We, the undersigned residents of the State of Oregon, do hereby associate ourselves together for the purpose of creating an ‘Innovation Hub’ for the advancement of a more robust economic development ecosystem across the Southern Oregon region to support the growth of new and existing businesses, cultivate a more diverse and resilient economy, and improve the lives of current and future residents.
- Name
The name of the ‘Innovation Hub’ shall be Southern Oregon Innovation Hub. It will also be referred to as SOIH and “The Hub.”
- Location
The ‘Innovation Hub’ shall serve the general region within and surrounding, but not limited to, the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, specifically named Jackson and Josephine Counties at the initiation.
- Structure (legal standing)
The ‘Innovation Hub’ has no legal standing and is a semi-autonomous program guided by an Innovation Hub Committee defined in item 5.b, “Committee Scope of Work,” and operating under the legal authority of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI).
- Purpose
This ‘Innovation Hub’ is formed for the sole purpose of ensuring it is in an ideal position to fulfill its five-year mission of transforming the regional ecosystem by fostering enhanced collaboration, collective action, and new operational efficiencies across the region’s entrepreneurial service organizations, through the direct efforts of the Steward and Hub staff. Our location-agnostic approach, and innovative model will amplify the diversity of the region’s existing and future entrepreneurs.
- Scope
- To increase the awareness of the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in the development of the regional economy;
- To facilitate the interactions and coordinate activities between public and private organizations, governments, businesses, and educational institutions supporting the innovation economy within the region;
- To cultivate a regional identity that actively embraces and champions entrepreneurship and innovation as defining features of the region, with the intent of establishing the region as a place where key businesses and sectors can start, expand, secure funding, and thrive.
- To obtain and disburse funds for activities promoting the collective activities of members for the purposes of which this association is formed;
- Prohibited activities include
- Making investments into companies as owners thereof;
- To act on behalf of any person or member organization, whether in the private or public sector. The Hub shall have no authority to legally bind any person or organization as a result of any such organization’s affiliation with The Hub’;
- To usurp any member organizations’ authority as granted from Federal, State, or County governments.n
- Scope of Work
The ‘Innovation Hub’s scope of work is designed specifically to aid in the mission of creating a more inclusive, innovative ecosystem in which all stakeholders are engaged and represented to the greatest extent possible.
- Administration
Administrative functions of the ‘Innovation Hub’ will be conducted by SOREDI and will include the following:
- Collect, hold, and distribute funds according to the ‘Innovation Hub’s’ Committee;
- Maintaining all legal records of the ‘Innovation Hub;’
- Managing administrative functions of hiring, payroll, and benefits of any ‘Innovation Hub’ staff;
- Ensuring ‘Innovation Hub’ staff and Innovation Hub Committee members are covered by appropriate insurance coverages.
- Designating a SOREDI Board of Directors board member to serve as a liaison to advise on liability and fiscal management
- Administrative duties shall not include:
- Providing direction or performance evaluations of any ‘Innovation Hub staff;
- Oversight to the Innovation Hub Committee.
- Committee Scope of Work
The function of the Innovation Hub Committee is to guide and direct all ‘Innovation Hub’ programming and activities on behalf of participating Southern Oregon economic ecosystem partners. To this end, the function and duties of the Innovation Hub Committee will include:
- Create staff job descriptions and recruitment materials;
- Provide oversight, guidance, and performance evaluations for ‘Innovation Hub’ staff;
- Secure funding from regional, state, and national partners;
- Overseeing and ensuring activities and programming of the ‘Innovation Hub’ are executed as outlined here and described in greater detail within operational documents;
- Collaborative Support Engine: includes activities and programming specifically focused on mutual resources and collaborative support across the ecosystem;
- Meaningful Networking: includes planning and/or amplifying activities and programming specifically focused on strengthening networking and relationships throughout the ecosystem;
- Educational Programming: includes activities and programming specifically focused on supporting residents across the region in building their innovation knowledge base and entrepreneurial skills;
- Assisting or conducting programming where staff resources are unable to do so;
- To contract for services that the ‘Innovation Hub’ desires to provide but lacks the capacity to do so;
- Support staff initiatives and endeavors;
- Ensure regular and complete communications are maintained with the signatories of this document;
- Ensure that all activities performed are consistent and in compliance with any/all additional contracts such as funding documents
- Ensure and encourage all Innovation Hub Committee members behave ethically in alignment with the programmatic mission;
- Innovation Hub Committee duties shall not include
- Any responsibilities designated to the Administrative Organization;
- Binding the Administrative Organization legally or financially
- Committee
To be representative of all ecosystem partners, the Innovation Hub Committee shall be composed of members representing the diversity of regional stakeholders including, but not limited to, entrepreneurs, economic development organizations, community development organizations, higher education, and public entities.
- Selection Process
- Initial committee members of the Innovation Hub shall be selected by the signatories of this document;
- Subsequent committee members shall be voted in as outlined in the operational guidelines.
- Roles
- Chairperson:
The principal duties of the Chairperson shall be to preside over all meetings of the Innovation Hub Committee and to have general supervision of the affairs of the ‘Innovation Hub’.
- Operational Documents
The Innovation Hub Committee shall be responsible for the creation and maintenance of operational documents consisting of, but not limited to:
- Operational Guidelines:
The Operational Guidelines shall contain any rules for the Innovation Hub Committee not contained within this formulation document and will not be subject to the Amendments clause in this document.
- Policies & Procedures:
Policy and Procedures documents shall contain any rules and guidelines for operations of the Innovation Hub Committee or staff not contained within this formulation document. They will not be subject to the Amendments clause in this document.
- Operational documents:
Operational documents shall contain any work plans, strategic plans, organizational goals, objectives, and metrics not contained within this formulation document and will not be subject to the Amendments clause in this document.
e. Conflicts of Interest
The Innovation Hub Committee has fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the organization and its stakeholders and avoid conflicts of interest in all matters placed before the Committee, including:
i. Directors shall abstain from participating in any discussions, deliberations, or decisions where a conflict of interest exists or may reasonably be perceived to exist.
ii. Committee members may not seek personal gain, such as receiving compensation for services, through their positions on the Committee. Exceptions to this are:
- SOREDI’s Contract for Administering the Southern Oregon Innovation Hub (SOIH)
- Other contracts entered into on behalf of the(SOIH) where an open competitive process was made to procure needed services or materials.
- Amendments
The initial formation of this HUB was created by a volunteer Steering Committee (H5) to launch the program. This document and the HUB structure may be changed according to the current needs for development with an 80% or greater vote of the signatories of this document at a regularly scheduled meeting.
Requests and petitions from the signatories of this document for amending the structure shall be allowed to be considered with a greater than 50% request from the signatories of this document.
- Dissolution
This ‘Innovation Hub’ shall be dissolved five years from the date of execution of this agreement or may be dissolved through a majority vote of the signatories of this document in attendance at a meeting specifically called to consider an act of dissolution. The procedures for dissolving the ‘Innovation Hub’ are made a part of this document through references contained within the operational guidelines.
- Execution
This agreement to establish the Innovation Hub, as described in the entirety of this document, is approved and supported by the undersigned individuals on behalf of themselves and the organizations they represent.
Signature:___________________________ Printed Name:___Jim Teece_________________
Organization:_________________________ Position:____________________________
Date:______
Signature:___________________________ Printed Name:____Taneea Browning__________
Organization:_________________________ Position:____________________________
Date:______
Signature:___________________________ Printed Name:____Abigail Schilling__________
Organization:_________________________ Position:____________________________
Date:______
Signature:___________________________ Printed Name:__Colleen Padilla________
Organization:_________________________ Position:____________________________
Date:______