Six organizations were named winners of SSTI's 2011 Excellence in TBED award, serving as national models for states and regions investing in science, technology and innovation to grow their economies and create high-paying jobs. Among the winners, a newer program was selected as the first Most Promising TBED Initiative, recognized for a creative approach to growing industry clusters.

Awards were presented today during SSTI's 15th Annual Conference in Columbus, OH, attended by local, regional and national leaders in economic development.

The following initiatives from Northeast Ohio were named 2011 recipients of SSTI's Excellence in TBED award:

BioEnterprise - Increasing Access to Capital Category

BioEnterprise is a Cleveland-based nonprofit business formation, recruitment and acceleration initiative focused on accelerating the growth of biomedical companies. Recognized for its transferable market-driven model, BioEnterpise demonstrates leadership in the financing community, having assisted more than 100 clients to attract more than $1.1 billion in growth capital from grant, seed, angel, venture, and debt sources. Since 2002, BioEnterprise has evaluated more than 1,400 biomedical opportunities resulting in more than 160 clients who receive counsel from seasoned, biomedical executives with startup and growth experience

NorTech Regional Innovation Cluster Model —Most Promising TBED Initiative Category

Through its grassroots approach to cluster development, NorTech's Regional Innovation Cluster Model puts theory into practice to overcome challenges and accelerate successful clusters to create jobs and attract capital. The impressive partnerships and model developed by NorTech are applicable for developing industry clusters across the nation that have a long-term positive economic impact. In just one year, cluster companies supported by NorTech have attracted $20.5 million in capital, created 171 jobs and generated $10.8 million in payroll