History
Innovation Philadelphia, founded in 2001 by the City of Philadelphia and business and academic leaders, was originally charged with helping to grow the technology and knowledge industry sectors of Philadelphia's economy. In 2006, the organization adopted a strategic plan that targeted the growth of for-profit, creative industry sectors that are driven by technology, including industries such as website design, graphic design, green technologies, software development and film and music production. Since then, Innovation Philadelphia has developed a wide variety of programs and resources for creative industry entrepreneurs, held creative industry conferences and job fairs, and hosted and participated in national and international conferences showcasing the Philadelphia region's blossoming creative economy.
As a result, Innovation Philadelphia has become one of the leading innovative, new economy organizations in the United States with a strong record of accomplishments that include:
- Identifying the creative economy as a part of the knowledge industry with the potential for measurable growth; planning collaborative initiatives such as the 2006 and 2009 Global Creative Economy Convergence Summits, the Creative Entrepreneurial Expo, and the annual Creative Industries Career Fair; and establishing a reputation as an expert in creative industry growth by participating in national and international conferences to educate other economic development practitioners on strategies to grow the creative economy.
- Providing creative industry entrepreneurs with resources and expertise to grow their businesses by hosting workshops and panel discussions and providing entrepreneurs with forums to exchange ideas and with networking programs to generate new business opportunities.
- Developing a portfolio of venture capital investment funds, including the Creative Economy Investment Fund, which has invested a total aggregate $1.4 million and leveraged an additional investment of over $71 million in early seed funding to dozens of technology and knowledge industry businesses run by Philadelphia entrepreneurs;
- Creating comprehensive resources for entrepreneurs such as the Entrepreneurs' Resource Guide, a directory of over 250 regional organizations that support entrepreneurial growth, with over 8,000 copies distributed and downloaded since its 2007 publication and the Philly Creative Jobs website that provides an internet-based portal for freelancers to find projects and for job seekers to find new opportunities; and
- Measuring and communicating the strengths of and opportunities for Philadelphia's creative economy through the 2002 Innovation and Entrepreneurial Index, the 2004 Greater Philadelphia Innovation Economy Road Map for Regional Growth studies and the more recent Creative Footprint report from 2008 which captures the overall importance of this sector critical to the Philadelphia region's larger economy.