About The Innovation District

Where Chattanooga’s entrepreneurs, academics, and creatives collide. 

Events Calendar

Discover activities and events in the area.

Resiliency Checklist

Everything you need to prepare your organization for a crisis.

Small Business Supports

Helping small business owners across the region.

The Edney Innovation Center

The front door to the Innovation District of Chattanooga.

Tech Goes Home

Expanding access to technology and teaching digital literacy.

Digital Access Committee

Bringing together partners to close the digital divide, together.

HCS EdConnect

Home internet at no cost to thousands of families.

Connected Communities: Orchard Knob

The OKC leverages the collective support of partner organizations to tackle the whole picture of health and wellness in the historically underserved neighborhood.

Chattamatters

Answering the most basic and most complex questions about life in Chattanooga

EMPACT Program

Preparing residents for the jobs of tomorrow, and today. 

Chattanooga Smart Communities Collaborative

Working together to identify our region’s challenges and create solutions.

Environmental Sensors

Collecting and analyzing air quality data from across our region with US Ignite.

Education (4K Microscope & Lola)

High-tech tools in Hamilton County’s classrooms.

Community Connectivity

Expanding access to the internet in homes and neighborhoods.

Metro Ideas Project Tapped to Measure Impact of Chattanooga’s Innovation District

Pictured is a logo of the metro ideas project

Nikki Sneed

The Enterprise Center has engaged Metro Ideas Project, a Chattanooga-based research think tank focused on public policy, to evaluate and identify key performance indicators for Chattanooga’s Innovation District. Through an extensive research process, Metro Ideas Project will:

  • Develop a set of reliable, valid, and clear metrics to measure the success and effects of Chattanooga’s Innovation District;
  • Evaluate the success and impact of the Innovation District, including its effects internally and on the broader urban community; and
  • Provide a basis for which to compare Chattanooga’s Innovation District to itself prior to the emergence of the district and to its peers.

The study will include two phases:

Phase 1: An evaluation of the effects and impacts of Chattanooga’s innovation district internally. The primary objective of this phase is to develop a core set of measurable indicators to measure the economic, place-based, innovation, and civic engagement effects of an innovation district. Phase 1 conclusions and recommendations are anticipated to be complete in summer 2017.

Phase 2: A preliminary analysis of the external effects and impacts of Chattanooga’s innovation district on the rest of the city and county. The primary objective is to establish a baseline for measuring impact in the months and years ahead, with a secondary objective of gaining an understanding of the effect the Innovation District has had upon resident perspectives in border neighborhoods, community stakeholders across the county, and significant firms within the region. Phase 2 is expected to be complete in early fall 2017.

Upon project completion, Metro Ideas Project will provide actionable recommendations to strengthen the district, improve upon successes, and mitigate existing or potential weaknesses, as well as provide a strategy to monitor continued progress within the district.

LEARN MORE ABOUT METRO IDEAS PROJECT HERE.