VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The
creation of a new global hub for innovation and economic
development is the focus of a conference being held today in
Vancouver.
The Emerging Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference brings
together business and government leaders to explore the potential
for joint partnerships in education, transportation, university
research, human capital and other areas. The conference is jointly
hosted by the Business Council of British
Columbia, the Washington Roundtable and Microsoft Corp.
Leaders on both sides of the border acknowledged the opportunity
to create a single interconnected region that could be more
competitive in today's global economy and took immediate action
today to deepen relationships and strengthen partnerships.
At the conference, Washington
Governor Jay Inslee and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark signed a formal agreement that
committed the two governments to work closely together to "enhance
meaningful and results-driven innovation and collaboration." The
agreement outlines formal steps the two governments will take to
collaborate in several key areas including trade, research,
transportation and education.
In addition, the BC Cancer Agency, Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance agreed to
develop a new "master collaboration agreement" expanding patient
access to care and clinical trials, advancing immunotherapy,
enabling research collaboration, and providing better training
opportunities for young scientists and researchers.
Seattle and Vancouver, the two cities at the heart of the
new initiative, share a number of complementary strengths. These
include a high quality of life, diverse communities, skilled and
well-educated workforces, and strong economic and social ties to
Asia. And yet, according to a new
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study released at the conference, the
level of connectedness between the two cities remains remarkably
low for two cities so close together. While only 120 miles or 190
kilometers apart they behave more like cities that are thousands of
miles apart.
"In an increasingly competitive global market for talent and
capital, harnessing our collective strengths and the power of
innovation will drive greater productivity and business growth
across the region," said Greg D'Avignon, Business Council of
British Columbia President and CEO. "We welcome leading thinkers
from both sides of the border to British
Columbia to discuss how improved collaboration will create
greater prosperity for the benefit of all residents in B.C. and
Washington State."
According to the BCG study, major city-regions around the world
are increasingly becoming centers for global competition, including
city-regions like Singapore,
San Francisco and London. Simultaneously, economic gains are
increasingly going to regions with thriving innovation economies.
When looking at the shared strengths and opportunities in
Seattle and Vancouver's innovation economies, the study
found a unique opportunity to collaborate and raise the region's
profile as a new hub for innovation.
The region has the "potential to become an important innovation
corridor," but doing so will require regional leaders work
together, the study said. This could be possible through sustained
collaboration aided by an educated and skilled workforce, a vibrant
network of research universities and a dynamic policy
environment.
The study involved interviews with dozens of private and public
sector leaders and outlined a number of steps that could help
connect the region, including (but not limited to):
- Developing a Cascadia working group to drive progress — perhaps
featuring an annual summit to share trends, best practices and
continue the dialogue.
- Driving greater collaboration between the region's major
research universities, perhaps drawing inspiration from the
Research Triangle.
- Fostering relationships both within startup communities and
between investors and entrepreneurs to increase the availability of
capital and other support.
- Coordinating educational strategies and programs to prepare
current and future workers to participate in the innovation
economy.
- Building a broader set of transportation solutions to reduce
travel time, perhaps featuring seaplane service between South Lake
Union and Coal Harbour in the near
term or even drawing on autonomous solutions or high-speed rail in
the long term.
Speakers and attendees include British
Columbia Premier Christy
Clark; Washington Governor
Jay Inslee; Seattle Mayor Ed
Murray; Deputy Mayor of Vancouver Heather Deal; Microsoft
Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Gates Foundation Bill Gates;
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella;
Microsoft President Brad Smith;
TELUS Chief Corporate Officer and Executive Vice President
Josh Blair; University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce; University
of British Columbia President Santa Ono; Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center President Gary Gilliland; and BC Cancer Agency President
Malcolm Moore, among other elected
officials, regional CEOs and academic leaders.
"Our cities share many common attributes," said Washington
Roundtable President Steve Mullin.
"Throughout history, Cascadia has been a region on the forefront of
economic growth, whether trade, energy, aviation or technology. To
stay competitive in a global economy, we need to think regionally
about where we can align resources to make a greater impact on our
society and economy."
While acknowledging common attributes and strengths, each
respective economy could also benefit with better connections and
more formalized relationships in different sectors. For instance,
Seattle has a strong innovation
economy particularly with what many consider to be a leadership
position in cloud computing, while Vancouver's tech economy is growing through
local companies like TELUS and the expanding footprint of U.S.
companies like Microsoft.
Microsoft recently invested $90
million to open Microsoft Vancouver, a state-of-the-art
development facility that will create innovative products for the
global market and develop technology talent in British Columbia. The Centre will grow to more
than 750 positions and have an estimated economic impact across
B.C. of $180 million each year. In
addition, Boeing also recently opened a laboratory in Vancouver to focus on data analytics, software
development and professional consulting work. However, as the BCG
report makes clear, there are significant opportunities to work
much more closely together.
Microsoft's rapidly expanding presence in Vancouver and its deep roots in Washington State helped it see firsthand the
potential for deeper connections and stronger partnerships across
the region.
"Working together, we can build a globally competitive 21st
century innovation corridor that connects and enhances both
regions. This is a unique opportunity that can create benefits for
people throughout the region for generations to come," said
Microsoft President Brad Smith.
About the Business Council of British Columbia
Celebrating its 50th
year as the preeminent business organization in the province, the
Council has a strong history of providing relevant public policy
research and advice on issues to enhance BC's competitiveness.
Since its inception the Council has been comprised of major
employers from across all sectors in BC's economy who have played
meaningful roles in building British
Columbia. Today, the Council is a source for insight on the
BC and Canadian economies and how international trends and domestic
policies are impacting our ability to compete in a global economy.
Priority areas of focus include: environmental sustainability
policies, economic reconciliation with First Nations, innovation,
building a competitive tax and regulatory regime, supporting trade
and market access, and the development and the attraction of a deep
and diverse talent pool. Learn more at bcbc.com.
About Washington Roundtable
The Washington Roundtable
is a nonprofit organization comprised of senior executives of
major private sector employers in Washington state. Our members work together to
effect positive change on public policy issues that they believe
are most important to supporting state economic vitality and
fostering opportunity for all Washingtonians. Learn more at
waroundtable.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft)
is the leading platform and productivity company for the
mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower
every person and every organization on the planet to achieve
more.
Learn more at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about.
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SOURCE Microsoft