Kane County businesses are eligible for as much as $30,000 through Kane County and the Illinois Manufacturing Innovation Voucher Program.

In November, IMEC announced the launch of the Illinois Manufacturing Innovation Voucher Program to help small- and mid-sized manufacturers in Illinois obtain external technical assistance to solve technology adoption challenges.

The competitive matching voucher program is designed to remove hurdles in funding and know-how so SMMs can embrace new technologies in their products and processes — providing Illinois manufacturers a competitive advantage.

Kane County Manufacturing Innovation Voucher

The Kane County Manufacturing Innovation Voucher program for 2020 was approved unanimously by the Kane County Jobs Committee on Jan. 17, and will go live a pending adoption at the Feb. 11 County Board meeting.

The voucher provides an additional incentive for Kane County companies to increase their competitive advantage.

Companies located in Kane County which apply for, and are awarded, a voucher from IMEC, are eligible for up to an additional $5,000 from Kane County to reimburse 50% of eligible expenses associated with access to third party expertise in the areas of research and development and technology adoption.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

Companies located in Kane County which are awarded an Innovation Voucher from IMEC.

WHAT VOUCHERS COVER

Voucher awards up to an additional $5,000 to reimburse 50% of eligible expenses used to access third party expertise in the areas of R&D and technology adoption.

WHERE BUSINESSES CAN APPLY

Program information and applications are available at www.imec.org/innovation/

Questions can be directed to IMEC by email at innovationvouchers@imec.org.

PROCESS FOR KANE COUNTY COMPANIES REQUESTING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM KANE COUNTY

IMEC’s application process involves two steps — an initial online Application and a Funding Award Decision.

During the application process applicants will judged based upon program fit and eligibility, clarity of problem and business case, clarity of technological needs and parameters and provided budget of project.

Companies located in Kane County may request up to $5,000 in additional funding for eligible activities and/or services by including them in their Voucher Application to IMEC.

IMEC will review the applications along with other state-wide applications.

For applications from companies located in Kane County that are approved, IMEC will advise Kane County regarding applications which include requests for additional funding from Kane County.

Requests for funding from Kane County will be additionally reviewed by staff with final approval by the Jobs Committee of the Kane County Board.

MONITORING, REIMBURSEMENT AND EVALUATION

IMEC will monitor the vouchers through their established process.

Requests for reimbursement of eligible activities and/or services from Kane County funds will be initially reviewed by IMEC and forwarded to Kane County for additional review and payment.

IMEC will evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the vouchers through their established process with additional reporting on the effectiveness and results of the additional Kane County funds.

The Kane County Jobs Committee may develop additional evaluation and reporting criteria, and if so, will report their findings to the Kane County Board and to IMEC.

About IMEC

IMEC is a team of improvement specialists and technicians dedicated to providing organizations in Illinois with the tools and techniques to create sustainable competitive futures.

The experienced hands-on team at IMEC works closely with its clients to plan critical business improvements in the areas of Leadership, Strategy, Customer Engagement, Operations, and Workforce.

With more than 50 full-time staff and partners positioned statewide, IMEC delivers the local expertise to not only plan and strategize, but to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of client improvements. In fact, IMEC assists more than 700 companies each year with successful business improvement projects.

As a result, IMEC has demonstrated a return on investment that exceeds 19:1. This is made possible as organizations become more effective and efficient — and together with IMEC — excel toward enterprise excellence.

For more information, visit www.imec.org. For more information on the voucher program, visit innovationvouchers@imec.org.

Read More

Kane Businesses Can Apply For Manufacturing Innovation Grants of Up To $25,000