UW: Open for Business
Inside Story

Big Support from Olympia for Innovation

In April 2007, the state Legislature voted to spend $7.4 million to help higher-education institutions in our state accelerate commercialization of research and gain a competitive financial edge in recruiting star entrepreneurial researchers. Controlled by the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development (DCTEC), this funding will support designated Innovation Partnership Zones (IPZs) and a statewide program to attract 10 significant entrepreneurial researchers to Washington state during the next decade. The state Economic Development Commission will work with the UW, Washington State University, and the Higher Education Coordinating Board to meet that recruiting goal and to develop IPZs that will increase commercialization collaboration among research teams, industry, and workforce-training providers.

Accelerating Research Commercialization

IPZs are areas within Washington state where leading companies, major research institutions, highly skilled workers, and substantial public resources can be concentrated to promote the growth of businesses around research and to increase technology-based industries and related jobs. The zones:

• Foster interaction among companies, researchers, and entrepreneurs that can lead to innovation.
• Link economic development, workforce, and investment strategies to help focus the state’s resources and investment decisions.
• Catalyze growth in promising areas.

Other states have similar programs, including New Jersey and North Carolina.

In 2006, Washington state awarded six Innovation Zone planning grants to fund pilot projects that provided data and guidance for longer-term investment in developing IPZ policies and economic strategies. A working group with representatives from private and nonprofit organizations oversaw these pilot projects and made recommendations to the state about the potential value of IPZs.  

The legislation passed in April allows areas of the state to apply to the DCTEC director for IPZ designation. While IPZ designation does not entitle that IPZ to any state money, the governor has funding for grants for some IPZs.

Recruiting Star Researchers

The “head-hunting” portion of this $2.4 million appropriation originated with a House Bill 1091 amendment sponsored by Senator Jim Kastama (D–Puyallup). Kastama was motivated to push for the funding after visiting China and witnessing firsthand that country’s economic transformation and rapid push to improve its universities. Kastama’s success in securing long-term state support for future recruitment efforts has put the University in a much better position for future success in attracting the best research minds to our state.

And with top talent come business benefits. According to the New York Times, “The one thing [a 2006 UCLA study] does find to be consistently associated with high-tech start-ups is the presence of star scientists—not the ideas, which can be copied, but the scientists themselves. This seems to be the one way in which a university can be used as an engine of business growth.” The study also reports that “Stars [researchers] become more concentrated over time, moving from areas with relatively few peers to those with many in their discipline.” Best of all, our region has the advantage of already being highly regarded for its research, business innovation, venture capitalism, and quality of life—and it’s a place where star researchers’ students are likely to stay after they graduate and contribute further to our state’s economic development.   

For More Information

Read reports from UW Director of State Relations Randy Hodgins:

• 2007 Legislative Summary Update
• Washington Learns report card
• Hodgins’s end-of session Capitol Update blog