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Startups and entrepreneurs are seen in 2016 collaborating at the reSET Business Factory in Hartford, which could be a potential site for an innovation place.

By Patricia Daddona

The combined team of Hartford and East Hartford is one of seven sets of municipalities dubbed finalists for CTNext’s Innovation Places program and funding.

CTNext, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Connecticut Innovations, is a statewide organization that works to support entrepreneurship.

CTNext created the Innovation Places program to enable communities across the state to become top-tier destinations and magnets for talent and high-growth companies.

The Hartford/East Hartford initiative is aimed at increasing commercialization and innovation around a cluster of insurance, healthcare and aerospace/advanced manufacturing industries based here. The goal is to build on the Capital City’s assets and amenities while creating new ones in the Trinity/Hartford Hospital area.

Some of the ideas to be implemented include a “pop-up” food park for healthy and fresh produce, an “InsureTech” accelerator to attract next generation insurance companies to Hartford, a digital health incubator and a new makerspace to be shared by the insurance, health and aerospace industries.

The Hartford/East Hartford team is comprised of the two cities, as well as UConn, Goodwin College, Trinity College, University of Hartford, the MetroHartford Alliance, Connecticut College for Advanced Technology, Hartford HealthCare, reSET, Small Business Development Corporation, Innovate Hartford, MakerspaceCT and several entrepreneurs.

Other finalists include Central Connecticut (New Britain, Farmington and Berlin), as well as the individual cities of Danbury, New Haven, New London, Stamford and Norwalk. Twelve communities originally applied for the program.

Innovation Places will distribute $30 million to the winning cities and communities over a period of five years to support projects that stimulate their local innovation ecosystem. A portion of the $30 million has been reserved for the first set of winners with future allocations to be determined by the CTNext board of directors at a later time.

Over the next two weeks, the CTNext board of directors will conduct site visits with each of the finalists to view the impact areas outlined in each strategic plan.Grant winners will be announced in June.