Startup Colorado recently announced the launch of a new $200,000 fund to support events that strengthen the entrepreneurial communities across Colorado. The organization will issue grants to Colorado organizations planning events, seminars and contests that bring together startup communities, particularly those in the Denver-Boulder region, Colorado Springs and Fort Collins, according to the Denver Business Journal.

Typically, marketing efforts for cities and states encompass the promotion of a variety of desirable qualities to attract businesses and creative talent. Lately, it seems the title of Chief Innovation Officer has picked up steam in localities and across states as leaders seek to brand their region as “the” place for innovation. Take Colorado, for example, where last week Gov.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin announced that Jonna Kirschner, executive director of the Oklahoma Commerce Department, will serve on a transition team to establish a new workers’ compensation system. Vaughn Clark , the Commerce Department’s director of community development, was named as interim executive director.

Innosphere and the Colorado Enterprise Fund are joining forces to launch the Colorado Catalyst Fund, a $20 million community development venture capital fund. The model for the fund was drawn from existing community development venture funds established predominately on the East and West Coast, and will be the first of its kind in the state. The fund will be managed by the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, which has formed or advised more than 40 of the 70 existing funds across the country.

Tom Walker is departing i2E to join TechColumbus as CEO. Walker, a founding member of i2E, has served the private nonprofit for 14 years. Walker replaces Tim Haynes, who has been serving as interim CEO.

Mark Herzog will step down as executive director of the Virginia Biotechnology Association on June 1. Herzog will serve as senior vice president for corporate and government affairs at Health Diagnostic Laboratory, a Richmond-based company that conducts clinical tests.

The Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA) has launched a collaborative partnership of more than 90 contract research organizations (CROs) to help the region compete in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. BioResearch Central will help promote the Greater Kansas City region as a destination for pharmaceutical R&D at a time when drug companies are increasingly looking overseas for their contract research needs.

Tom Thornton, president and CEO of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, submitted his letter of resignation to the board effective immediately. David Vranicar, president of the authority's Heartland BioVentures division, was named interim president and CEO.

Gov John Hickenlooper recently signed legislation expanding eligibility for Colorado's Innovation Investment Tax Credit (CIITC). The program provides angel investors with an income tax credit equal to 15 percent of their investment in Colorado small businesses that are less than five years old and are involved in research and development. Originally, the program allowed investors to claim the credits for investments made during the 2010 tax year.

The budget approved by lawmakers for FY12 includes $15 million in research grant money for three Kansas universities to expand programs in emerging industry sectors as proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback and allocates $10.5 million annually for an initiative to enhance engineering education and increase the number of qualified engineers in the state.

Lawmakers added another five years to the life of a bioscience program established in 2008 to encourage bioscience research and speed technology commercialization (see the May 14, 2008 issue of the Digest). Gov. John Hickenlooper this week signed into law HB 1283 extending the state's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant program through July 2018.

Included below are recent development plans and groundbreaking news for research parks announced by officials in Connecticut, Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Much of the recent economic recovery plans coming from governors across the country have focused on growing and nurturing existing businesses through a regional approach to economic development. The idea is that by identifying and defining the unique needs of a region, policymakers and practitioners can then provide the necessary tools and resources to grow industries likely to succeed within a given region, thus improving the overall economic landscape of the state. This approach is happening both in states and at the local level.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage has nominated George Gervais, the acting commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development as commissioner. His nomination must be reviewed by the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development and confirmed by the Senate.

Patrick Gallagher has been named the 18th chancellor and chief executive officer of the University of Pittsburgh. Gallagher currently serves as acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.