Innovation in America Reaches New Heights

Area Development, a publication dedicated to covering the intersection of business, place and people, recently featured the Center of Innovation (COI) as an innovation program that is adapting to challenges brought to the forefront due to COVID-19. This global pandemic has impacted innovation programs across the world. Now, these programs must now lean upon new partners and resources and answer how innovation can remain supported in this new era. The big question that Area Development asks, how can innovation programs see the organizations they support not only survive, but thrive?

Our Executive Director, Steve Justice, and Associate Director, David Nuckolls, were brought in as subject matter experts where they highlighted what innovation looks like now. As the state’s leading resource for facilitating business innovation, COI advises local Georgia companies on how to translate new ideas and technologies into commercially viable products and services for businesses to compete in the global marketplace.

Read below for highlights from this article.

Q: What does innovation look like?

Justice: Since we are economic developers, innovation is how we help a business develop new products, services and/or processes to help them better serve customers and allow them to grow their company. When you use that definition, a lot of folks think of innovation being like the iPhone. But innovation is all about the ways people use it. Tech is just a tool.

Q: Why do companies innovate?

Nuckolls: You want to, or you’re forced to do it. Lots of companies now are in the 'forced to' box after COVID-19 hit the country. The good news is, by embracing innovation head-on, what some people thought was impossible to improbable to accomplish, they’re now doing. That opens eyes, to think now that the ‘next impossible' is now possible.

COVID-19 has certainly changed how we operate globally and as Steve shares,

[It] may push us to bring even more innovation to where people live. Maybe a company doesn’t have to be in an innovation district to do innovation or be an innovator. Maybe you can do it where you live. We’ve learned how we can be connected, but not in the same physical location, and still get work done.

You can read the full article here to see how innovation in America is reaching new heights.