Tour: Innovate Springfield - 9:40 – 10:45 a.m. Thursday November 3, 2022

Innovate Springfield was founded in 2015 as a supporting organization of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln and transferred to the University of Illinois-Springfield in 2018 just as the U of I System was launching the Illinois Innovation Network - a system of connected university-community-industry-based hubs throughout the state that work together to drive innovation along with economic and workforce development across Illinois.

The mission of Innovate Springfield - a university-led business incubator in the heart of downtown Springfield, IL -has always been to lower access barriers to participating in the local entrepreneur economy and culture of innovation. By creating a collaborative space and community where ideas ignite, businesses incubate, and entrepreneurs and social change makers can innovate, Innovate Springfield is able to serve as a catalyst to dramatically improve outcomes for local startups. In addition to physical working space and office amenities, they offer targeted, wrap-around support – including but not limited to monthly educational programming, appointments with expert advisors, meet-ups and a wealth of university resources.