On April 24, 2013, the Iowa Innovation Corporation held its first of six pilot workshops as part of the newly created Innovation Extension Project. Check out this story and more in the latest edition of our weekly newsletter.

The Iowa Innovation Corporation has announced first award of its newly released SBIR/STTR Assistance program to NanoMedTrix of Coralville, Iowa. Read more about this announcement and other innovation briefs in our weekly newsletter.

The Iowa Innovation Corporation’s SBIR/STTR Assistance Outreach Program is one of the key program gaps identified by the Iowa Innovation Council and designed based on the need to improve Iowa’s rate of success in obtaining Federal grant awards. The goal is to help Iowa-based technology companies like NanoMedTrix secure federal funding opportunities. The program offers both technical and financial assistance in the preparation, application and management of federal grant programs.

The most recent issue of Catalyst looks at the meaning of innovation, as well provides an overview of the recent VREP event. Plus, don't miss the company profile that features Proplanner.

Congratulations to former Demo Fund recipient Harrisvaccines. The Des Moines Register reports Harrisvaccines has been awarded a $1.114 million contract from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate to develop a vaccine to potentially protect the United States from foot-and-mouth disease.

As the Des Moines Register continues to look at the benefits and drawbacks of traditional economic development strategies, including incentives, our Chairman Bob Riley weighed in.

Last week, Rich Bendis, president and CEO of Innovation America, was the keynote speaker at a meeting hosted by the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. His presentation is available online and details how an innovation intermediary works.

How should we position ourselves to compete in the global marketplace? Get the kids involved. The second annual Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) National Conference was held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on July 2 and 3, 2012. This student science symposium allowed student teams from all over the country to share their designs and results for experiments conducted on the International Space Station. Two teams from IDA Grove participated and were supported IDA Grove Economic Development.