IDAHO
Idaho has been a center of innovation and advanced research for decades, serving as home to the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), an advanced nuclear energy research facility. Science and technology is the state’s most prominent industry today, which is complemented by important industries such as food processing, lumber and wood products, machinery, chemical products, paper products, electronics manufacturing, silver and other mining, and tourism. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Idaho’s TechConnect, a public-private initiative founded in conjunction with INL, works to connect the state’s innovators to entrepreneurial assets in order to enable commercialization processes and create jobs. and acts as a point of access to the state’s research infrastructure for interested businesses. Innovation promotion is not limited to the public sector. Kickstand, educational venue for the state’s 3800 tech companies. Kickstand acts as an “entrepreneur support organization,” offering access to a variety of events focused on supporting the innovation economy, including startup “speed-dating” and innovation forums. The state also provides entrepreneurs and businesses seeking expansion opportunities access to valuable site selection and demographic information through its GEM State
Project 60 Idaho’s economic development and job creation activities are focused around Project 60, a “comprehensive effort” to bring together private and public sector partners to work towards the goal of increasing Idaho’s economic output. The project’s main target is to raise Idaho’s gross state product to $60 billion from an initial $51.5 billion. In order to work towards this goal, the state and its economic development partners have chosen to focus on three areas of activity; fostering systemic and sustainable growth in Idaho’s existing economic sectors, recruitment of new companies to the state, and increasing foreign direct investment and global market reach.
Prospector database. Accessible online, the site acts as a GIS data hub, providing businesses with information on workforce, available properties, demographics, and competition and synergy reports about potential locations. Infrastructure In order to support the adoption and installation of broadband networks throughout the state, particularly in rural areas, Idaho makes use of a Broadband Investment Tax Credit. Aided by the credit, which can value up to networks to communities throughout the state, supporting business in rural Idaho. The state also makes use of grants, such as its Gem Grant program, to aid local communities in the installation of infrastructure meant to drive economic development. Taxes and Regulation Idaho has enacted a variety of tax policies focused on creating an environment attractive to business attraction, retention, and expansion. Tax credits and exemptions include a new job tax credit, providing businesses with a credit for each new position created, property tax caps for large employers, investment tax credits, and sale tax exemptions for businesses involved in sectors including manufacturing, processing, and research and development. The state also makes use of an Industrial Revenue Bond program, which provides tax free bonding in support of the manufacturing sector.
The initiative encompasses efforts in all areas of the job creation spectrum, including efforts focused on improving job training and worker education activities, leveraging the state’s innovation resources (including the Idaho National Laboratory), building new international relationships in order to build up exports and investment, and adoption of enterprise-friendly policies and regulations. The over arching goal of the project is connecting efforts across the state, in both business and government, bringing the state together to work towards the same end goal- sustained economic growth.
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