As the proposals continue to roll in for the second round of EfficientGovNow, we are excited to see Northeast Ohio governments find creative, yet simple ways to collaborate efficiently and reduce spending in the process.

To continue the regional discussion around government collaboration and efficiency, Kent State University will be hosting a forum to understand intergovernmental collaboration opportunities for the future of Northeast Ohio. The forum will be held this Wednesday, February 10, from 3:30 pm-6:30 pm at Moulton Hall on the Kent State Main Campus. Speakers will include:

Traveling the region one gets to see many different kinds of collaborations that work to strengthen our region's economy. The Wayne Economic Development Council is one of the region's stronger collaborations and its performance during the global recession of 2009 reinforces the benefits of forging strong private, public partnerships focused on helping companies grow.

Check out this update from the Council:

Wayne County enjoyed another successful year of growth in 2009. Thanks to the investments of a number of new and expanding businesses, Wayne County saw 23 new project announcements totaling more than $123 million in new investment and 960 employees. This compares to 15 project announcements in 2008 totaling more than $77 million in new investment and 522 jobs.

"Wayne County’s quality growth efforts and aggressive marketing programs have made us leader in new business growth not only in Ohio but across the nation," said WEDC president Rod Crider. "For three consecutive years, we’ve been named one of the top ten areas in the country for new business growth. With these results, we are hoping to make it four in a row. Our thanks go out to those businesses who continue to invest their resources here."

Learn more about the Council from its web site.

New government collaborations seem to be sprouting anew every day, which is good news for the EfficientGovNow competition that awards the region's most promising collaborations.

I spoke today with more than a dozen elected officials in Stark County about the competition and learned of several new collaborations, including a large effort to provide shared data recovery services to local governments throughout much of Northeast Ohio. And Stark County's long-discussed 911 consolidation project took another step forward, as this story from the Canton Repository highlights. And 911 consolidation is on the table down in Wayne County too, according to this story in the Wooster Daily Record.

Please visit the EfficientGovNow web site regularly to track the submissions to the latest round of the competition and get ready to vote for the best projects in May. Most importantly, encourage your local government officials to continue to find news way to collaborate and share so that the growth of local government spending slows and the quality of government services rise.

A strong collaboration among the City of Akron, private industry, health care institutions and the University of Akron is generating some strong economic returns. Check out this editorial from the Akron Beacon Journal to learn how the biomedical corridor plan outlined in 2006 by Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic is now coming to life.

It's another example of the power of collaboration.

While state money (see post on Third Frontier) plays an important role in supporting the region's growing innovation-based economy, private investment dollars are even more important. That's why partners in Advance Northeast Ohio have worked so hard to make our region a more attractive destination for venture dollars.

The latest Venture Capital Report for the Cleveland Plus region captures the progress the region has made over the last several years -- over the last five years the region has attracted $1.1 billion in venture dollars. This strong performance comes despite a slow 2009, when $99 million was raised, compared to $260 million in 2008. Plain Dealer reporter Tom Breckenridge explores some of the reasons for the drop off here.

The Venture Capital Report demonstrates that the region's pipeline of promising startup companies remains very strong, and hopefully a recovery in the global economy will encourage venture capitalists to continue to make big investments in Northeast Ohio's future.

Partners in Advance Northeast Ohio believe that to grow our region's economy we need more innovative companies developing new products for growing global markets. Ohio's Third Frontier program has provided nearly $500 million over the last eight years to Northeast Ohio researchers and businesses trying to develop such products.

Republicans and Democrats in Columbus agree that the program has been successful and are preparing to encourage voters to approve another bond issue to support the program in May. But the question raging now is how big to make the bond issues. The Republican-controlled Senate has approved a $500 million bond issue. Gov. Strickland is pushing a more ambitious $950 million proposal and much of his "state of the state" speech was focused on the role innovation plays in creating jobs in Ohio.

Crain's Cleveland Business' Jay Miller covers the issue in a story here. This will be one of the most important decisions facing Ohio residents in 2010. You owe it to yourself to read up on the Third Frontier and take a position on how much Ohio should commit to this program.