The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), to which BIA/NYS and most of our incubator members belong, has highlighted in its online iReview our publication of a Guide to Business Incubation for Elected Officials in New York State.

This Guide, which is freely available under the publications drop-down menu above, was written with editorial independence by Prof. David Lewis of SUNY's University at Albany. Our thanks to David and to SUNY's University at Buffalo Office of Science, Technology and Economic Outreach (STOR), which sponsored an initial print run sufficient to reach many key leaders in the executive and legislative branches. Incubators in NYS are also authorized to print copies locally for distribution to elected officials at the federal, state, county or city level, provided they do not alter the text.

The Tech Valley Incubation Network, an informal group of incubator managers in the capital region that actually predated formation of the BIA/NYS, gathered for the first time in several years to welcome back to Albany Dr. Donald Siegel, a renowned scholar of innovation who is now the new dean of of the UAlbany College of Business. Dr. Siegel (fourth from left) gave a presentation on current directions in technology commercialization, and discussed the role of incubators and research parks. The group also heard a report on the current activities of BIA/NYS from the executive director. The meeting site was the 3rd floor board room of the Gen*NY*sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics/Center for Functional Genomics, which serves as an anchor of the UAlbany East Campus incubator/accelerator. Click the photo for identification of the participants. If your region would like to organize a similar gathering, BIA/NYS will happily participate.

Linc — the Lighting Cultivator™ — has joined BIA/NYS as a new member. Created through funding by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Linc is a not-for-profit corporation working with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center and the private sector to foster commercialization of new lighting products and services that advance sustainability. Linc serves as a "virtual incubator" for new businesses and a cultivator for existing businesses. Linc is located at the Saratoga Technology + Energy Park (STEP), which is itself a supporting member of BIA/NYS. We warmly welcome Linc to membership!

The New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) has become our second sitewide websponsor, joining Marshall & Sterling's incubatorinsurance.com website (see clickable logos in the left-hand column).

NYSTAR has funded certain startup costs of several of our member incubators, and has conducted important internal research that helped incubation assume a more important role in the state's overall economic development strategy. The BIA/NYS would like to thank NYSTAR Executive Director Ed Reinfurt, Executive Deputy Ed Hamilton, and the entire senior staff of NYSTAR for their open and forthright approach to receiving input and programmatic suggestions from the state's incubator community, including at our most recent members' meeting at Stony Brook.

We welcome NYSTAR to sponsorship, which places a clickable logo on every page of the association's website, including our online incubator/tenant database, and in our newsletter. We encourage all our readers to investigate both our sponsors' web pages. If your organization is interested in sponsoring our website, please contact the executive director.

Phillips Lytle LLP, a statewide law firm with a prominent practice in "capital and innovation," has agreed with BIA/NYS to advise our board of directors on governance matters, pro bono. Primarily responsible for the engagement is Albany partner Kelly Mooney Lester, Esq.

The executive director would like to thank Ms. Lester and her partners, as well as Jeff Corcoran of our supporting member SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator for making this introduction. Phillips Lytle LLP has offices in Buffalo, Chautauqua County (Jamestown and Fredonia), Rochester, Albany, New York City, and Garden City (Long Island).