Target Industry Clusters

Identified focus areas were selected from an analysis conducted by an independent consultant and the resources and expertise of the member institutions of higher education along with KIZ partners.

• Advanced Manufacturing
• Clean Technology/Green Technology
• Information Technology
• Life Sciences

Benefits

• Transferable KIZ Tax Credits
• Preferential consideration for DCED Programs
• Micro Capital Assistance Grants
• Access to Regional Universities' R&D Teams
• Networking, Case Management
• Internship Programs
• Site Selection Assistance
• Entrepreneurship Development Assistance
• Intellectual Property Rights Assistance
• Grant Writing Assistance

NWPA KIZ Registration
KIZ Tax Credit
Northwest KIZ Micro Grant

Eligibility Criteria

• In Operation Eight Years or Less
• Located within a Designated KIZ Geographical Area
• Operating within a Targeted Industry Cluster

Geographic Designations / Maps

Clarion County – Maps

Clarion Area
Clarion University Campus-Clarion Downtown Business District
Clarion University-Clarion Borough
Clarion Downtown Business District Detail 5th-7th Ave
Clarion Downtown Business District Detail-Goss Building
Clarion Downtown Business District Detail-Rutkowski/Selker
Clarion Downtown Business District Detail-Walker/Selker2
Paint Township Industrial Park
Clarion Biotechnology Center at Trinity Point
Redbank Renaissance, New Bethlehem

Crawford County – Maps

City of Meadville
Allegheny College Campus
North St/Park Ave & Penn Plaza
North St & Park Ave Detail 1
North St & Park Ave Detail 2
North St & Park Ave Detail 3
Meadville Industrial Complex and Business Incubator
Crawford Business Park
Ernst KIZ
Titusville Area
University of Pittsburgh at Titusville Campus
Titusville Opportunity Park
Towne Square Conference Center

Mercer County - Maps

            Mercer County KIZ (Except Greenville, Reynolds, & Hermitage
            Areas)
            Greenville Business District
            UPMC Horizon Facility
            McNeilly Business Center
            Thiel College Campus
            Greenville Enterprise Center
            Greenville-Reynolds Development
            APEX
            Linden Pointe
           
Warren County - Map

          Warren County Industrial Complex

Additional Programs of Interest

Research & Development Tax Credit

Keystone Innovation Starter Kit
The KISK Program is a companion program to the creation of the KIZs.  KISKs provide funds to PA academic medical centers, research institutions and KIZ-participating IHEs for recruitment of top faculty researchers.  The program provides funding for these researches to build out labs and staff, equipment, acquisition and to leverage their research.

The primary purpose of the KISK is to recruit new, top-level research faculty to Pennsylvania.  The recruitment of these faculty members will facilitate focused research in key KIZ industry cluster areas and motivate students to work with these faculty members to further research through potential spin-outs of the technology to businesses in the KIZ, if appropriate.

Three groups are eligible to apply for KISK funding:

• IHEs that are participating in KIZs.  Preference will be given to this group.
   
• Academic Medical Centers and their affiliates (It is not necessary for a Medical Center or Institution to be a teaching institution in order to apply for the KISK Grant Funds but all PA Medical Institutions or Centers should emphasize the impact their researcher recruitment will have on workforce development and/or student retention in the Commonwealth.
   
• Research Institutions

Keystone Innovation Grant
The Keystone Innovation Grant (KIG) Program is a companion program to the Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) program. Keystone Innovation Grants provide funding to encourage the technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property between Pennsylvania’s technology-oriented businesses and entrepreneurs and KIZ-participating institutions of higher education (IHEs). In order to spur the development of new businesses in the Commonwealth, the Keystone Innovation Grant program was created to provide $10 million in total grant funding including $3.5 million for FY 2008-2009 to participating Pennsylvania IHEs.

The application for a Keystone Innovation Grant shall be submitted to the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) utilizing the Single Application form plus any additional background materials required by these parameters or requested by DCED staff.

Small Business Innovation Research/Small
Business Technology Transfer
The goal of these programs is to increase private-sector commercialization innovations, use small businesses to meet federal R&D needs, and to foster and encourage participation by minorities and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation. The grants fund Phase I feasibility, Phase II prototype development and testing, and Phase III commercialization based on the federal solicitations for research topics. These topics offer the best opportunities for new patent development and ultimate commercialization due to the federal government’s identification of the need for a particular innovation or problem solving technique.  Topics for SBIR appear in individual Agency’s SBIR & STTR Solicitations under “Funding Opportunities Announcements” on their respective websites.  The Agencies are:

    Department of Agriculture
    Department of Commerce
    Department of Defense
    Department of Education
    Department of Energy
    Department of Health & Human Services
    Department of Homeland Security/HSARPA
    Department of Transportation
    Environmental Protection Agency
    NASA
    National Science Foundation

In addition, grant opportunities can also be found at Grants.Gov There is a place on this page that you can subscribe to an email service that will notify you of new grant postings.

Target Industry Representatives

First Energy, Clean Technology Representative
Greenville Neuromodulation Services, Life Sciences Representative
Bright Hospitality, IT Industry Representative

Partners

Allegheny College
Clarion University
Thiel College
University of Pittsburgh – Titusville
Northwest Savings Bank
Ben Franklin Technology Partners
eBizIT-PA
Northwest Industrial Resource Center
Regional Center for Workforce Excellence
West Central Job Partnership
SBDC Clarion University
SBDC Gannon University
Redevelopment Authority of Titusville
Clarion County Economic Development Corporation
Greenville Area Economic Development Corporation
Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry
Northwest Commission
Meadville Redevelopment Authority
Economic Progress Alliance
Penn-Northwest Commission
National City Bank
Northwest PA Chapter, National Tooling & Machine Association
ChipBLASTER, Inc.

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