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GovLove: Ben Franklin Tech. Partners Celebrates 30 Years

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Thornburgh, Ridge and Collins


Dick Thornburgh talking to DCED's Sherri Collins


Dick Thornburgh left and Tom Ridge


Three Pennsylvania governors were flanked by dozens of supporters of one of the few statewide programs that has thrived for three decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations and become a national model on Monday in an uber-modern room on the 14th floor of Harrisburg University.

Dick Thornburgh, Tom Ridge and Tom Corbett helped celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ben Franklin Technology Partners and its network of regional technology incubators.

Toward the end of the 90-minute panel discussion, Thornburgh proudly held out for display his maroon Ben Franklin tie, one he wore proudly in the 1980s when he helped create a program that would be heralded and emulated across the globe. In 1982, Thornburgh and the General Assembly established the Advanced Technology Centers of the Ben Franklin Partnership to stimulate tech-based innovation and economic growth. Further legislative acts created the model we know today.

The current governor praised the program’s track record.

“In every corner of this commonwealth there are men and women working at good paying jobs and creating additional jobs because of the Ben Franklin program,” said Corbett in his opening remarks before heading out for budget talks.
“The program was a clear plan for the future, born at one of our most confusing times of struggle.”

Also on Monday, Ben Franklin released an independent report compiled with the Pennsylvania Economy League and KLIOS Consulting that touts the wide and deep economic impact of its activities, particularly those that provide financing and related to services to early –stage and established technology companies statewide. The report found:

·  A 3.6-to-1 return on investment to the state on its $13.7 million investment in Ben Franklin between 2007-2011

·  $6.6 billion impact on Pennsylvania’s economy, plus $502 million of additional state tax revenues enabled by Ben Franklin

·  7,485 new jobs created, plus 10,165 additional jobs created in Pennsylvania beyond those in client firms

·  Jobs created by Ben Franklin are in industries that pay average annual salaries that are 36 percent higher than the state’s average salary

Panel moderator Rob Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington D.C., has been studying Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Partners since he was a grad student in the early 1980s. He believes Pennsylvania’s geographically dispersed innovation hubs and Ben Franklin’s regional approach are what set it apart.

“The genius of Ben Franklin is you put the focus on entrepreneurs, who can be helped by universities, but not on universities themselves,” said Atkinson. “No. 2, it was all about building a network. It’s not just about having a process in Harrisburg where you apply for a grant and get a check. That wouldn’t have been nearly as effective as building these networks.”

BFTP of Central & Northern PA, BFTP of Northeastern PA, BFTP of Southeastern PA, Entrepreneurship, Features, Innovation Works, Venture Capital

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