COLUMBIA, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The State of South Carolina and Israel today made official an agreement to establish a bilateral research and development initiative designed to enhance collaboration.
Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt and Opher Aviran, Consul General of Israel to the Southeast United States, signed the agreement at 2 pm in Columbia. The agreement, which creates a funding mechanism for joint industrial research and development projects between Israeli and South Carolina companies and universities, will be carried out by SCRA and MATIMOP, the Israeli Industry Center for R&D, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Economy.
The overarching bilateral initiative between S.C. and Israel is intended to develop and strengthen economic, industrial, technological and commercial cooperation through joint industrial research and development projects conducted between South Carolina and Israeli companies and universities. SCRA and MATIMOP will assist in “match making” to connect potential project partners in South Carolina with partners in Israel. The two entities will establish a process for submitting joint project applications and a process to review and approve selected collaboration projects on the basis of a mutually-developed set of merit criteria. Projects selected for funding will be funded by SCRA and MATIMOP, respectively.
“Israel, the ‘Start Up Nation,’ is very pleased to join South Carolina, the ‘Smart State,’ in this new stage of business, academic and governmental relations for the benefit of our two peoples,” remarked Consul General Aviran. “This landmark achievement, which started with the vision of Tom Glaser, founder and former president of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Southeast, SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney and InterTech CEO Jonathan Zucker, together with the government of Israel and the government of South Carolina, has already yielded tangible results in the field of healthcare, and we look forward to deepening and expanding the relationship between our two states.”
“South Carolina is the first state in the Southeast region to forge this kind of partnership with Israel,” said Secretary Hitt. “As our state continues to foster innovation, collaborative relationships such as this one will keep us on the cutting edge.”
“We look forward to working with our Israeli friends to further innovative research and collaboration in South Carolina,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “This collaboration will help further South Carolina’s Knowledge Economy, and SCRA is delighted to help lead this charge. We look forward to many fruitful partnerships in the months to come.”
The technology sectors envisioned for this program consist of those areas where there appears to be the greatest overlap in capabilities and mutual interest between South Carolina and Israel. These areas include, but are not limited to: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Advanced Materials; Sustainable Energy/Water/Agriculture Systems; Transportation; Defense and Homeland Security and Insurance and Health Information Technology.
About SCRA
SCRA is an applied research corporation with over 30 years of experience delivering technology solutions with high returns on investment to federal and corporate clients. To fulfill our mission, SCRA has three sectors: Our Technology Ventures sector helps early-stage companies to commercialize innovations and create jobs, our Applied R&D sector manages national and international R&D programs worth over $2 billion in contract value and our R&D Facilities sector builds and manages research facilities that include wet labs, secure rooms for sensitive work and advanced, high-tech manufacturing shops. Multiple economic impact studies show SCRA’s cumulative output on South Carolina’s economy to be over $15.3 billion.
