Frequently Asked Questions & Glossary

Glossary:

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is NLPI?
   NLPI (North Louisiana Partnership for Innovation) is a catalyst in building partnerships among academic, public and private sector organizations with the goal of increasing technology-based economic development and workforce training. These partnerships, forged between industry, academe and government, will promote and implement the technology cluster economic development plan Louisiana Vision 2020 and CERT’s 2000 Workforce Development encompasses for North Louisiana and focuses on collaborative research, education, workforce training and economic development.
    
2. Who are NLPI’s partners?
   NLPI’s partners were selected because of their potential to contribute to the project according to their expertise and resources. To broaden participation in NLPI, additional partners will be recruited as needs arise including representatives from the Governor’s Workforce Commission, the Louisianan Department of Labor, and K-12 school systems. All partners will assign representatives to participate in STARS teams meetings, and workshops, disseminate information and encourage participation of businesses, economic development agencies, workforce development agencies, technology transfer agencies and educational agencies and share non-proprietary information and provide access to relevant individuals and organizations.
    
3. What industries does NLPI serve?
   NLPI will initially serve two of the nine technology clusters identified by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development Vision 2020 master plan: life sciences and information technologies, with the overlapping field of biomedical informatics.
    
4. What institutions of higher education are members of NLPI?
    
   1. Bossier Parish Community College
   2. Centenary College of LA
   3. Grambling State University
   4. Louisiana Delta Community College
   5. LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport
   6. Louisiana State University in Shreveport
   7. Louisiana Tech University
   8. Louisiana Technical College
   9. Northwestern State University
   10. Southern State University in Shreveport
   11. The University of Louisiana at Monroe
   12. Biomedical Research Foundation of NW LA
   13. Consortium for Education, Research & Technology (CERT)
        
5. What does STARS teams mean?
   Science and Technology Action Response and Stimulus Team - STARS Teams will offer a mechanism to overcome these barriers by identifying opportunities to capitalize on talents and resources to connect with people according to regional industry needs
    
6. What is CERT?
   CERT is the vehicle of through which higher education organizes and delivers a variety of programs and services to support the growth and success of the region's industry. CERT concentrates on:
    
   1. The technological workforce needs of companies in north Louisiana, through the development of customer-focused, flexible training programs and institutes;
   2. Technology transfer, by developing specialized areas of expertise to help form new technology businesses in areas such as biomedical manufacturing, information, and environmental technologies; and
   3. Economic development, by attracting technology-oriented businesses to north Louisiana that will access the resources of the colleges and universities