The Innovation Imperative

Technology


July 30, 2017

Innovation hubs are becoming more protective than innovative

LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman spoke this past May at the Tech Alliance luncheon in Seattle, and something he said got me thinking about Silicon Valley – and all innovation hubs — in a different way.


July 10, 2017

UW student teams create pilot solutions for future road usage charge

The gas tax is the state’s principal source of revenue for its road, bridges, and ferries. Industry forecasts predict that fuel efficiency will rise from its current 20.5 mpg to 35 mpg by 2035. As that happens, state gas tax revenue will decline by as much as 50 percent. In partnership with the state, UW students have created smartphone apps that track road usage, while giving the user privacy control.


June 1, 2017

Innovation Fund Spring 2017 winners

The CoMotion Innovation Fund is a partnership between CoMotion and the Washington Research Foundation to support innovations that have a high chance of creating impact but are unlikely to get there without additional funding.


March 10, 2017

How to stamp out fake news? Innovate the attention economy

Sareeta Amrute, Associate Professor of Anthropology, UW Vikram Jandhyala, UW VP of Innovation Strategy and Executive Director of CoMotion The topic of “fakenews” is of course in the news (real or fake!).  Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department, Sareeta Amrute, is interested in understanding the fake news problem from a sociological viewpoint. It appears that the top technology…


March 1, 2017

Driverless Seattle: How the city can plan for automated vehicles

A new report from the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab and the Mobility Innovation Center touts the need for readiness and tackles the costs and benefits of automated vehicles.


June 2, 2016

Is technology crucial for innovation?

Technology is crucial for innovation — and innovation in technology is critical to innovation in just about every other arena. Why? Ed Lazowska, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, believes the forward march of technology allows us to do more with less, improving our lives in the process.


February 5, 2016

Is the startup model best for innovation?

Chris DeVore, partner at Founders’ Co-op, writes that the “clockspeed” of the the global economy, a pace of business that governs how quickly companies can grow and adapt to the changes around them, has changed only slowly since the industrial revolution. But since the introduction of the microprocessor in the late 1960’s, the clockspeed of business has shifted from a linear growth pattern to an exponential one.


January 24, 2016

Can the public sector outpace the private sector when it comes to innovation?

Kevin Merritt, founder and CEO of Socrata, says governments around the world are facing significant political turmoil and enormous economic stress as they struggle with an alarming and unprecedented array of public-policy crises.