Werx Foundation

The ‘Making Space for Innovation in Collin County’ project is located in North Texas. The population of Collin Countywas 914,000 in mid-2015. Estimated population in 2050 is 3.5 million with an additional 80 people moving into the county daily. Collin County is home to the following industry clusters: advanced technologies and manufacturing, aerospace and defense, biotechnology and life sciences and information and computer technology. The combination of existing industry clusters, explosive growth, a business-friendly environment, strong quality of life and a well-educated workforce uniquely position Collin County for innovation and maker spaces to foster commercialization of technology, technology workforce growth and technology small business growth.

‘Making Space for Innovation in Collin County’ is a collaborative effort between an existing business incubator, WERX Foundation, Inc., of McKinney, Texas and the Entrepreneurship Program at Collin College, with seven campuses across Collin County. With matching funds and in-kind donations from Collin College, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation and The Cotton Mill Partners, the project will deliver four innovation/maker spaces focused on the following industry clusters: emerging technology, manufacturing, healthcare and media. These spaces will include areas for collaboration to support the ideation phase of the entrepreneurial process and makerspaces to support the prototype, build and refine phases of the process. In addition to space, equipment, lab technicians and facilitators, training will be offered on the various hardware, software and processes.

‘Making Space for Innovation in Collin County’ is expected to fuel growth of technology startups in Collin County by increasing accessibility of industry focused makerspaces. The project will position the county for increased innovation and commercialization of new technologies. The project is also expected to increase capacity for new technology training for the county’s workforce, addressing the severe shortage of technically trained job applicants in the county.