Notice to potential applicants to the Innovation Ecosystem process, 2/3/12 We at the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office

of Innovation, are encouraged by the enthusiasm we have heard for the Innovation Ecosystem. It has taken some time to process the feedback we received on the Draft Innovation Ecosystem Request for Qualifications. In part, this is due to the need to navigate the strictures of state policy. The approach of the Innovation Ecosystem is novel in its emphasis on flexibility, transparency and collaboration, which has required deviation from normal procedures, which has taken some time. This notice outlines key structural and scheduling items about the Innovation Ecosystem award process. This process will have two staggered application tracks: One for Statewide System elements and one for local Innovation Hub elements This will allow for System elements to be more clearly defined before Hub applicants are asked to design the elements that will fit into the System. Each application track will have three stages: Request for Qualifications (RFQ); a Collaborative Work Period; and Request for Proposals (RFP) Request for Qualifications The first step of the application will ask applicants to make the case for two things: 1) That the applicant has the experience, insight and capacity to help significant numbers of startup and stage 2 companies grow dramatically 2) That the applicants location is a likely spot to attract and retain a critical mass of highperformance companies and serial entrepreneurs over time Once Qualifications are in, the Office of Innovation will qualify a discrete group of applicants and locations for further consideration. Collaborative Work Period The Office of Innovation will meet with each qualified applicant to answer questions and discuss ideas for the design of each Innovation Ecosystem element. Qualified applicants will be encouraged, during this period, to collaborate to design reinforcing elements and relationships to enable each applicant and the system as a whole to perform with excellence. Request for Proposals After the close of the Collaborative Work Period, the Office of Innovation will issue a Request for Proposals, which will seek from applicants detailed proposals for elements of the Innovation Ecosystem. Proposals will be evaluated based on the strength of the case that they are likely to help startup and stage 2 companies grow. The RFP will contain suggestions for Hub elements, but applicants will be encouraged to develop their own creative proposals as well. Once the RFP is issued, collaboration among applicants and between applicants and the Office of Innovation will again be placed on hold. Rationale for the Three-Part Structure This structure is required to meet two somewhat opposed needs: First, that the process allows collaboration among applicants and between applicants and the Office of Innovation; second, that before being qualified no applicant is at an unfair disadvantage. Given this, it is important to limit collaboration between regions to the collaborative work period.

Notice to potential applicants to the Innovation Ecosystem process, 2/3/12 Current Draft of Award Process Schedule for Round 1, Spring 2012 The schedule below is organized to show the staggered application tracks for Statewide System applicants and Hub applicants for the first round of Innovation Ecosystem awards. Statewide System Milestones Draft RFQ Released Feedback Due Official RFQ Release Qualifications Due Applicants Qualified Collaborative Work Period Official RFP Released Proposal Deadline Application Review Period Announcement of Awards Due Dates January 5 January 13 February 9 February 16 February 17 February 17 23 February 23 February 24 March 5 March 5 March 9 March 12 March 13 23 April 9 April 26 April 27 May 11 May 16 Hub Round 1 Milestones Draft RFQ Released Feedback Due Official RFQ Release

Qualifications Due

Applicants Qualified Collaborative Work Period Official RFP Released Proposal Deadline Application Review Period Announcement of Awards

The second round of the Innovation Ecosystem Award Process will occur between August and November, 2012. Roughly half of the available monies will be reserved for that award period. Regular additional award processes will be conducted at least annually in the future, if not more often. Coopetition for Results The Innovation Ecosystem is driven by Connecticuts goal to produce more high-performing innovative companies to grow revenue and jobs while creating new solutions that drive our economy. Applicants may be concerned about the fact that to succeed the Innovation Ecosystem will require both competition and cooperation among participants and elements. Indeed, this is a tension. But the same tension underlies the entrepreneur support infrastructure of other highly competitive entrepreneurial regions, such as Boston, New York, Austin and Silicon Valley. And it is a dominant feature of the environment most companies find themselves in today. Organizations pursuing the same goals in the same marketplace must compete for market share while cooperating to expand the size of the market. In the Innovation Ecosystem process, the initial application process may require a tilt in this balance toward competition, however the long-term operation of the system will require a strong tilt toward cooperation.