Ideas can take months, even years to move from a nascent concept into a tangible outcome. Some ideas die in this forming stage. Others make it through after hours spent designing the solution, securing funding, soliciting partners, and otherwise proving that the concept is worthy of moving forward. In the Innovation District, where ideas are our currency, this is a typical scenario that we go through daily. It takes patience – and then more patience!!!
Eventually an idea takes shape and the outcome we had hoped for becomes real. For those that have been working behind the sciences to mold and refine the idea, it is a relief. For those that see the result for the first time, it is a chance to marvel at the magic that makes St. Pete special.
The Innovation District has had many celebrations over the first few months of 2022. Its been a whirlwind. Kudos to the teams behind the scenes and their enthusiastic supporters that made the following possible:
There are more projects coming. They are in the forming stage. We hope they will be successful, but we will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I am working on being more patient.
Thanks!
Alison Barlow
Executive Director
[from the Innovation District May 2022 Newsletter]
Over the last few months I have used this space in the newsletter to create a picture of what it takes to foster innovation. November 2023 newsletter: Innovation is a team sport. It requires diverse perspectives and experiences to find a creative solutions. It requires courage to try things out and be willing to learn what won’t work as much as what will work. It requires tenacity to keep going and going and going.
Thank you to Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital (JHACH) for sponsoring and hosting our inaugural Morning Sparks: Innovation X-change breakfast. The event was kicked off by Alicia Schulhof, President of JHACH, and followed by an overview of the topic - Artificial Intelligence - by Dr. John Licato of USF's Advanced Machine and Human Reasoning Lab.
Kudos to the Volunteers of America Florida, City of St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County for the recent opening of the new downtown apartments, located in the Innovation District called Innovare. Innovare’s 50 apartments provide stable homes for individuals and families who earn 60 percent or less of the Area’s Median Income (AMI), including many who are transitioning from homelessness.