June 2, 2003
Awards and Honors
UC MBEST Center earns Collaborative
Excellence Award
By Tim Stephens
Monterey County has presented a Collaborative Excellence Award to the
UC Monterey Bay Education, Science,
and Technology (MBEST) Center and the City of Marina for their partnership
on an enterprise development initiative. The county's Overall Economic
Development Commission presented the award at an economic development
forum in Monterey last month.
The UC MBEST Center, a cornerstone of the Fort Ord redevelopment effort,
has been working on economic development initiatives with the City of
Marina, which manages a small business incubator located at the center.
The Marina Small Business Incubator
and MBEST are working together to assist new businesses through the
difficult "start-up" phase through joint programs such as
the Monterey Bay V3 Entrepreneur Training Program. The incubator and
V3 programs are designed to provide businesses with a suite of targeted
forums, training, services, and related activities that will support
start-up businesses towards achieving profitability.
"These programs function as a catalyst for growth, providing a
forum for the exchange of ideas and the opportunity to network with
peers," said MBEST Center director Lora Lee Martin.
MBEST's entrepreneurship programs are also getting national and international
recognition. In May, Martin was invited to speak at the Economic Development
Administration's national conference in Washington, D.C. And this week
she is traveling to Montreal, Canada, where she has been invited to
speak at the Global Alliances conference organized by the International
Economic Development Council.
The UC MBEST Center aims to foster regional economic development and
job creation by establishing a community of high-technology businesses.
There are currently 9 businesses based at the center, including companies
working in the areas of environmental technology, biomedical and information
technology, and education.
"The success of high-growth industries has a ripple effect on
the community that supports them," Martin said.
The collaborative efforts of the City of Marina and the MBEST Center
will encourage economic diversification and the attainment of a more
sustainable economic base in Monterey County and the tri-county region,
she said.
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