The Third Frontier Project is a type of economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

 initiative by the State

Government of Ohio

The government of the state of Ohio comprises three branches executive, legislative, and judicial. Its basic structure is set forth in the Ohio Constitution.-Executive Branch:...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 to expand research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

 and technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 economic development in the state. Initiated in 2002, the Third Frontier Commission executes the ten year, $1.6 billion project through a long list of programs, and the Third Frontier Advisory Board advises the Commission.

Goals of the Project include:

• Build world-class research capacity
• Support early stage capital formation and the development of new products
• Finance advanced manufacturing technologies to help existing industries become more productive

Third Frontier Commission plans to achieve its goals as a tech incubator

Business incubator

Business incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts...

, through financial support of new products and firms in targeted business cluster

Business cluster

A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and globally. In urban studies, the term agglomeration is used...

s in the earliest stages (seed financing or earlier) of development. Through the Third Frontier Project, additional federal and private sector support can boost the total investment to more than $6 billion.

Third Frontier Programs

• Asset-Based Company Attraction Program (ABCAP)
• Biomedical Research and Commercialization Program (BRCP)

[formerly the Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer (BRTT) Partnership Award Program.]

• Contractor Services I (CS1)
• Contractor Services II (CS21)
• Engineering and Physical Science Research and Commercialization Program (EPSRCP)
• Entrepreneurial Signature Program (ESP)
• Innovation Ohio Loan Fund (IOF)
• Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program (ORCGP)
• Pre-Seed Fund Initiative (PSFI)

[formerly Validation Fund & Seed Fund Initiative]

• Product Development Pilot Program (PDPP)
• Research Commercialization Program (RCP)
• Success and Pre-Seed Fund Initiative (SPSFI)
• The Ohio Research Scholars Program (ORSP)
• Third Frontier Advanced Energy Program (TFAEP)
• Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program (TFFCP)
• Third Frontier Internship Program (TFIP)
• Wright Centers of Innovation in Biosciences (WCIB)
• Wright Centers of Innovation in Engineering and Physical Sciences (WCIEPS)
• Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis (WCIADMA), dba daytaOhio
  DaytaOhio
  daytaOhio is a non-profit organization on the campus of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.- Markets served :daytaOhio serves a broad range of industries and market segments...
  
  
• Wright Mega-centers of Innovation (WMCI)
• Wright Projects (WP)

Third Frontier Reports Available

Two reports were published evaluating the Third Frontier initiative. The full text findings of each report is available online.

In December 2009, the Ohio Business Roundtable published "Ohio Third Frontier: Analysis of Performance." This report conducts "a quantitative analysis of the performance of the Ohio Third Frontier as it relates to
economic measures such as leverage, product sales, tax revenues, return on investment, companies
created, employment gains, and other impacts."

In September 2009, SRI International published "Making an Impact: Assessing the Benefits of Ohio's Investment Technology-Based Economic Development Programs". This report states it was published because "the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) sought a rigorous, objective, and credible assessment of the impacts of key technology-based economic development (TBED) programs on Ohio’s current economy, as well as indicators of future impact. ODOD engaged SRI International and its partner, the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, with the guidance of the Ohio Third Frontier Advisory Board and Commission, to address a series of questions:

• What are the tangible economic impacts of the Ohio Third Frontier and related programs on Ohio companies, institutions, and universities?
• Does the return on these programs support their levels of investment?
• Do these programs place Ohio’s high-tech industries on a path consistent with successful cluster development and move Ohio toward a higher growth trajectory?"

Results

Through 2010 the program has been credited with attracting 637 new high-tech companies to the state and 55,000 new jobs with an average salary of $65,000, while having a $6.6 billion economic impact with an investment return ratio of 9:1. In 2010 it won the International Economic Development Council

International Economic Development Council

The International Economic Development Council, also known as the IEDC, is an organization for Economic developers. It has more than 4,000 members in North America and around the world, and is the largest organization of its kind in existence...

's Excellence in Economic Development Award, celebrated as a national model of success.