For years as an executive at Rockwell Collins Inc., I worked with researchers at the state universities and entrepreneurs who were producing research and products that we needed to enhance our product line or create efficiencies. It could be a tedious process, but it was often more cost-effective than attempting to do the same thing in-house.

What I didn’t know is that this would be the basis of my next career – president and CEO of the Iowa Innovation Corporation.

The Iowa Innovation Corporation is a business-led nonprofit that has ties in business, academia and government. Because we were created by the Iowa Legislature, people want to color us as a government agency, and that simply isn’t true. We do contract with the Iowa Economic Development Authority to manage programs, but we are exactly what Iowa’s past three governors envisioned – a public/private partnership committed to economic development.

So why should you care? Simply, the Innovation Corporation is key to Iowa’s role in the global economy. While traditional economic development – attract and retain – is still relevant, it is expensive and complicated. What we’re doing is flexible, adaptable and focused on creating infrastructure and talent pool development for Iowa’s key industries.

More importantly, we aren’t in the business of picking winners and losers, but rather creating an environment that supports more and better ideas.

Here are just a few ways we are accomplishing this. We are:

• Connecting valuable research coming out of our state universities to businesses that will use the technologies to either add or enhance their existing product offerings, as well as create efficiencies in the manufacturing process.

• Assisting start-ups and entrepreneurs to determine proof of concept, and in ideas and businesses that are further along, proof of commercial relevance. This is being done through a model that was created by business leaders from across the state.

• Developing a seed fund that links capital providers to investable deals. While the seed fund will benefit from $8 million in state tax credits specifically set aside for this purpose, it is being developed like everything else associated with the Iowa Innovation Corporation – thoughtfully and deliberately. While the tax credits draw significant attention, and in some cases criticism, they are a small part of why the fund will succeed. The fund will not be launched until our board and trusted partners are comfortable the model can achieve access.

Looking back, I understand that what I was doing at Rockwell Collins is what I am doing at the Iowa Innovation Corporation, only on a much larger scale. I also realize that if the Innovation Corporation had existed when I was with Rockwell Collins, it would have made my job significantly easier. I would have had a resource that worked with me to identify the solutions providers I needed.

And now, I get to be part of that resource for Iowa. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Iowa Innovation Economy, and I invite you to consider just what your role might be.

Jack Harris is president and CEO of the Iowa Innovation Corporation. He can be reached at jack.harris@iowainnovationcorporation.com.