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ITEM 11 |
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City Council Memorandum Economic Development Memo No.
ED25-034
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| Date: |
June 12, 2025 |
| To: |
Mayor and Council |
| Thru: |
Joshua H. Wright, City Manager
Micah Miranda, Economic Development Director |
| From: |
Michael Winer, Economic Development Project Manager |
| Subject: |
Resolution No. 5916 Approving a Second Amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement Between the City of Chandler and the Arizona Board of Regents, on Behalf of Arizona State University, for the Delivery of Business Incubator and Ecosystem Building Services, in an Amount Not to Exceed $275,000 Annually, for the Period of Two Years, Beginning July 1, 2025, Through June 30, 2027 |
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| Proposed Motion: |
| Move City Council pass and adopt Resolution No. 5916, approving a second amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Chandler and the Arizona Board of Regents, on behalf of Arizona State University, for the delivery of business incubator and ecosystem building services, in an amount not to exceed $275,000 annually, for the period of two years, beginning July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. |
| Background/Discussion: |
Since 2009, the Chandler City Council has approved funding for local business incubator programming with the goal of supporting and elevating the entrepreneurial ecosystem to diversify the employment base and drive business and job growth in Chandler. Business incubator management services are currently being provided by Arizona State University (“ASU”) through an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the City of Chandler (“City”). The Chandler Endeavor Venture Innovation Incubator (“Chandler Endeavor”) program is housed at the ASU Chandler Innovation Center and managed by a team of community entrepreneurship leaders from ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute (“Edson E+I”). The IGA between the City and ASU had an initial one-year term of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, with the option of up to four one-year extensions. The parties agreed to exercise the first option to extend the term for another year, from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
On May 12, 2025, the City Council Economic Vitality Subcommittee received an update on the ASU Chandler Innovation Center and Chandler Endeavor program. During the meeting, ASU highlighted the program's growth, the community that has been built, and client testimonials. The future of the City's partnership with ASU was also discussed with the Subcommittee asking what is needed to keep it flourishing. Funding stability for the Chandler Endeavor program was identified as the most important issue. This proposed second amendment seeks to provide greater funding stability, requesting City Council authorization to exercise the second and third options to extend the term for another two years from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.
Below are performance measures established for the 2024-25 contract year. The column on the right shows performance as of May 12, 2025, demonstrating the valuable support ASU has provided to local entrepreneurs and success with engaging the community. A revised Scope of Services and updated Performance Measures have been prepared for the proposed amendment to the IGA. ASU will continue to provide the city with quarterly progress reports.
| Performance Measure |
2024-25 Targets |
2024-25 Actuals1 |
| Total people engaged in the Chandler Endeavor ecosystem |
500 |
1,393 |
Ventures engaged in Fall 2024 Cohort
Ventures engaged in Spring 2025 Cohort |
6
6 |
10
10 |
| Total number of ventures given access to private office space |
6 |
9 |
| Average Net Promoter Score for all ASU Edson E+I initiated programming2 |
60% |
>85% |
| Venture Challenge pitch competition / funding events hosted |
2 |
2 |
1. Data is for the period July 1, 2024, through May 12, 2025. Contract term runs through June 30, 2025.
2. Customer satisfaction metric based on participant surveys with 60% being industry average for educational training. |
| Financial Implications: |
| A one-time decision package request has been submitted for the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget to make funds available for the third term of the IGA in the Innovations cost center account 101.1590.5219.0000. Another one-time decision package would be submitted for the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget to make funds available for the fourth term of the IGA. If funding is not approved by City Council, there are provisions within the contract where the city can terminate the remainder of the contract without any further obligations. |
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