The Grow Iowa Values Fund legislation that’s awaiting Gov. Tom Vilsack’s signature includes a mandate for the governor to appoint a chief technology officer for the state, and would require the Iowa Department of Economic Development to hire a technology commercialization specialist and form a technology commercialization committee to make recommendations to the IDED board of directors.

The measure is a response to a perceived need for the state universities and the IDED to do a better job of informing Iowa companies about technology opportunities that could be commercialized, said Rep. Clarence Hoffman, chairman of the House Economic Growth Committee.

“We do know that some states do a better job of commercializing their research results than we do in Iowa, and we want to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity,” said Hoffman, a Denison Republican who serves on the IDED board.

The legislation calls for the governor to appoint the chief technology officer for a four-year term; funding for the position would come from the $5 million in Values Fund money earmarked for technology commercialization activities at the Regents schools, at the discretion of the IDED board and the governor.

The chief technology officer, whom the bill says should have “national or international stature,” will serve as the spokesperson for the IDED in promoting the state’s technology commercialization efforts, as well as the universities’ research and technology capabilities.

Lack of state funding for technology-transfer programs has been an issue that the state universities have had to wrestle with, said James Bloedel, Iowa State University’s vice provost for research and advanced studies.

With a 60 percent reduction in economic development funds to the universities over the past four years, “we’ve been operating with one hand tied behind our back,” Bloedel said. However, the $5 million in annual funds earmarked for the Regents as part of the 10-year, $500 million Values Fund bill should help, he said.

The emphasis by those filling the newly created positions should be on advancing the initiatives that will come forward from the Biosciences Alliance of Iowa, Bloedel said. That panel was formed last year in response to a recommendation from the Battelle Memorial Institute, a consulting group hired by the state.

Some of the topics ISU officials are currently discussing to enhance its technology commercialization efforts include using the new Values Fund allocation to hire new faculty members who have experience in commercializing technologies into marketable products, Bloedel said.

Additionally, there will probably be some “significant support” to subsidize the ISU Research Park that’s used by start-up companies in Ames, he said.