Indianapolis, IN – The Indiana Technology & Innovation Association (ITIA) today released its 2023 policy priorities to accelerate the innovation economy. 

ITIA announced its priorities at its annual Legislative Update event co-hosted by TechPoint and sponsored by AT&T and Salesforce. Nearly 130 tech leaders, two dozen state legislators and several members of the Governor’s administration attended.

ITIA’s priorities this year focus on expanding access to capital, supporting a diverse tech workforce and enabling a thriving tech and innovation ecosystem to support tech job growth and fuel entrepreneurship. 

“Now is the time to accelerate Indiana’s commitment to supporting and growing the high-wage, high-tech jobs of the future,” said ITIA Board Chair David Becker, Chairman and CEO of First Internet Bank. “Indiana is well-positioned to embrace and be a leader in the innovation economy, but it’s going to take an intentional, collaborative effort to unleash capital, address our talent needs and dramatically boost entrepreneurship.” 

Indiana’s technology industry continues to grow and contributed $51 billion to Indiana’s GDP in 2021. With an estimated median wage of $76,254, median tech wages are 99% higher than the median state wage (CompTIA Cyberstates 2022). 

While Indiana has been successful at attracting and retaining large and existing corporations, our state ranks low for new business creation. According to the2021 Kauffman Entrepreneurial Indicators, Indiana ranks 44th out of 50 states for rate of new entrepreneurs. Yet, new and young companies are responsible for nearly all net new job creation in the U.S.

“We need to do everything we can to support and accelerate entrepreneurship in Indiana,” said ITIA Executive Director Jennifer Hallowell. “The State of Indiana can continue to lead by removing barriers to entrepreneurship and investing in the talent and capital needed to start and grow an innovation-based venture.”

ITIA’s 2023 Policy Agenda includes the following priorities:

Policies that Expand Access to Capital at All Stages of Growth

• Continued and robust investment in the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund, which funds critical and proven programs including Elevate Ventures and the SBIR/STTR matching grant program.
• Additional state investment into the Next Level Indiana Fund to further accelerate the availability of capital for Indiana companies at the growth stage. 
• A focus on ensuring women, minority and veteran entrepreneurs have access to capital at all stages. 

Policies that Develop, Attract and Retain a Diverse Tech Workforce

• Including computer science and technology as a high school graduation requirement to equip more students with technology skills, particularly girls and students of color.
• Funding and incentives for technology-focused career exploration and discovery programs, such as robotics. 
• Support for apprenticeships, internships and other pathways into the tech industry. 
• Incentives and efforts to retain and attract talent in Indiana. 

Policies that Enable a Thriving Tech Ecosystem

• Removing barriers to entrepreneurship and a dedicated effort to support new business creation. 
• A data privacy law that is interoperable with other state privacy laws in order to create consistent robust privacy protections and reduce implementation burdens.
• Continued expansion of high performing Certified Tech Parks (CTPs) by increasing the maximum allowable CTP capture. 
• Efforts to accelerate broadband and fiber deployment.