Cleveland sports may not be working out the way we had hoped here in early June, but the economic development activities in our region certainly seem to be bearing fruit.

At the Team NEO Economic Development Impact Awards last week, ten awards were handed out recognizing various organizations and initiatives for their positive economic impact our our region.  Here’s a recap of the winners in the various categories:

• Asset Creation: Akron’s BioInnovation Institute
• Business Attraction: Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
• Business Expansion: Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.
• Business Retention: City of Akron, Greater Akron Chamber, County of Summit, Summit County Port Authority
• Foreign Investment: Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County
• Fostering Entrepreneurship: Lorain County Community College Foundation
• Marketing Cleveland Plus: Cohen & Co.
• Minority Business Development: City of Lakewood & LakewoodAlive
• Public-Private Partnership: Maple Street Commerce LLC. City of North Canton, and Stark Development Board
• Workforce Development: Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Center of Cuyahoga Community College

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It’s mid-May and Cleveland basketball is still being played, so “positive change” is definitely underway! Here’s two eight more “W’s”!

After a couple months that were a bit light on the positive news, there was lots to choose from in April.  What was maybe most surprising were many articles about significant capital and job influxes coming into Ohio and Northeast Ohio.  250 jobs here, $14M of investment there, and all of a sudden things aren’t looking so bad after all.

Lastly, if you are a entrepreneur looking for funding for a product-based business, you have until Noon, Friday the 15th to take advantage of the Cuyahoga County New Product Development and Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, administered by MAGNET.  Long term, low interest loans of $15K, $40K and $60K are available through this competitive program.  Details, documents and contacts are all available online.

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Reports from Indians training camp on the news…  “Intriguing” Brown’s trade rumors…  Cav’s are headed (positive thinking) to the NBA Finals…

All three can only mean one thing: Spring is just around the corner.  While NE Ohio weather supports this notion one day, and denies it the next, both the calendar and the sports report confirm that Opening Day, an NBA title and daffodils can’t be too far away!  So in that spirit of rebirth, growth, and a little positive thinking, we offer the February positive change recap.

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I think it’s fair to say that no one was particularly upset bidding farewell to 2008.  What a year!

The winds of change are blowing however, and NEOinc continues to see positive entrepreneurial activity throughout the region.   Incoming requests for assistance for all our member incubators remains strong.  Cuyahoga County kicked off a new support program for high potential technology startups.   VC and investment activity is still strong, albeit perhaps a bit more cautious, with most investors telling us to continue bringing them good opportunities.

So while the list of news items below is perhaps not as long as usual, NEOinc and all it’s partner organizations remain very optimistic about the state of Northeast Ohio entrepreneurship.

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Between the temperature drop and the snow on the ground it’s safe to say our Indian Summer is over and we are making the turn toward winter.  NEOinc wishes you and yours a safe, healthy and joyous holiday season.

The current economic climate is challenging to say the least, and positive news, let alone positive change, has been in scarcer supply than months past.  However, it is said “you find what you look for” and there are still plenty of bright spots to report this month.  In particular, a number of regional entrepreneurs either launched their businesses or received significant funding. 

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There is a lot of positive change happening in the region, particularly around entrepreneurial activities and economic development.  NEOinc follows several regional blogs reporting on these topics.  Sometimes the posts shine a spotlight nationally (or internationally) on the region.  Every month we publish a short list of some of the stories we’ve noticed that embody the spirit of achievement, growth and change in our region.

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And couldn’t we all use some positive news right about now?   With the housing and financial crises dominating the news, and the final month surge in negative political ads, “positive” hasn’t been an adjective used very often to describe the news.  Hopefully, better times are ahead.  We’ve recapped a nice selection of positive news from after the break.

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Ah, early Fall in Northeast Ohio.  The Tribe, after writing off their season mid-summer, has suddenly woke up and battled back to third place in their division just 10 or so games out.  The Browns go 0-4 for the preseason but hopefully have got injuries out of their system early.  Hang on, sports fans.

From a news perspective, August was a fairly slow month.  We’ve recapped a nice selection of positive news from after the break.

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The dog days of summer finally hit us (maybe that’s what the Tribe’s bats needed to wake up).  Hopefully, everyone is enjoying their summer vacations.  This issue of positive change comes at a welcome time.  With recent developments in the region, Cuyahoga County in particular, we could all use some better news to focus on.

We’ve recapped a nice selection of positive news from July after the break.

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Well, welcome to the halfway point of 2008.  That went quick, didn’t it?  What started out as a slow month, ended on a high note with lots of positive announcements throughout the region.  We’ve summarized a nice selection after the break.

June also saw one of the blogs we follow “going dark”, as they say.  Chris Varley’s Tech Futures blog, which grew out of a NorTech study around technology-based economic development, signed off this month with the following note:

The TechFutures site will remain up for some time to come, but this will be the last blog post in this forum.  As NorTech adapts to the changes around it, new priorities are emerging and new initiatives are being launched.  We invite you to revisit the stories and history of this project here on this site, but even more than that we encourage you to get and stay involved in the new projects NorTech and other economic development groups in the region pursue in the months and years to come.

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