PNWER Supports recommendations to Catalyze Growth in the Pacific Northwest Innovation Economy

This spring and summer the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Innovation working group had the opportunity to work with Seattle-based startup Moonbeam Exchange and a team of graduate students from the University of Washington Master of Administration Applied International Studies (MAAIS) in the Jackson School of International Studies.  The team exceeded our expectations on research into clusters of economic development and forming recommendations on how the region could collaborate in specific sectors.

The team conducted a study of the economy of the Pacific Northwest to identify key innovation drivers, capabilities, gaps, and opportunities borne from collaboration across the region. They leveraged a variety of data sets including government R&D spend, startup activity, and extensive subject matter expert and influencer interviews. Through this analysis they identified nascent clusters of economic activity that could be nurtured through public/private partnership, specifically:

• An emerging cargo drone hub in Anchorage;
• An opportunity to build a public safety-related technology hub in Calgary;
• A potential pivot toward medical devices and wearables in Portland;
• And global centers of excellence in AI and immersive tech in Seattle and Vancouver.

PNWER has worked for years to foster innovation and cooperation across the region.  The team’s subsequent recommendations were shared with PNWER and have been approved by its leadership at the Annual Summit held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. http://www.pnwer.org/2019-summit.html

Next steps for the project will be to share the report widely with our stakeholders and work towards implementing the recommendations over the next year.  Please take the time to review the great work the team put forward and provide feedback on how the region can leverage the innovation cluster currently in the ecosystem. 

Damian Allen, MAAIS Graduate
Nina Gerber, MAAIS Graduate
Jose Luis Gomez, Jr., MAAIS Graduate
Arafat Sawabon, MAAIS Graduate

Nirav Desai, CEO, Moonbeam Exchange - PNWER Innovation Working Group Co-Chair
Matt Morrison, CEO, PNWER
Steve Myers, Sr. Program Manager, PNWER
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