After seeing its budget slashed during the last legislative session, the Georgia Research Alliance appears to be regaining favor among state leaders. The board of the Georgia Research Alliance passed a resolution May 12 to support the integration of Georgia Centers of Innovation with the Georgia Research Alliance. The Centers of Innovation were launched in 2003 by the state to provide technological support to businesses and startups. Currently, there are six Centers of Innovation in the fields of aerospace, logistics, agribusiness, energy, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. “The centers were envisioned as being a bridge between these industry clusters and the universities,” said Mike Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance. The alliance was founded nearly 21 years ago as a partnership between the state’s six research universities — Georgia Tech, Emory University, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Health Sciences University (formerly the Medical College of Georgia) and Clark Atlanta University — and the state’s top business leaders.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2011/05/20/georgia-research-alliance-regaining.html (Subscription required*)