Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act

Need and Purpose

• To provide Missouri with a 21st Century job growth strategy focusing on high-growth industries.
• To foster economic growth and the creation, attraction, and retention of quality jobs.
• To leverage and expand on Missouri’s existing strengths in science and innovation.
• To provide a predictable, stable source of funding for building the entrepreneurial infrastructure necessary to support the growth of science and innovation companies in Missouri.
• To establish an environment where new Missouri-based companies can grow and existing employers can compete and succeed in Missouri due to the state’s commercialization and entrepreneurial strengths.

Investment Opportunities

• Give Missouri the wherewithal and flexibility to capitalize on opportunities to transform Missouri’s statewide and regional economies.
• Focused on creating, attracting, retaining, and growing science and innovation companies in Missouri.
• Projects that promote job growth from Missouri’s strengths in science and innovation. Types of possible projects include:
• Commercializing research and innovations to create new Missouri-based technology companies.
• Helping existing employers compete and succeed in MO while creating new high-paying jobs.
• Ensuring that adequate private financing, including venture capital, is available for emerging. companies
• Addressing the physical infrastructure needs of science-based companies, including incubators, lab space, research parks and district development.
• Workforce training to meet the demand for skilled workers at all levels of Missouri’s science and innovation companies.
• Attracting and retaining scientists, entrepreneurs, regulatory experts, and others with expertise critical to the success of Missouri businesses.
• Promoting the relocation of companies to Missouri based on an attractive entrepreneurial environment .

Funding Model

• Captures a small percentage of the new growth in gross wages generated by employees working in Missouri within designated science and innovation fields; does not create any new taxes.
• Revenue is reinvested to assure future and continued job growth and increased economic activity
• Funding through MOSIRA will NOT involve the use of existing general revenue funds.
• MOSIRA establishes a base year level for existing state revenue from science and innovation jobs and only new revenue above the base line will fund strategic reinvestments.

Governance

• Reinvested strategically by an expert board composed of individuals with applicable expertise research commercialization, and education related to science and innovation to ensure that funded projects are innovation-based and have the greatest potential return to the citizens of Missouri. 

Support

• Supported by wide ranging coalition from across the state: businesses, academic institutions, workforce development, & community groups.

Attribution: Developed by Ben Johnson of the St. Louis Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences

2/11/2011