Hartford proposal selected for 'Innovation Places' funding

Steve Laschever Funding from the Innovation Places program could help support incubator space at Hartford Hospital's Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation, among other initiatives. Here, a team of providers train on a medical mannequin at CESI.

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By Matt Pilon

A partnership between Hartford and East Hartford is one of four winning contestants that will share in a $30 million money pool from the state’s newly created “Innovation Places” program.

CTNext, which is affiliated with quasi-public Connecticut Innovations, announced the contest winners on Tuesday, following site visits last month to seven competing cities and regions.

Hartford and East Hartford companies, nonprofits and other entities will focus on accelerator programs for insurance and medical technologies, as well as technical assistance and talent recruitment for aerospace manufacturers.

Key partners include insurers, Trinity College, Hartford Hospital and others.

As of Wednesday morning, full details of the proposals had not yet been made public, though summaries of each proposal can be viewed here. CTNext plans to sign formal contracts with each winning group.

CTNext said it could allocate nearly $7 million in the coming fiscal year to the four winners, which also include New Haven, Stamford, and a partnership between Groton and New London. In the coming fiscal year, the first three teams could receive up to $2 million each, while Groton and New London could receive as much as $900,000, CTNext said.

Finalists who did not win include New Britain/Farmington/Berlin, Danbury and Norwalk.