COLUMBIA, Md. (Feb. 2, 2008) – The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) this week announced the results of an economic impact assessment of Maryland's technology incubators. The report shows that the state's incubators continue to have a significant and positive impact on the state's economy.
Commissioned by TEDCO, the economic impact analysis studied Maryland's 18 technology incubators and four proposed incubator projects. Key findings from the analysis include:
-- Current and graduate incubator firms employed 14,044 people in the state (5,374 direct employees and 8,670 indirect employees).
-- These jobs contributed to $845 million in annual salary and benefits to Maryland citizens, and resulted in total gross state product contributions of $1.2 billion.
-- The incubators contributed $104 million in state and local taxes, and increased state output by $2.7 billion per year.
-- Maryland has the potential to support additional technology-based incubators.
-- The average annual pay for technology jobs is $75,000, more than 60 percent higher than the statewide average annual wage of $46,000.
RTI International—a North Carolina-based research group—performed an economic impact assessment of Maryland technology incubators and analyzed state capacity for additional technology-based incubators. Barriers faced by incubator graduate companies were investigated, as well as effective policies to mitigate these obstacles. The study also assessed the relationship between TEDCO's incubator funding and the economic impact analysis during a single year of funding (FY 2006).
"The technology industry is a significant contributor to Maryland's expanding economy," said David Edgerley, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. "As the results of this recent analysis illustrate, Maryland's technology incubators not only foster the development of new technologies, but stimulate the state's economy in a number of ways."
The objective of business incubation is to encourage, promote, stimulate and support research and development activities of small businesses through the use of different investments leading to commercialization of new products and services. Business incubators can provide significant benefits by helping to create successful businesses that generate wealth and job opportunities for their regions and states.
"We are thrilled with the positive findings of the impact analysis and are proud to play a part in the continued success of Maryland's incubator network," said Renée Winsky, president and executive director of TEDCO. "The study really speaks to TEDCO's goal, which is to be the leading source of funding for seed capital and entrepreneurial business assistance for the development, transfer and commercialization of technology."
RTI International used IMPLAN, a standard regional macroeconomic impact model, to gather this data, and received a 45 percent response rate to the online survey of state incubator clients and graduates. The executive summary can be found at www.MarylandTEDCO.org.
The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), an independent entity, was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1998 to facilitate the creation of businesses and foster their growth in all regions of the State. TEDCO's role is to be Maryland's leading source of funding for seed capital and entrepreneurial business assistance for the development, transfer and commercialization of technology. TEDCO connects emerging technology companies with federal laboratories, research universities, business incubators and specialized technical assistance. For the fourth consecutive year, TEDCO was recognized as the most active early/seed stage investor in the nation in the July 2007 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.
For more information on TEDCO and its programs and resources, visit www.MarylandTEDCO.org.