Dartmouth Regional Technology Center
With support from the State of New Hampshire, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Dartmouth College, an innovative partnership for economic development and entrepreneurship has come together in New Hampshire’s Upper Valley. Centered around Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, a technology cluster is developing new companies and desirable, technology-focused employment.
The Dartmouth Regional Technology Center (DRTC) is a nonprofit corporation formed in July 2004, by New Hampshire’s Grafton County Economic Development Council (GCEDC), North Country Council (NCC), and Dartmouth College. The State of New Hampshire’s Department of Resources and Economic Development assists in the management of the corporation by providing a member for its board. The corporation operates a business incubator facility and programs in Lebanon’s Centerra Resource Park on land donated by Dartmouth College. Experience shows that “embedded” incubators – those associated with, or operating within a research or technology-focused organization – are usually the most successful of the incubator models in launching successful growth businesses.
The incubator focuses on developing businesses with a proven concept and a solid plan. The DRTC offers an educational and infrastructure support program aimed at developing promising technology startups by assisting them in refining their business plans, helping them identify and seek sources of investment and expertise, and providing them with basic business infrastructure and support to make them as productive as possible in as short a time as possible.
Drawing on the resources of the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network, a 7 year-old office for commercialization support at Dartmouth College, as well as resources at the Grafton County Economic Development Council and the North Country Council, DRTC assists technology-oriented businesses with high growth potential to mature and at the same time remain in the upper New England region. GCEDC and NCC work with incubator tenants to lay the groundwork for companies to move out of the incubator and expand their businesses in economically underdeveloped areas of New Hampshire.
In addition to Dartmouth’s contribution of land for the facility, the U.S. Department of Commerce, through its Economic Development Administration, provided $2.6 million in funding for construction and startup of the facility. New Hampshire’s Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA) committed $1.25 million and its Community Development Block Grant program $1.0 for the same purposes. The US Department of Agriculture has supported DRTC program offerings with a grant of $50,000.
The DRTC facility has 32,500 square feet on two floors, including wet lab, manufacturing and office space. Construction on the facility commenced in July 2005. First tenants entered the building in September 2006. At May 2007, space in the building was fully committed and a waiting list has developed. Design and funding application work began toward an expansion of the facility.
For more information email info@thedrtc.com