Accelerating Innovation

Growing Innovation Clusters for American Prosperity

The National Academies STEP Committee on Best Practice in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives hosted a conference June 3, 2009 titled "Growing Innovation Clusters for American Prosperity" in Washington, DC.  Opened by Susan Crawford, the White House Advisor for Science, Technology, and Innovation, the conference brought together Arizona State University President Michael Crow and the University of Akron President Luis Proenza along with a diverse group of practitioners and experts from around the country with direct experience in the development and growth of innovation clusters.  Karen Mills, the new Administrator for the Small Business Administration, gave the conference luncheon address emphasizing the contributions of small business and the government's role in facilitating their creation and growth.  A wide range of topics were discussed including the role of clusters in promoting economic growth, the federal government's role in stimulating clusters, the contributions of universities and state programs--such as the California stem cell initiative--to cluster development, and the role of foundations in building workforce competency and supporting university growth. Among the invited presenters was Egils Milbergs, the executive director of the Washington Economic Development Commission, who discussed the current environment for innovation in Washington State and offered strategic principles for building organic bottom up innovation ecosystems.

The meeting agenda and to find active links to the presentations go to: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/step/PGA_051223

 

Speaker Presentations Introduction "Welcome" -Charles Wessner, The National Academies

Panel 1: Why Clusters Matter: Innovation Clusters and Economic Growth "Cluster Development: A Path to Growth" ---Maryann Feldman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill "Stimulating Regional Economies: The Federal Role" ---Andrew Reamer, Brookings

Panel 2: Government Role in Stimulating Clusters "Regional Innovation Clusters:  The Obama Administration's Innovation Initiative" ---Jonathan Sallet, Glover Park Group "New York's Nano Initiative" ---Pradeep Haldar, University at Albany-SUNY "NIST's Technology Innovation Program--Connecting the Dots" ---Marc Stanley, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Panel 3: State and Regional Initiatives "Clusters Growing in Pennsylvania" ---Rebecca Bagley, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development "Building and Branding Clusters: Lessons From KTEC and Innovation Philadelphia" ---Richard Bendis, Innovation America "Opportunities in Virginia" ---John Mathieson, SRI International "Current Programs in Washington State" ---Egils Milbergs, Washington Economic Development Commission

Panel 4: The University Connection "Universities and their Regions:  The Akron Model" ---Luis Proenza, The University of Akron "University Based Cluster Development" ---David McNamara, South Carolina Research Authority "California Initiatives" ---Ed Penhoet, Alta Partners

Panel 5: Filling the Gaps: The Role of Foundations "2532 Neighborhoods, 992 Cities, 1 Million People: How Innovation Clusters Are Reviving the Economies that "Urban Renewal" Destroyed" ---Christina Gabriel and Bomani Howze, The Heinz Endowments "Building the Workforce and the Universities" ---George Bo-Linn, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

 

The Washington State Department of Commerce has submitted its recommendations to Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature for restructuring the department as a leader in the state's economic development efforts. The plan also aligns with the Washington Economic Development Commission's Feb. 2009 proposal for sustaining a world-class innovation economy in Washington State.

Restructuring plan aligns with innovation economy vision

The Washington State Department of Commerce has submitted its recommendations to Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature for restructuring the department as a leader in the state's economic development efforts. Formerly the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, Commerce's report outlines two options for creating a more focused and efficient organization dedicated to growing and improving jobs in Washington.

 "After listening carefully to business and community leaders, employers and our other key stakeholders around the state, we believe the priorities and organization laid out in this report provide a framework to succeed in keeping Washington state competitive and helping our communities and economies thrive," said Commerce Director Rogers Weed. 

The Commerce recommendation to the Legislature is built on four "global" priorities affecting all Washington businesses -- competitiveness, education and workforce training, more efficient regulation, and infrastructure investment -- as well as four targeted priorities -- sector focus, rural focus, small business focus, and community capacity. The plan also aligns with the Washington Economic Development Commission's Feb. 2009 proposal for sustaining a world-class innovation economy in Washington State.

Excerpt from the report "Defining Commerce: Next Steps in our Mission to Grow and Improve Jobs in Washington"

 

"With innovation at the center of our long‐term vision of the Washington Economy, Commerce has adopted the vision statement in the Washington Economic Development Commission's plan as its own.

Vision Statement: Make Washington the most attractive, creative and fertile investment environment for innovation in the world as a means of achieving long‐term global competitiveness, prosperity and economic opportunity for all the state's citizens.

Commerce has started to chart a path to achieve this vision with a new mission statement and priorities for action."

 

LINKS:

Report to Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington Legislature, November 2009

• Defining Commerce: Next Steps in our Mission to Grow and Improve Jobs in Washington – Final Report, Nov. 1, 2009

Appendices:

• Appendix A: Sections of EHB 2242 Directing Changes to Commerce
• Appendix B: Commerce Draft Plan PowerPoint (pdf)
• Appendix C: Stakeholder Involvement Plan and Meeting Summaries
• Appendix D: Survey Report
• Appendix E: State Comparison Research Report
• Appendix F: Washington Innovation Economy (Economic Development Commission Report, Feb. 2009)

Geography of jobs by metro areas: a visual timeline

This animated map presented by TIP Strategies, Inc provides a striking visual of employment trends over the last business cycle using net change in jobs from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on a rolling 12-month basis. Read more… The animated map makes clear that this recession has not treated all regions equally.

Update 1, September 14, 2009: Now with July 2009 data.

Global health innovation ecosystem mapped for Washington State

The Washington Global Health Alliance released a study assessing the scope and scale of global health activities in Washington State and found that the initiatives of just nine organizations involve nearly 500 programs in 92 countries. The study, called the Global Health Strategic Mapping Project, also found that the global health activities of these nine organizations alone generated employment for 2,323 full-time equivalents in the state and another 2,150 outside of the state, for a total of 4,470 full-time equivalents. The maps are designed to help local organizations discover potential collaborations and shared facilities, and showcase global health as a powerful and emerging sector in the region.

The findings show that the state has become "a nexus for global health," said Lisa Cohen, director of the Washington Global Health Alliance, a nonprofit which works to support global health efforts in the state and which commissioned the study. The study, which was conducted by the consulting firm Berk & Associates, catalogued the work of nine of the Alliance's members:

• Battelle/Pacific Northwest National Laboratories
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
• IDRI, the Infectious Disease Research Institute
• Institute for Systems Biology
• PATH
• SBRI, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
• Seattle Children's Hospital and Research Institute, including its Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS)
• University of Washington
• Washington State University

Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association President Chris Rivera said that the study, by demonstrating the size of global health activities in Washington, should help boost the state's life-sciences sector. The map, he said, "should help communicate the competitive advantage of the state."

Links to blog posts and articles:

To read blog post, visit The Prosperity Blog.

To read article, visit the Seattle Local Health Guide website.

To read op-ed, visit the Xconomy website.

To read article, visit The Seattle Times website.

To read article, visit the Fox Business website.

Innovation Partnership Zones receive funding: Bothell, Walla Walla, Tri-Cities and Snohomish

The Washington State Department of Commerce has announced $1.5 million in grants to Innovation Partnership Zones (IPZs) in Bothell, Walla Walla, Tri-Cities and Snohomish County. The IPZ program is an economic development model that encourages collaboration to advance innovation. The funds will help stimulate the growth of industry clusters and intellectual capital, while building regional economies. The program leads to new technologies, marketable products, company formation and job creation.

"Our state's IPZ program and the collaboration it promotes leads to ground-breaking discoveries and innovation." said Gov. Chris Gregoire. "The winners of these grants exemplify the talent, creativity and entrepreneurism that exist across our state. I'm proud to support such a unique effort of economic development – one that will allow us to lead in the new economy."

Winners of the 2009 IPZ grants are:

· Bothell Biomedical Device IPZ - $500,000 for the Washington MedTech Discovery Center. The center will provide a dedicated public facility for incubating, networking, and providing meeting space for businesses in the bio-medical device industry.

· Walla Walla IPZ - $500,000 for the expansion of the William A. Grant Water and Environmental Center at Walla Walla Community College. Through a water quality lab, the center will be able to expand its mission to provide education and services in the water management sector that enhance both agricultural and marine wildlife recovery efforts. The development of a sustainable water governance model has the potential for broad, global applications.

· Tri-Cities Research District - $250,000 to support the extension of broadband infrastructure through the 1,600 acre IPZ. The expanded broadband infrastructure will provide essential support to small- and medium-size businesses that are not federal contractors, making the IPZ a more attractive location for technology companies and subsequently enhancing collaborative opportunities.

· Aerospace Convergence Zone in Snohomish County - $250,000 to develop the Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center. The center will be located at Paine Field and serve as a hub for training and research to support the aerospace industry. It will act as a clearinghouse for research and technology transfer and provide just-in-time upgrade skills training for aerospace workers.

 The IPZ program was created in 2007 by Gov. Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature. IPZs empower regions to form partnerships between research entities, private sector partners, and workforce training to collaborate and develop commercially viable technologies. There are 12 IPZs in the state of Washington. Designations are made Oct. 1, every other year, by the director of Commerce. For more information on the Washington State Department of Commerce, visit www.commerce.wa.gov.