Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan recently appointed Reed Dulany, president and CEO of Dulany Industries, Inc. and SeaPoint Industrial Terminal Complex in Savannah, Ga., to the board of advisors for the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a new public-private partnership created to lead coordinated, statewide efforts to position Georgia as the Technology Capital of the East Coast. Dulany is the only Savannah-area appointee to serve on the board. 

“Georgia, and especially the coastal region, is rich in opportunity to elevate our status as a global technology and innovation hub,” said Dulany. “I’m deeply honored to serve on this board and look forward to collaborating with industry, education and public leaders across the state.”

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation unites business leaders from across Georgia and builds on the foundational work of the Georgia Innovates Taskforce, which was convened by Lt. Gov. Duncan in January 2020. The task force provided recommendations to accelerate Georgia’s path toward establishing the state as a national leader in technology research, development and implementation, encouraging growth, entrepreneurship and innovation. 

“We’re already making impressive progress right here in Savannah, thanks to the Savannah Economic Development Authority, The Creative Coast, the Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor Task Force and partners throughout the private sector,” Dulany added. “Thanks to SEDA’s new Savannah Technology Workforce Incentive, a growing number of technology professionals are relocating to our area. We appreciate the exceptional collaborative work that’s taking place to expand Savannah’s technology workforce and to increase tech opportunities across coastal Georgia.” 

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation’s board of advisors is comprised of 15 established leaders throughout Georgia, representing companies and institutions including the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia Power, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Synovus, UPS and the Technology Association of Georgia. 

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation will implement recommendations outlined by the Georgia Innovates Taskforce designed to support foundational, transformational and sustaining work throughout Georgia. Efforts will include a series of high-impact, low-cost pilot programs, including K-12 Digital Readiness, Advanced Food Supply Innovation and Regional Industry/Education Collaboratives. 

The first set of pilot programs was recently announced by the Georgia Smart Community Challenge, including the Civic Data Science for Equitable Development program in Savannah, which will help the city of Savannah use data and analytics to build new decision-making tools for vacant and blighted properties.

The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation will work closely with local governments, startups and nonprofits to scale and institutionalize each pilot program. The programs will offer increased educational, entrepreneurial, technological opportunities and access to innovation and are designed to advance homegrown Georgia talent while helping to attract new talent to the state.