Representatives from two Seattle employers (Microsoft and PATH), KONE Corporation in Helsinki and Fukuoka Urban Laboratory suggested the needs of creative companies to grow and attract talent.
Each discussed the need to continue investing in research, each discussed the primacy of attracting talent to their regions and companies, and each talked about the fact that intellectual companies are inherently less placebound than ‘old school’ manufacturers.
They were asked to tell us what they look for in a region.
A welcoming business climate is a foundation – taxes, regulations, transport, etc. But then the needs diverge. Read the rest of this entry »
The consortium was started two years ago by PSRC and the TDA of Greater Seattle, as a way to measure our economic performance against that of our peers around the world. Other regions that are participating are Barcelona, Stockholm, Helsinki, Munich, Dublin, Vancouver BC, Fukuoka (Japan), Daejon (S Korea), Cape Town and Glasgow.
Last year’s first meeting took place in June 2008 in Seattle. This year, 15 delegates from the Puget Sound region are in attendance.
The theme of this year’s conference is Creativity and Talent in an Urban Environment. Today is creativity, tomorrow is talent. I will post as often as our internet connection and our rigorous schedule allow.
It might surprise many in this region to know that the Defense industry sector of military installations, has been an unqualified growth sector. Can you name one job site that has gained 13,000 jobs since 2004?
If you’re having trouble naming just one, here it is: Fort Lewis.
Just last week, a delegation from Washington composed of members from the Governor’s office, the Pierce County Executive’s office and Economic Development Dept. as well as the City of Lakewood and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber attended the Office of Economic Adjustment’s (OEA) Partnerships for Success conference.
Among many matters of import learned and exampled at the OEA Conference was the Executive Order 12788. In addition to setting up a Defense Economic Adjustment Program and an Economic Adjustment Committee composed of the Secretary of Defense and inclusive of virtually all the cabinet positions as well as major executive branch offices and administrations, the act mandates a prioritization among communities:
Sec. 5. (b) (2) Afford priority consideration to requests from Defense-affected communities for Federal technical assistance, financial resources, excess or surplus property, or other requirements that are part of a comprehensive plan…
The City of Lakewood is now lead for a regional effort to develop a plan to address the impacts associated with the growth at Fort Lewis.
So Boeing’s opening a second line in South Carolina. Inevitably, fingers will be pointed. But at whom? Well,
“Times have changed,
the economy’s gotten worse;
Boeing in South Carolina,
I just want to stomp & curse;
Should we blame the government
or blame the big old boss
or should we blame the union for the loss?
No, Blame Canada! Blame Canada!
With all their beady little eyes
And flapping heads so full of lies
Blame Canada
Blame Canada
We need to form a full assault
It’s Canada’s fault!
Don’t blame us
because they flee
they don’t like gutter balls
but they like Governors coveting Argentines
It’s about customers
everyone likes to say
but does that make it all okay?
No, blame Canada
Blame Canada
It seems that everything’s gone wrong
Since Canada came along
Blame Canada
Blame Canada
They’re not even a real country anyway
My son could’ve been a machinist or an engineer,
Instead he burned up like kindling on great Mount Rainier
Should we blame the matches?
Should we blame the fire?
Or the doctors who allowed him to expire?
heck no!
Blame Canada
Blame Canada
With all their hockey hullabaloo
And that witch Anne Murray too
Blame Canada
Shame on Canada
For…
The move we must stop
The line we want back
The Laughter and fun
SC be undone
We must blame them and cause a fuss
Before somebody thinks of blaming uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus!!!!
Warning: Video contains kids with potty mouths singing.
Apologies to those of you who have seen this list in past years, but this is the first time I’ve seen Slate’s 80 over 80 list. First off, it’s a pretty hilarious spin on the standard 40 Under 40 that we see in places like our own Puget Sound Business Journal. Second: Barbara Walters is 80! (Clint Eastwood is 79!) Third: man, there are a lot of elected officials holding really important offices on this list, and that does not make me feel super comfortable. Fourth, and actually relevant, is that #12 on this list is Bill Gates, Sr. Which gets me to thinking: are we taking enough advantage of Bill Gates, Sr. in Washington state? Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll write this as quickly as I can before I get shot at point blank range for the corny title. Just came back from hearing United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon speak at a World Affairs Council sponsored event. The Secretary General spoke on what he asserts are four critical issues for our little spinning globe: 1) climate change; 2) nuclear weapons; 3) extreme poverty; and 4) security, peace and human rights issues.
As interesting as what Secretary General Ban said is, just as interesting for my beat is that he was here in the Greater Seattle area. It was the first time a sitting UN Secretary General has spoken in our region but he is also one of numerous international dignitaries that come through our region each year, including heads of state. We’re a mid-sized town in America but one with an outsized international profile. Yes, a third of our jobs are tied to international trade in way or another but also the industries we are engaged in are global ones. Plus, we have a huge global development sector here. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is headquartered in Greater Seattle but there are also 350 other global development organizations in our region, both big and small. They employ thousands of people and are active on every continent save Antarctica (and for all I know there’s someone from our region doing work there too). In other words, there’s a reason the U.N. Secretary General came to our region to talk about weighty global issues.
Never to be accused of being a pessimist, I return after a long absence in these here parts with good news: Delta Airlines is not adding one but two new international routes to Sea-Tac Airport and expanding on another one. Beginning in the summer of 2010, Delta will begin flying to Beijing, China and Osaka, Japan which just happen to be important cities of two of our region’s largest trading partners. In addition, Delta is increasing the number of flights to Amsterdam per week from seven to ten (making it easier for Jules to get his Royale with Cheese).
As a sometimes frequent international traveler, this can only make my life better. And, isn’t that what we’re all here for? A side benefit, of course, is that because our region is so tied to the international economy, it’s going to make lots of other Puget Sounders’ lives better too. It will strengthen our internationally-bent economy making it easier for our businesses to welcome their overseas customers and to travel to important markets. It will also make it easier for Chinese investors and tourists (of which we are seeing more lately; Japan is already one of our largest sources for tourists and investment) to spend their money here.
I was reading this article on Xconomy about their new partnership with the Kauffman Foundation, and the titular question immediately struck me: Why Don’t We Have a Kauffman Foundation?
Think about it: we are a center of innovation, but one of the most difficult places in the country to start and sustain a new business (see Indicator 13). And what do they focus on? Improving the success of entrepreneurship and commercialization! Read the rest of this entry »
Not too shabby, folks. We just completed our first survey of the region, and were able to identify 497 projects totaling $352,693,243.00 in non-transportation investments (grant, loan and bond funded) in the central Puget Sound’s leading industry clusters.
Wow, it must be Back to Basics Week at the ol’ Prosperity Blog. First “Regionalism,” then “Taxes” and now “Innovation.” I’m going to have to start my posts from now on with the old cheesy book report line, “Webster’s Dictionary defines innovation as…”
Here’s the thing about innovation. Innovation is like coolness. Everyone wants it, and the harder you try to get it, the more it slips through your fingers. Read the rest of this entry »
OK, I’m going to continue my modest proposal/rant from yesterday about getting everyone on board if we want to truly achieve our vision for a prosperous metropolitan region. I was at the Leadership Tomorrow Economy Day today, where the 80 young leaders spend a day learning about our region’s economy, and it was fascinating to listen in on the conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
That’s a little agit-prop/unionization reference there for you 1930’s theater buffs. But speaking of unions, did you notice the news about the preliminary Ford-UAW contract the other day? And no, this is not another blog post about how you should totally register for the Prosperity Partnership Luncheon featuring Alan Mulally, since over half the seats are already sold and it’s still a month away (ok, now it is, I guess).
This caught my eye: “The deal with Ford prohibits the U.A.W. from going on strike over demands for increased wages or benefits, but it permits strikes over other issues or if Ford proposes cutting wages or benefits.”
You may remember that a lot of folks got upset when the idea was brought up that, potentially in exchange for certain employment guarantees from Boeing, the Machinists agree to add a no-strike clause in their contract. It’s a huge concession for a union, since striking is the ultimate leverage in a negotiation. Interesting to see that Ford got the UAW to potentially agree to something like that, particularly because – like Boeing – they’re in a relatively good long-term financial position.
I went to a really great discussion today at the University of Washington: remarks and a panel featuring Bruce Katz, the vice president and founding director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C. Katz was in town to give a lecture on Tuesday night as part of the UW’s Danz Lecture Series, and he hung around Wednesday morning to do a more intimate session with a bunch of local bigwigs and leading regional thinkers (note: I am neither, but I got to go anyway).
Anyway, the discussion was really fascinating, centering on how the central Puget Sound can more successfully act as a region, and be an economic and policy leader for the country’s recovery and beyond. But, as Gene Duvernoy of the Cascade Land Conservancy – one of the panelists – pointed out, there was one big problem with the conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of you may have seen our recent post about tracking Recovery Act dollars to the region, specifically those that fall into the categories we identified in March: clean energy, aerospace, IT (broadband and health IT), housing, workforce and life sciences.
So far, so good. Through your submissions and other online resources, we’ve identified $290,234,389.00 in grants to governments, businesses and nonprofits in the central Puget Sound in those categories. Keep it coming by submitting your projects to http://prosperitypartnership.org/recovery/form2.htm!
Posted by Bill McSherry 
Posted by Bill McSherry 
Posted by garybrackett 
prosperityblog
Bill McSherry
ericschinfeld
grahamevans
samkaplan
garybrackett
Robin Mayhew
meleslie
oliviapsrc
cstrw