INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Technology & Innovation Association has released its 2020 Policy Agenda. The organization’s priorities include investing in more non-stop domestic and international flights to help connect Indiana businesses with industry leaders, recruiting and retaining talent, and supporting a statewide cybersecurity initiative.

 The Indiana Technology & Innovation Association is a statewide association of Indiana’s technology-driven companies and partners. The ITIA includes more than 120 technology companies throughout Indiana.

“Indiana’s technology industry is experiencing tremendous growth. To continue this momentum, Indiana must embrace and position itself as a leader in the technology and innovation economy,” said David Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Internet Bank, and Board Chair of the Indiana Technology & Innovation Association. “Our technology leaders have spent several months working on a tech policy agenda to expand access to venture capital, train and attract skilled talent, and make Indiana an attractive and supportive place to live and work in tech. We look forward to partnering with Indiana’s policy makers to advance this agenda and help Indiana’s technology industry and our state succeed.” 

The ITIA’s 2020 Policy Agenda can be found below:  

CAPITAL 

• Innovation Research and Technology Transfer Grants: ITIA supports expanded efforts to promote the state’s 50% match of the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants, to provide support for entrepreneurs to help them navigate the application process, and to assist SBIR/STTR grant recipients with raising additional funding and commercializing their technology.
• Investment Reporting: ITIA recommends that state entities that invest in Indiana businesses, such as Elevate Ventures and the 21 Fund, record and report annually on the number of investments and the amount of money invested into women, minority, and veteran-owned companies to encourage a focus on diversity.

PLACE 

• Nonstop Flights: ITIA supports continued investment in adding more non-stop domestic and international flights to help connect Indiana businesses with major industry hubs. 
• Certified Tech Parks: ITIA supports the expansion of high performing Certified Tech Parks (CTPs) by increasing the maximum allowable CTP capture per year from $100,000 to $500,000 and removing the automatic reset of the CTP base year once the initial $5 million cap is reached. 
• Smart Cities: ITIA supports a dedicated effort by the state to add smart technology products and providers to the state’s list of Quantity Purchase Agreements to help local governments access and implement these technologies to more effectively and efficiently deliver city services. 
• Data Privacy: ITIA supports the adoption of federal data privacy legislation to protect consumer data, rather than a patchwork of state-by-state regulations in order to provide certainty and consistency to both consumers and businesses. 
• Cybersecurity: ITIA encourages the state to facilitate the development of cybersecurity guidelines and best practices as a resource for local governments and help them access vetted cybersecurity products and providers. 

TALENT 

• Next Level Jobs: ITIA supports efforts to update and expand the Next Level Jobs program to ensure that the definition of in-demand jobs and trainings that are eligible for grant funding includes the technology jobs of tomorrow and to increase the number of IT training providers of high demand credentials (i.e. Comp TIA A+, Security+ and Network+) available to applicants.  
• Talent Recruitment: ITIA urges the state to incorporate talent recruitment as a core tenet of economic development similar to how traditional strategies have focused on company relocation, and implement targeted and data-driven approaches to attract tech workers to relocate to Indiana.  
• Relocation Costs: ITIA supports updating existing tools and incentives, like the IEDC’s Skills Enhancement Fund which provides assistance for employee training, to include employee relocation costs to assist in bringing high-value talent to Indiana, in particular for smaller employers.