Ben Franklin News
Pennsylvania played a starring role in the industrial revolution, which explains why so many people still associate the state with its industrial roots. But the entrepreneurial spirit woven into Pennsylvania’s DNA, as well as a strategic decision in the 1980s to substantially invest in tech-based economic development, has given way to a thriving tech scene that rivals more well-known tech hubs around the country – and definitely deserves a closer look. An Ecosystem to Support Tech
So, what exactly spurred Pennsylvania’s tech renaissance?
In the early 1980s, Pennsylvania’s economy was dealing with high unemployment as major industries like steel were in severe decline, says Ryan Glenn, director of statewide initiatives for the statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners, which provides funding, businesses assistance, and networking opportunities to technology firms throughout Pennsylvania. The state needed a bridge between its struggling manufacturing economy and the technology-based economy that would carry the state forward.
The state government put Pennsylvania on the trajectory to become a tech hub, and, in 1983 created Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Launched in collaboration with the state’s universities, it has become one of the nation’s longest-running tech-based economic development programs. More via Livability
