Southern Growth Policies Board Names NEXT Innovation Center 2010 Innovator Award Winner from South Carolina
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC - Southern Growth Policies Board is pleased to announce NEXT Innovation Center as the recipient of its 2010 Innovator Award from South Carolina. Formed in
2006, NEXT is a collaborative of regional organizations dedicated to attracting and promoting the
growth of high-impact knowledge-based companies, as well as accelerating the entrepreneurial
culture in Upstate South Carolina.
NEXT offers entrepreneurs a single-point of access to support organizations and also fosters the
development of the regional infrastructure critical to entrepreneurial success. The collaborative has
played a leading role in launching a regional network of investors, initiating the creation of incentives
such as a business license abatement fee, and organizing peer mentoring networks where like minded
groups can come together and bounce ideas off one another. NEXT partners worked with the
Hughes Development Corporation to create the NEXT Innovation Center in Greenville in 2009,
providing space for emerging companies to interact and grow, as well as a venue for NEXT's
educational and networking programs and services. The Innovation Center is also home to support
organizations such as the Upstate Carolina Angel Network and Michelin Development Upstate, an
economic development program that provides funding and business expertise to socially and
economically disadvantaged small-and medium-sized businesses.
The NEXT collaborative, which was launched with eight partner organizations, including the City of
Greenville, Greenville Chamber, InnoVenture, GTC Buck Mickel Center, FastTrac, Spiro Institute of
Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clemson University, Clemson University Research Foundation, and the
Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Center, has since grown to 12 partners and nearly 50
member companies. In addition, since its inception, NEXT has seen more than 20 innovative and
entrepreneurial companies relocate to the Upstate region.
Innovator Awards are presented annually to one organization in each of Southern Growth's 13
member states in recognition of initiatives that are improving economic opportunities and quality of life
in the region. The 2010 Innovator Awards were chosen from creative initiatives in the region that aim
to help communities recover from the recession. One award winner per week will be announced in
Southern Growth's e-newsletter, Southern Compass, leading up to an official recognition of all
awardees at Southern Growth's Chairman's Conference, June 7-8, 2010 in Lexington,
Kentucky. NEXT - 2010 Innovator Award Winner
