Explanation
BACKGROUND:
City Council amended the 2005 and 2006 budgets to create a $2 million Job Growth Initiatives Fund to help create more jobs for Columbus residents. One strategy is to promote specific initiatives that attract more research and knowledge-based companies into the city. Recognizing that an intense grouping of world-class research, science and technology institutions and companies exist along the State Route 315, and the lack of a master strategy for compiling and developing the physical and "smart capital" resources within this important area, City Council launched the 315 Research and Technology Corridor project in 2005.
The Corridor concept relies on interaction among community, government, business, industry, and academia whereby quality research and training in higher education institutions is used to develop, attract and retain knowledge-based, high-technology companies, in order to create high paying jobs for Columbus residents. By utilizing existing resources, the City of Columbus and its partners are creating a new model for urban research areas - a cluster of linked, interdependent, public and private organizations melded into a seamless corridor located in close proximity to The Ohio State University.
The City, in partnership with many institutions, including The Ohio State University and Battelle, have now produced a master plan that catalogs the Corridor's physical and research assets, and a business plan to facilitate such interaction and to enable the community to market the Corridor on a national and international basis. Completion of the plans was announced on May 15th at a City Council Policy Forum held at COSI. The next phase of the project entails aggressive marketing, one aspect of which will include distribution of Corridor related information on CD-Rom.
This ordinance amends an existing contract with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce to develop and production of the Corridor CD-Rom. Council deems it an appr...
Click here for full text