After years of lean times, the Idaho Department of Commerce looks to be one of the big winners in the budget unveiled by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter Jan. 9, with state funding growing by nearly half. The governor also announced the new Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) that could spur further growth in the public and private sector.

Otter wants to spend $5.7 million on the Commerce Department, as well as $2 million in continued funding for the Center for Advanced Energy Research (CAES), a research partnership between the state’s three public universities and the Idaho National Laboratory that’s shown promise in garnering grant money. While those dollar amounts pale to some of Otter’s other initiatives, including $45 million in as-yet-undetermined tax relief and $42 million in potential bonuses for state workers, he’s signaled that he’s betting $5 million on IGEM to be a long-term growth program.

The focus on the Department of Commerce comes as the state continues to grow slowly out of the recession and as Jeff Sayer begins his first full year leading the department. Sayer called IGEM a great opportunity to bring together industry and educational institutions to spur research investment and high-paying jobs, much like CAES has started to do with energy research.

“It’s going to create a platform where we can do it all together,” Sayer said. “It’s not just about creating new technology companies. It’s going to allow us to get technology into our existing industries.” Sayer and other backers haven’t finalized all the details of IGEM or the legislation that’ll need lawmakers’ approval –he said they’re still putting the meat on the bone.

The hope is to facilitate technology transfers, which are conduits between private sector companies looking to universities for help in research and development or, on the flip side, helping universities and their staff turn their research into marketable products or services. Sayer said creating a common process for the schools and private sector to use could accelerate the transfer of technology.

If lawmakers adopt IGEM, it’ll tackle one of the first problems identified by the Idaho Technology Council when it formed in 2010. The ITC has met with state officials on the project and is planning to lobby lawmakers to support it, said CEO Jay Larsen.

“It’s looking to solve this issue of organic growth,” Larsen said. “If we don’t do something like this, we won’t be able to compete globally and create the next generation of jobs and services.”

He said that since Idaho’s a small state with limited resources, it needs to do better at tying those resources together and leveraging them effectively. To him, that means building on the energy research at CAES as well as increasing research on Idaho’s other strong industries, including agriculture, mining, software development and material sciences.

Idaho’s universities have been incubators for businesses, and supporters of IGEM say the program will help them grow faster. Larsen points to a company like BioTracking, which tests livestock for pregnancy. Officials with the Moscow firm say founder Garth Sasser helped develop the patents on livestock testing in the early 1980s, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that the company was founded.

Brian Greber, the director of Boise State University’s Center for Business Research and Economic Development and a retired Weyerhauser executive, said the comparatively small-dollar project could lead to a culture change for businesses in Idaho. “This is a signal from the state: we’re after large employment opportunities and we’re business-friendly,” Greber said. “I think we need to emphasize creating things that will attract business to this area besides tax giveaways.”

Details on IGEM are sparse, but the governor’s budget does include $950,000 that could be used as grants for emerging companies. Those transfers of tax dollars to private entities could prove toxic with some of Idaho’s conservative lawmakers, though Sayer said there will be safeguards to protect that money.

“Whatever framework we establish will be one that will ensure that the state is not just putting money into private companies without including mitigating factors,” Sayer said. “These investments will not just be casual investments.”

Larsen said that grant money could help companies avoid the “Valley of Death” that leads companies to fold between an idea and solid revenue, though he said some startups will die where others survive. “The reality is that there’s a lot of risk,” he said.

In addition to the IGEM funding, Otter also wants the Department of Commerce to receive $400,000 for the Business and Jobs Development Fund, which pays for infrastructure upgrades that lure new companies or keep existing ones, and $300,000 for grants to rural communities. The office would also receive Idaho’s share of the federal Small Business Credit Initiative. An $8.25 million grant would be passed on to the Idaho Housing and Finance Authority for a program to make collateral available to small businesses seeking a loan.