More Than 500 Companies Respond to Innovation Quotient Survey

SOUTHFIELD, MI, July 08, 2011 (Press-News.org) More than 500 companies across the Midwest responded to the first-ever Innovation Quotient survey from Plante & Moran, PLLC and NewNorth Center.

Manufacturers, financial institutions, healthcare providers and other businesses in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois completed the proprietary survey, which was designed to measure:
• Attitudes toward innovation
• Business value of innovation
• Drivers and catalysts for innovation
• Variables of process, budget and culture and how they impact the innovation quotient for an organization

The public accounting, tax, and business advisory firm along with the executive education and innovation training institute have work to tally the survey results and expect to release a white paper later this summer. Additionally,
all survey participants will receive a customized report benchmarking their organization's Innovation Quotient against best-in-class practices.

"We were extremely pleased with the depth and breadth of companies that responded to the first Innovation Quotient survey," said Gordon Krater, Plante & Moran managing partner. "As a region, we recognize the important role that innovation plays in our continued business growth and success. The IQ Survey will give Midwest companies an important benchmarking tool to compare themselves with their peers and incorporate best practices into their operations."

Nate Young, president of NewNorth Center, agreed, noting: "The IQ survey represents the first successful broadly utilized analysis of innovation in the Midwest. We are working to distill the lessons learned from the 500+ respondents and provide valuable feedback to the companies and organizations that participated. We were pleased that so many C-suite executives took the time to respond, and we look forward to presenting our results later this summer."

The Innovation Quotient is designed as an ongoing, annual study that will help determine innovative practices and benchmark the importance of, and capabilities in, innovation in the Midwest.
NewNorth Center and Plante & Moran partnered with numerous co-sponsors in three states to secure survey responses, including the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce, Detroit Regional Chamber, European American Chamber of Commerce, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Holland Area Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Manufacturers' Association, Lansing Regional Chamber, Lakeshore Advantage, Ohio Manufacturers' Association, The Right Place, PolymerOhio, Inc., Southwest Michigan First, TechSolve and the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce.

ABOUT NEWNORTH CENTER
NewNorth Center is a nonprofit, hybrid education and business institution. The Center specializes in immersive skills training, research, executive education, workshops, seminars and an annual Design in Business Summit. The Center's portfolio features design-centric, post-graduate business programs formulated expressly to bring increased value to local, regional and national companies and organizations. For more information, visit http://www.newnorthcenter.org.

About Plante & Moran, PLLC
Plante & Moran (www.plantemoran.com) is among the nation's largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms, providing clients with tax, audit, risk management, financial, technology, business consulting, and wealth management services. Plante & Moran has a staff of more than 1,600 professionals in 21 offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico; and Mumbai, India. Plante & Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including FORTUNE magazine, as one of the country's best places to work.

Sabo Public Relations is a full-service public relations company specializing in media relations, litigation communications and crisis management.