Building the Conditions for Innovation | | |
A Message From Debra Lam
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been in rooms with city leaders, researchers, and partners working on similar problems in different places.
The conversations often begin in different ways, but they tend to surface the same underlying pattern. Communities know what they want to improve. They have institutions with resources and people actively working on solutions. What’s missing is alignment.
Progress depends less on starting new initiatives and more on how early and intentionally systems are connected. When alignment happens upfront, outcomes begin to compound. Students can see pathways into real work. Institutions build on shared infrastructure. Partners move faster because they are not operating in isolation.
Our work with JPMorganChase and the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub reflects this shift. It brings students, startups, and institutions into the same system from the beginning, rather than trying to connect them later.
This is about how innovation actually takes shape into a structure that allows work to continue, adapt, and scale.
— Debra Lam, Founding Executive Director, Partnership for Innovation
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Building Cleantech in Practice | |
In Atlanta, a new cleantech partnership is addressing a challenge many regions face but rarely solve in an integrated way.
JPMorganChase has committed $600,000 to support work led by the Georgia Cleantech Innovation Hub, in partnership with PIN and a network of universities. The effort focuses on two persistent gaps that typically operate separately: talent pathways and startup infrastructure.
The first is early exposure to cleantech careers. Students from Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Georgia State University will participate in hands-on programs that connect them directly to companies, technologies, and applied projects. Read More.
| Ashoka Convening: Civic Innovation in Practice | | |
In collaboration with Ashoka, PIN convened local government leaders, startup teams, and civic innovators to focus on implementation.
Ashoka’s global network brings experience advancing solutions through long-term, community-based engagement, complementing active deployments across PIN’s regional network.
Through PIN’s Community Investment program, startups and local governments are co-designing solutions in areas such as road safety and building systems, with partners including the City of Savannah, Paulding County, Bartow County, and Gwinnett County, alongside teams like Safe Road Solutions and Lamarr.AI. Read More.
| | Fellowships by the Numbers | |
Community-Based Support in Practice
PIN recently volunteered with Antioch Urban Ministries (AUMI), supporting an organization that provides housing, recovery services, youth mentorship, and senior support across the Atlanta region.
AUMI serves individuals and families navigating challenges including housing instability, substance use recovery, and access to essential resources. This work reflects the importance of community-based organizations in addressing complex needs and strengthening the systems that support health, stability, and opportunity. Learn more about AUMI.
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Chad Nash – 2026 Young Gamechanger
Chad Nash, Strategic Relations Manager at the Partnership for Innovation, has been selected for GeorgiaForward’s 2026 Georgia Young Gamechangers cohort, which will focus on Hinesville-Liberty County. His participation reflects PIN’s ongoing work connecting talent with place-based economic development. PIN was previously represented in the program by Katie O’Connor, who served in the 2016 Augusta cohort.
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In the Community
This month, PIN engaged across sectors to move innovation into implementation—aligning community priorities with the partnerships, capital, and systems needed to carry work beyond early stages.
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21st Annual Sustainable Business & Social Impact Conference
At Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Debra Lam joined leaders at the Sustainable Business & Social Impact Conference to discuss why many impact ventures struggle to scale and how misaligned systems across accelerators, investors, and corporate partners can slow execution.
A consistent theme: scale depends on aligning capital, support, and mission to reduce friction. For PIN, this reinforces the importance of connecting partners and resources so ideas can move from early momentum to sustained impact.
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Next Generation Innovators Take the Stage at FLEX State Finals
PIN’s Associate Director of Operations, Kayla Burns, attended the Georgia FLEX State Finals in Tifton, where top student entrepreneurs from across the state pitched ventures developed through months of hands-on business experience. As a partner, PIN supports FLEX through funding and student talent, making this event a powerful reflection of the innovation pipeline we are helping build across Georgia. Read More.
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Community-Based Health Innovation in Stewart County
PIN team recently joined community members and partners in Stewart County for a site visit at the Wims Community Center, a local hub for health education and services.
Residents, county leaders, and researchers from Georgia Tech and Emory University came together to share experiences, demonstrate the technology, and discuss how the work is being shaped locally.
This approach reflects a broader pattern across PIN’s work: projects are more likely to take hold when they are developed with communities, supported by local infrastructure, and adapted based on real conditions. Read More.
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Building Better Regions Convening
The Building Better Regions and Tech Hubs Community of Practice Convening brought together regional leaders and project teams in April to focus on the long-term sustainability of regional innovation efforts. Tthe convening highlighted how coordinated investment and infrastructure can support the growth of industry clusters.
PIN was represented by PIN's Engagement Manager Clarence Anthony Jr., who worked with project leads across sectors to connect national strategies with local implementation. Donna Ennis of the Enterprise Innovation Institute also contributed as a panelist, emphasizing the importance of community-rooted engagement in shaping equitable outcomes. Learn More.
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Atlanta AI Week
Atlanta AI Week brought together public, private, civic and academin leaders to explore how AI is moving from experimentation to real-world deployment.
PIN’s Kayla Burns joined partners Atlanta Tech Collective at for the conference's Women in AI Breakfast to discuss how leadership is evolving and how to build ecosystems that expand access to innovation across communities.
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Innovation in Action: Join What's Next
For five years, the Partnership for Innovation has helped communities turn ideas into action, strengthening local innovation capacity, expanding career pathways, and building confidence in what’s possible across the Southeast. That work continues because of the educators, researchers, funders, students, and community leaders who choose to build alongside us.
Now, PIN is focused on accelerating impact, expanding into new schools and regions, deepening regional hubs, and equipping communities with the tools, talent, and investment needed to scale innovation where it matters most.
Explore how to get involved.
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