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Agreement between Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners and Mayfield Village <br />Elements of a Cuyahoga Innovation Zone <br />A Cuyahoga Innovation Zone is abusiness-friendly place-based environment focused on unique segments <br />of the regional economy. A Zone is a limited service area, anchored by businesses and/or institutions with <br />the capacity to address the market focus of the Zone. The Zone must be properly Zoned for <br />commercial/industrial activity and all parcels in the Zone must be contiguous, no islands or donuts. <br />The Cuyahoga Innovation Zone concept is designed to promote collaboration through practical benefits <br />for the participants. A minimum of two anchor partners are required to establish an Innovation Zone. <br />There can be more than two founding partners. The anchor partnership must consist of at least one <br />501(c)(3) nonprofit economic development organization and one or more organizations (private industry, <br />colleges or universities, or a leading research and development organization will qualify) with unique <br />capacity to assess and understand the underlying market focus of the Zone. ~ <br />One of the partners will be designated to be the lead or anchor organization. The anchor organization <br />must be a designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with a clearly stated purpose to advance <br />community and economic development. By definition, an anchor organization must be of sufficient size <br />and scope to undertake the anchor role in launching, developing, branding and administering the general <br />Zone business plan. <br />The anchor partnership provides initial leadership, resources, and funding, to develop an Innovation Zone <br />Business Plan, necessary for securing County funding to launch the Zone. The anchor partners together <br />guide the development of the Zone and evaluate progress with a consistent set of metrics. <br />Cuyahoga Innovation Zone must include the following elements: <br />1. Zone Business Plan: identifies a market relevant approach to physical development. The business <br />plan provides the value adding proposition to companies for becoming affiliated with the Zone. The <br />plan will identify the focus and target market of the proposed Innovation Zone. The business plan <br />must clearly illustrate the Innovation Zone's competitive advantage for the identified target market. <br />This requires a core competency assessment of the potential Zone to identify critical resources and <br />assets that will advance the ability of businesses to innovate. The business plan will also include: <br />~. Budget detailing the sources and uses of funds <br />b. Identified commercial market focus <br />c. Core competency assessment <br />d. Zone management structure and plan <br />e. Defined outcomes <br />f. Project schedule/time table <br />2. Zone Development Plan: establishes the geographic focus of the Zone and specifies the development <br />objectives of the Zone. The geographic focus of the Zone indicates the place-based environment of <br />the business plan. Anchor partners must inventory physical space and submit a physical development <br />plan that complements and adheres to the overall business plan. The identified area provides the <br />spatial context of the business plan. This requires that physical developments within the Zone foster <br />revenue generation and support the market focus of the Zone. For the pilot program, and due to <br />limited funding, Zones must contain 20 contiguous city blocks (50 acres). <br />1 While local municipalities and other local government agencies are critical partners in developing and <br />implementing an Innovation Zone, local government does not qualify as an anchor partner. The anchor partnership <br />must possess specific market knowledge to ensure the Zone and the assets associated with the Zone contribute to a <br />company's income statement. This is not the primary function of government. <br />H:~Economic Development~Blue Ribbon~Innovation Zones~Applications~lVlayfield Village~Phase I~1Vlayfield 13 <br />CIZ Phase 1 Contract DRAFT 07-17-2008.doc <br />