The Iowa Association of Business and Industry has been recommended to serve as Iowa’s go-to organization for creating more jobs in the state’s high-tech targeted industries.

The Iowa Economic Development Board will vote Thursday on whether to approve a contract with ABI to serve as the state’s “commercialization entity.” The state solicited bids last summer for a not-for-profit partner to assist in the state’s efforts to create more jobs in the high-growth areas of advanced manufacturing, information solutions and bioscience.

Emerging Growth Group, a Des Moines-based business incubator and an ABI member company, will serve as the lead entity to implement the program, said ABI President Mike Ralston.

“It’s like we’re the general contractor, and the work will be performed by a subcontractor, Emerging Growth Group,” Ralston said. “The program is designed to allow Iowans to get innovations from the idea stage to the market stage, so they can add businesses and employment to the economy.”

ABI will be paid approximately $150,000 per year under the contract, Ralston said.

Among the state’s goals for the commercialization program are to create 130 new bioscience companies in Iowa by 2015; increase information solutions employment by 30 percent by 2015; and increase the number of advanced manufacturing firms by 3 percent over the next five years.