BioForward supports the Wisconsin Workforce and Innovation Network for Success (WINS) Act (2017 SB 525 / 2017 AB 640), authored by Senator Alberta Darling, Senator Dan Feyen, Senator Van Wanggaard and Representative Adam Neylon.
This groundbreaking economic development legislation would create an Innovation Fund and Council charged with identifying opportunities for more private sector engagement and national and international exposure for industry clusters in Wisconsin. This legislation would support the cluster-based model of economic development that is working today in Wisconsin’s biohealth sector.
Funding that is generated by the Innovation Fund will be used to further enhance strengths in Wisconsin’s economy such as biohealth, water technology, food and beverage industries, energy and advanced manufacturing through four main channels:
channels:
- Challenge grants that will incite innovative product development through competition
- Key partnerships that build industry cluster capacity
- Early stage R&D grants that push new products to prototyping and field testing
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) matching grants to launch technologies to commercialization