1. (a) There is established, within available appropriations and in consultation with the council established under subsection (b) of this section, a competitive Innovation Challenge Grant program to promote and encourage partnerships and collaborations involving technology-based business and industry with institutions of higher education and technical education and career schools for the development of educational programs in emerging and interdisciplinary technology fields and to address related issues.
2. (b) There is established a Council of Advisors on Strategies for the Knowledge Economy to promote the formation of university-industry partnerships, identify benchmarks for technology-based workforce innovation and competitiveness and advise the award process (1) for innovation challenge grants to public postsecondary schools and their business partners, and (2) grants under section 4-124hh. The council shall be chaired by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and shall include the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, the chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, the Labor Commissioner, the Chief Workforce Officer, the chief executive officer of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated and four representatives from the technology industry, one of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate and one of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

(P.A. 04-212, S. 1; P.A. 05-198, S. 1; P.A. 11-48, S. 84, 285; P.A. 12-116, S. 87; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 145; P.A. 13-123, S. 1; P.A. 16-15, S. 9; P.A. 17-237, S. 30; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 230; P.A. 24-22, S. 6.)

History: P.A. 04-212 effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-198 amended Subsec. (b) by designating provisions re innovation challenge grants as Subdiv. (1), adding Subdiv. (2) re grants under Sec. 4-124hh and expanding the council to include the executive directors of Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated and the Connecticut Development Authority, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a) by removing Innovation Challenge Grant program from Office of Workforce Competitiveness and amended Subsec. (b) by making Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, rather than director of Office of Workforce Competitiveness, the chair of the council and by removing subsequent reference to Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 11-48, “Commissioner of Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2011; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 replaced “regional vocational-technical schools” with “technical high schools” in Subsec. (a) and designated Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management as the chairperson and Commissioner of Economic and Community Development as a member of the council and replaced “executive directors” with “chief executive officer” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-123 deleted reference to Connecticut Development Authority in Subsec. (b), effective June 18, 2013; P.A. 16-15 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “president of the Board of Regents for Higher Education” with “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-237 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “technical high schools” with “technical education and career schools”, effective July 1, 2017; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (b) by adding Chief Workforce Officer, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 24-22 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities” with “chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities”, effective July 1, 2024.