About the NIIC
We Are For Innovators.
Innovation happens in community.
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Community exists to create the relationships, opportunities, and environment where innovators can thrive.
From Center to Community
For more than two decades, the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center served as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and innovation. Through business incubation, coaching, education, and strategic partnerships, the NIIC helped launch hundreds of companies and supported thousands of jobs across the region.
That work continues today—but our understanding of how innovation happens has evolved.
Innovation doesn’t happen because a building exists. It happens because people connect. Entrepreneurs find mentors. Companies discover new opportunities. Students meet employers. Researchers collaborate with industry. Communities come together to solve meaningful problems.
That’s why we became the Northeast Indiana Innovation Community.
Today, the NIIC is more than a place. It’s a regional network that connects people, companies, ideas, and resources to help innovators discover opportunities, build stronger organizations, and create lasting impact across Northeast Indiana.
We don’t just make things. We make things possible.
What We Believe
Our Purpose
To empower people, companies, and communities to thrive through innovation.
Our Vision
A region where every business — from startup to industry leader — innovates, grows, and prospers through a connected innovation community.
Our Mission
We are committed to building an inclusive, innovation-driven economy that empowers people, strengthens communities, and fuels long-term regional prosperity by supporting entrepreneurs, enabling corporate innovation, expanding research capacity, and activating collaborative infrastructure.
Our Values
Inclusive by Design.
Entrepreneurship and innovation are for everyone.
Collaborative.
We succeed by building together.
Regionally Rooted.
Our work reflects and uplifts all of Northeast Indiana.
Innovation Driven.
We embrace experimentation, learning, and bold thinking.
Education Focused.
We empower growth through learning, coaching, and shared experience.
Impact Oriented.
Everything we do is in service of real, measurable progress.
Our History
Building an Innovation Community
For more than 25 years, the NIIC has helped shape Northeast Indiana’s innovation economy by supporting entrepreneurs, strengthening businesses, and bringing together the people and organizations that turn ideas into opportunity.
What began as a bold vision for a regional innovation center has evolved into something even larger: a connected innovation community serving entrepreneurs, employers, educators, investors, students, researchers, and civic leaders across Northeast Indiana.
A Vision Takes Root (1999–2001)
At the turn of the millennium, Fort Wayne’s civic and business leaders united around a shared vision: to make entrepreneurship and innovation central drivers of Northeast Indiana’s future economy. In December 1999, the City of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), and the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce came together to establish the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center (NIIC) as a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping new ventures succeed.
In 2000, Indiana Governor Frank O’Bannon authorized the transfer of 55 acres of state-owned land for the creation of the NIIC campus, establishing a permanent home for innovation in Northeast Indiana. Later that year, Karl R. LaPan was selected as the NIIC’s founding President and CEO, beginning the organization’s first chapter.
Building the Foundation (2001–2004)
Early investments from state, federal, philanthropic, and private partners allowed the NIIC to transform vision into reality. Temporary incubation space quickly filled as entrepreneurs sought coaching, education, and access to capital, demonstrating strong regional demand for innovation support.
The creation of the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence expanded educational programming, while designation as Indiana’s fifth Certified Technology Park established the NIIC as a cornerstone of the state’s innovation strategy. Construction soon began on the organization’s first permanent facility, creating a dedicated home for entrepreneurs and emerging technology companies.
A Model of Excellence (2005–2009)
As the region’s innovation ecosystem matured, so did the NIIC. In 2005, it became the first business incubation program in North America to achieve ISO 9001 certification, reflecting an ongoing commitment to quality, accountability, and measurable outcomes.
Continued growth led to the construction of a second building and the Conference & Training Center, creating additional space for expanding companies, educational programming, and regional collaboration. New initiatives, including coworking and student entrepreneurship programs, extended the NIIC’s reach beyond resident companies and into the broader community.
Regional Recognition and Academic Partnerships (2010–2014)
By the early 2010s, the NIIC had become a nationally recognized model for innovation-driven economic development. In 2013, Entrepreneur magazine named the NIIC one of the “Top Four Under-the-Radar Business Incubators” in the United States.
Partnerships with universities and regional organizations continued to expand opportunities for entrepreneurs and students alike. By its fifteenth anniversary, the NIIC had supported hundreds of companies, created hundreds of jobs, and helped transform what was once vacant land into one of Northeast Indiana’s leading centers for innovation.
From Center to Community
Over the past decade, the innovation economy has continued to evolve. Increasingly, the greatest opportunities emerge not from individual organizations working alone, but from collaboration among entrepreneurs, established companies, universities, investors, nonprofits, and public-sector partners.
As those connections became more important than any single building or program, the NIIC’s role evolved as well.
The transition from Northeast Indiana Innovation Center to Northeast Indiana Innovation Community was more than a change in name. It reflected a deeper understanding of how innovation actually happens.
Innovation doesn’t happen because a building exists. It happens because people connect. Entrepreneurs find mentors. Companies discover new opportunities. Researchers collaborate with industry. Students become founders. Communities come together to solve meaningful problems.
Today, the NIIC continues the work it began in 1999 by helping entrepreneurs launch companies, helping established organizations rediscover opportunities, and strengthening the relationships that power innovation across Northeast Indiana.
We are for innovators. And we always have been.
Our Team
The people behind the community
OBehind every workshop, coaching session, partnership, introduction, and community event is a team committed to helping innovators succeed.
Our staff brings experience in entrepreneurship, technology, economic development, education, business leadership, and community building. Together, we help connect people, uncover opportunities, and create the conditions where innovation can thrive.
Whether you’re launching a company, strengthening an existing business, exploring a new partnership, or simply looking for your place in the innovation community, we’re here to help.
Board of Directors
Leadership That Reflects Our Community
The Northeast Indiana Innovation Community is guided by a board of directors whose experience reflects the breadth of the innovation ecosystem we serve.
Representing business, higher education, healthcare, philanthropy, government, finance, and entrepreneurship, our board provides strategic leadership, sound governance, and a long-term perspective that helps ensure the NIIC continues to strengthen innovation across Northeast Indiana.
Together, they help steward an organization committed to one simple belief:
Innovation happens in community.
David Long
Board Chair and President Pro Tempore of the Indiana State Senate (2006-2018)
Dr. Andrea Robinson
Board Vice Chair and Director of Community Development at the City of Fort Wayne
Tabitha Ervin
Board Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne
Brian Avery
Chief Technology Officer at STAR Bank
Patrick Buesching
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at the Don Wood Foundation
Ron Double
Immediate Past Chair and Chief Information Officer Emeritus at Parkview Health
Dr. Deborah Garrison
Inaugural Vice Chancellor and Dean of Indiana University Fort Wayne
Lindsey Hammond
Allen County At Large Councilwoman
Josh Macy
Principal at True North Strategic Advisors
Mark Michael
President and Chief Operating Officer at Fort Wayne Metals (Retired)
John Niederman
Regional Director for Entrepreneurship at the Fortitude Fund
Larry Rowland
Past Chair and President of Swiss Re Life and Health North America (Retired)
John Urbahns
President and CEO of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc.
Dr. Michael Mirro
Director Emeritus
Chief Academic and Research Officer at Parkview Health (Ex Officio)
Maclyn Parker
Director Emeritus
Attorney at Faegre Drinker (Retired)
Hon. Nelson Peters
Director Emeritus
Commissioner at Allen County Indiana (Retired)
Donate
Support the next generation of innovators
Every entrepreneur launched, every student inspired, every company strengthened, and every community partnership formed is made possible through the support of members, partners, sponsors, and donors who believe in Northeast Indiana’s future.