KansasBio hosted a welcome breakfast for its newly formed Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) on July 26 at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County.  The IAP is comprised of our industry’s leading subject matter experts, primarily within the private sector.  KansasBio plans to leverage this expertise to benefit the bioscience industry in numerous ways:

1. Voice the industry’s position on policy matters
2. Testify on behalf of legislation
3. Represent private sector industry in discussions regarding research and investment of state resources
4. Galvanize support for the scientific and business approach regarding issues
5. Encourage legislators to vote in support of our industry
6. Engage civic leaders and the community at large

The KansasBio IAP will enable our bioscience industry voice to be heard throughout the region, as well as inside the Kansas Statehouse and on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. In so doing, the IAP will also forge our path forward for membership expansion, enabling KansasBio to develop new programs which benefit the industry, including:

• C-Level Roundtables – where C-level executives discuss challenges, establish relationships, synergistic partnerships, and collaborative research projects;
• Scientific Symposiums – where scientists showcase discoveries and gain valuable momentum from collective successes related to capital formation, federal funding, and market engagement;
• Collaborative Workforce Programming – state and industry-sponsored initiatives which address expanding workforce needs of private sector companies and academic institutions, bridging gaps between education and private sectors.

In the near term, our business proposition is, in large part, defined by our ability to bring our industry together around issues, formulate policy initiatives, and provide a functional role within state-wide initiatives such as the selection of Manhattan, KS for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility and our push for National Cancer Institute designation at the KU Medical Center.  KansasBio’s contribution is evident in how we are able to engage industry and support expansion of our industry, talent development, and in formation of policy that is productive and additive in value.

One of the results of this first meeting was the formation of two working groups to ensure our panel members are getting engaged in the areas they feel best fits their goals: 

1. IAP Communications Working Group
2. IAP Public Policy Working Group

The Communications working group will focus on community outreach, and members will serve as spokespersons at various forums, symposiums, legislative hearings, community meetings, etc, as their schedule allows.  One of the first goals of the Communications working group is to create a communications strategy with predetermined talking points that outline the various needs of the bioscience community as well as relay the successes our industry has seen recently.  Our next step is to then set up an editorial board tour throughout the state to meet with both rural and urban newspaper publishers, editorial boards and editors and relay these talking points.  Just a reminder that IAP members can serve as much or as little as their schedule allows.

The Public Policy working group will at the onset focus on working with KansasBio’s Public Policy & Education Committee to give an industry perspective as to the content of KansasBio’s first legislative agenda.  This working group may also meet once or twice during the legislative session to get legislative updates and to get members’ perspectives on bioscience related issues that may have sprung up in the middle of the session.
IAP members have the option of serving on both working groups or just one per what their schedule allows or in accordance with their interests/professional goals.  

For a list of current IAP members, please click here.  To read minutes of the first IAP meeting, please click here.  If you are a member of KansasBio and interested in serving on our Industry Advisory Panel, please email Jennifer Bruning.