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Economic development officials statewide like to talk about regional cooperation and working together, good-natured sound bites.
But in reality that's not so simple. These agencies, after all, compete to woo new companies and jobs to a specific county or town.
That backdrop is a notable highlight of Health Innovation Week, a collaboration between the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. “We are always talking about things we can do together,” Sarasota EDC President and CEO Mark Huey says about his Bradenton counterpart, Sharon Hillstrom.
“But it's not easy. We all have our own resources, and our own focus.”
Health Innovation Week, scheduled for Nov. 9-13, puts a focus on bioscience, mobile health and other health care firms in the two counties. One of several events is a parade of companies, where more than a dozen businesses plan to hold open houses. Other companies and organizations are hosting networking events.
The idea of a health innovation week stems from a conversation Huey had with executives at Sarasota-based Voalte, a mobile health firm hosting a user conference at in downtown Sarasota Nov. 10-12. Soon after that officials from both economic groups began to have some conversations. “This took off,” Huey tells Coffee Talk. “It's really exceeded our expectations.”
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