Regional Innovation Forum

1. Georgia Regional Innovation Forum [Region]

2. The Innovation Imperative • What should your community do to make the most of the economic potential of innovation and technology? • Innovation: the dynamic process of turning ideas into new products and services, and new ways of doing things • Creates economic prosperity • Leads not only to new companies, but also helps existing companies • Is the basis of competitiveness in the global marketplace

3. The Innovation Imperative • Globalization • Off-shoring of key industries • Increasing competition • Accelerated economic revolution: “creative destruction” and need for “creative reinvention” • Growing Adoption & Impact of Information & Communications Technologies • High pace of scientific and technological change • Enables companies and people (talent) to locate just about anywhere

4. The Innovation Imperative Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 PROSPERITY & HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING INCREASED COMPETIVENESS INNOVATION Source: Dr. Michael Porter, Clusters of Innovation Initiative

5. Purpose • Contribute to Southern Growth Policy Board’s 2006 Conference on the Future of the South • SGPB is a public-private partnership of 14 states, including Georgia • Chart a unique path for the local region • Begin defining and executing a strategy to maintain economic leadership…

6. Purpose • Economic leadership strategy • Attract capital investment and jobs • Boost productivity and competitiveness • Bring young, college-educated professionals back to the community • Continually improve the quality of life and standard of living • Better understand the role of various state initiatives to support and promote innovation

7. Georgia Centers of Innovation Georgia Department of Economic Development Georgia Research Alliance NASA Tech Transfer Small Business Development Centers Technical colleges Technology transfer programs at research universities: Georgia State Georgia Tech Medical College of Georgia University of Georgia Georgia Innovation Programs

8. Ground Rules • Everyone understands this is not a debate • Everyone is encouraged to participate • No one or two individuals dominate • Participants listen to each other

9. Personal Stake • How have new technologies made your home life easier? • Do you have access to the internet at home? • How does this make your life easier? • Have innovations in healthcare benefited you or other family members? • How have new innovations and technologies changed your work life? • Have new technologies created any problems or concerns for you?

10. Some Possible Approaches • Focus on building knowledge • Focus on encouraging entrepreneurship • Focus on boosting existing businesses • Focus on recruiting innovation • Think about • Is this approach practical for the region and state? • What are its benefits or drawbacks? • Have you seen this approach work in other places? • What resources or factors are necessary or important for success?

11. Approach 1Building Knowledge • Knowledge and ideas spark development of new processes and products • Building knowledge among people, institutions, and business leads to home-grown innovation: • High technology businesses and products will follow

12. Approach 2Entrepreneurship • Entrepreneurs turn ideas into jobs and wealth • New companies responsible for many “radical” innovations since WW II • From heart valve to the computer

13. Approach 3Existing Businesses • Existing businesses are a key source for future growth in jobs and investment • They are both suppliers and customers to other regional businesses • Successful businesses depend upon technology, talent, and new ideas

14. Approach 4Recruiting Innovation • Recruitment continues to be a vehicle for job growth • Community competitiveness depends upon its “quality of place” for business and individuals • Emerging growth industries are of particular importance to consider

15. Breakout Groups • Building Knowledge • Entrepreneurship • Existing Businesses • Recruiting Innovation

16. Tensions or Conflicts • What do you see as the tensions between the approaches? • Can you think of something constructive that might come from the approach that is receiving so much criticism? • Should communities focus on building knowledge among people, institutions and businesses, even if it takes long time to show results? • Should communities focus on encouraging entrepreneurship, even if a high percentage of new companies fail? • Should communities focus on recruiting innovation, even if it means providing and maintaining expensive state-of-the art infrastructure?

17. Shared Sense of Purpose • Can someone suggest areas that we seem to have in common? • What values appear to be in conflict? • What trade-offs are we willing (or un-willing) to accept? • What are we willing to do as individuals or a community to solve this problem?

18. Individual Reflections • Did you hear anything that surprised you? • Has your thinking about the issue changed? • Has your thinking about other people’s views changed? • How has your perspective changed as a result of what you heard in this forum?

19. Group Reflections • What remains unsolved for this group? • Can we identify any shared sense of purpose or direction? • What trade-offs are we, or are we not, willing to make to move in a shared direction?

20. Next Steps • What do we still need to talk about? • How can we use what we learned about ourselves in this forum? • Do we want to meet again?