Slingshot: Supporting Innovation

To boost the innovation environment in California’s Capital region, bolster high-revenue producing employment sectors and effectively compete in a globalized, information-age economy, entrepreneurship, new startups and human capital must permeate the economy. The Sacramento region contains many of the necessary ingredients to support entrepreneurs and small businesses, but sustained success requires a robust network of investors, assistance providers, sources of innovative products and services, and a skilled workforce.

SlingShot is an initiative of the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB) to encourage and support regional partnerships across the state to engage in new collective actions around innovation workforce challenges. The Sacramento region’s SlingShot project is focused on building an ecosystem where innovation thrives and business startups can be successful. The goal is to catalyze leadership and engagement from regional entrepreneurs and businesses in order to strengthen the Capital Region’s innovation ecosystem, and to stimulate innovation and new company creation by creating the conditions to grow emerging industries and new businesses.

SlingShot is a statewide program being implemented locally through a partnership with the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA), Golden Sierra, the North Central Counties Consortium, and the Yolo County WDB, with SETA acting as the lead partner and Valley Vision being the project manager.

SlingShot partners have been working together since May 2014 to pursue and build collaboration across the nine county geographic region. SlingShot has resulted in ~$750,000 to support innovation, entrepreneurs, and startups in the region. The Sacramento Employment and Training Agency released RFPs in Winter 2016-17 to support business mentorship, maker spaces/incubators/accelerators, and web-based resource navigators.