Alabama is making inroads in attracting new investment in technology, and creating and retaining its workforce talent.

But that work is only beginning, according to members of the Alabama Innovation Commission, which met Thursday at Birmingham’s Innovation Depot.

The commission, created in 2020 by Gov. Kay Ivey, was envisioned as a public/private partnership to exchange ideas and identify policies that promote innovation in the state. The work has continued with Innovate Alabama, a public company founded to further that work.

“The technology and knowledge-based economy that’s coming is coming fast,” said Sen. Greg Reed, “and we’ve got to be prepared.”

Over the course of two hours, members of the commission heard reports on work that’s been done in the past year by Innovate Alabama and other entities to further the commission’s work. Last year, Cynthia Crutchfield was tapped as its first CEO.

Innovate Alabama identified three “pillars” to concentrate its work – developing and retaining tech talent in the state’s schools and universities, improving access to investment capital and building the kind of atmosphere where innovation can thrive.

As Abe Harper, a commission member stated, the challenge isn’t to reinvent Alabama but to “preserve the most innovative version of ourselves.”

Former Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice, a Birmingham native, said she has been part of many commissions where the work done was later shelved and forgotten.

“I think (this) will be sustainable,” she said. “To see my home state of Alabama come together, to see civil society, business, education, to think about the future of Alabama, to put it on this great road, is something exciting.”

Among the programs spotlighted during the session were grant programs awarded in the past year with more than $20 million going to small businesses, tech startups, and companies based or willing to relocate to Alabama. There’s also $25 million in tax credits available for rural and underrepresented small businesses and tech accelerator programs.

Innovate Alabama has also been at work on a tech talent pipeline for students specializing in math and science at historically black colleges and universities, as well as programs aimed at keeping college students in Alabama’s workforce after graduation.

Beyond that, there are also plans for grants and investments to spotlight Alabama’s outdoor recreation destinations as economic development lures.

“We’ve got a lot to be proud of today, and a lot to look forward to,” Sen. Greg Reed said.