Dominic Villecco, president of V-COMM and VP of the NJ Wireless Association, discusses expanding 5G wireless technologies in Paterson and Passaic.

TRENTON—Officials with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority heard plans from nine communities on how they can build or augment their local innovation ecosystems.

At the session on Monday, participating project teams presented their progress to state economic development leaders, including representatives of the Murphy administration, and community leaders from relevant areas on a wide variety of ideas designed to cultivate innovation and drive economic activity in New Jersey communities.

New Jersey Economic Development Authority solicited these plans through a Request for Proposals under the Innovation Challenge, a new initiative announced by Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2018. These nine municipalities and counties were awarded contracts for $100,000 each in November 2018.

The Innovation Challenge calls for municipalities and counties to partner with higher-education institutions and other strategic partners to consider groundbreaking approaches to build public-private and community partnerships, nurture entrepreneurship and upgrade infrastructure. The nine communities selected under the RFP were: Atlantic City, Atlantic County, Bridgeton, Camden County, Monmouth County, New Brunswick, Passaic County, Trenton, and Union Township.

"We launched the Innovation Challenge to encourage local communities to advance their own plans to further Governor Murphy's vision to make New Jersey the State of Innovation, and it was exciting to see so much energy and enthusiasm for recapturing our historic leadership position," said NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan.

The plans presented at the session included:

The City of Atlantic City, Stockton University, and other partners' plan for the Coastal Resiliency Institute, an educational, research, and incubator facility focused on the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs.

Atlantic County, the Atlantic County Economic Alliance, Atlantic Cape Community College, and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's marketing feasibility assessment for an Aviation Maintenance and Technical Academy.

The City of Bridgeton, Cumberland County Improvement Authority, Rutgers Food Innovation Center, and the Cumberland Workforce Development Board's plan to create a Smart Food Manufacturing Center within the expanded Food Specialization Center in Bridgeton, which has already received offers of in-kind assistance, consulting, and equipment from a leader in advanced manufacturing technology.

Camden County, Coopers Ferry Partnership, and Rowan University's assessment around Smart City infrastructure needs for Downtown Camden focused on integrating adaptive traffic signal technology and development of a central Transportation System Management and Operations Center.

Monmouth County, Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority, and New Jersey Institute of Technology's vision for a 50-acre technology campus at Ft Monmouth that will attract high- growth private and public organizations and build an entrepreneurial environment in Monmouth County.

A joint venture between the City of New Brunswick, Rutgers University, and New Brunswick Development Corporation to create an integrated system for autonomous vehicle testing in a real-world urban cityscape.

The County of Passaic and Cities of Passaic and Paterson's partnership with the William Paterson University-Small Business Development Center, Passaic County Community College, PSE&G, and St. Joseph's Hospital to document options available for expanding 5G wireless technologies in Paterson and Passaic.

The City of Trenton and Greater Trenton's engagement with five Mercer County higher education institutions and Trenton Public Schools to plan for a collaborative innovation and entrepreneurial center. This includes an analysis that studies the entrepreneurial ecosystem and development needs for Trenton-area entrepreneurs, businesses, universities and residents. Resulting in recommended programs and sites for the Innovation Center within Trenton.

Union Township and Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship at Kean University's work with Union County and the Union County Economic Development Corporation to address a variety of issues associated with financing, expanding, and operating an innovation center that will catalyze the establishment and growth of life science start-up companies, creating a density of early-stage companies to promote entrepreneurial dynamism and economic activity.

A second round of Innovation Challenge projects was approved in March 2019. Included in this round were: Cape May County, Hoboken, Newark, Paterson, and Plainfield.

Instant Insights /

State Hears Innovation-Focused Project Ideas from Nine Communities

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