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Oregon Tech Group Reaches for the Gold
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
By Ben Serviss
EnxymePDX
With businesses still writhing under a distressed economy, Oregon’s software industry is attempting to steer a path toward the sunlight.
In early August, the Software Association of Oregon (SAO) quickly mobilized to pursue a federal grant that would allow the organization to promote tech development and innovation. The group submitted a proposal for a federal Small Business Administration (SBA) grant that focuses on training, education and networking programs to increase business activity in "regional innovation clusters,” a term that generally applies to non-urban areas of concentrated industry.
Days after learning of the grant, which provides $600,000 in the first year, SAO president Matt Nees brought all 26 SAO board members to a quick consensus to pursue the funding almost immediately. "That was an all-hands-on-deck effort, from requesting board approval at the last minute in order to move forward, and they all jumped on,” Nees said in an interview last week. "We needed a grant writer, we needed a technical writer, all in one week’s time to get this to D.C.”
According to Nees, the SBA will announce the grant winner in mid-September, with disbursements going out as early as October. The grant is available to view online here.
The implications for the state are notable, if not only for the possibility of near-immediate results. Oregon’s technology communities are concentrated in relatively isolated pockets all over the state. If awarded the grant, the SAO would create a program to offer structured events in the three territories where they have a presence – the Mid-Willamette Valley (Corvallis), the Southern Willamette Valley (Eugene/Lane County) and Central Oregon (Bend). Events would include networking functions, technical Q&A forums, guest speakers, panel discussions and other events depending on the needs of the area. Nees’ hope is that as these organized programs continue to add value to their communities, they will eventually become self-sustaining.
"People are busy, they’re doing their startup, they’re doing their growth company, but there isn’t one body trying to act as ringleader to bring people together,” Nees said. "If everyone can turn around and build off of one another, then the overall community will do better.”
To oversee activities in the three regions, the SAO would hire contractors to manage each territory while reporting to a program manager in Portland. The SAO has asked for nearly the full grant amount of $600,000 for the first year, with an option for the second year.
According to the grant’s page online, 96 other vendors are competing for the money. Of these applicants, at least one is also from Oregon – the Gorge Technology Alliance (GTA).
"We’re kind of like an SAO that’s just for the gorge,” Director Jessica Metta said. The GTA’s proposal is similar to the SAO’s – offering programs for business training and mentoring – but would be implemented exclusively in the Gorge area. The two organizations have a longstanding partnership, including membership discounts for joining both, and the SAO was an early supporter of the GTA when it was founded five years ago.
If either association is awarded the grant, it would be a notable boost in progress for the state’s tech industry as well as a strong step forward in allowing the state to firm up its relationship with its high-tech businesses. In Portland, the Portland Development Commission (PDC) has been working to identify the best ways it can support the tech industry by conducting surveys of the software development community. A third and final survey is expected soon.
The PDC has been an early advocate of the SAO’s grant bid, providing a letter of support in the initial application. Public Affairs Manager Shawn Uhlman is excited about the possibilities.
"They’ve laid out a plan that’s very exciting,” he said. "We’re certainly hopeful and optimistic that it pays immediate dividends.”
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