Trade and Regulatory Cooperation 
U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Treasury Department

• PNWER encourages the U.S. and Canada to embrace the free trade framework provided by the USMCA, which benefits industries on both sides of the border.  
• PNWER supports the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) process and recognizes the importance it plays in facilitating cooperation between the U.S. and Canada. We encourage continued facilitation of harmonized regulatory standards.

 
COVID Recovery and Supply Chain Resilience 
U.S. Department of Commerce

• U.S. and Canadian supply chains are deeply interconnected, and we must maintain this collaboration to ensure buyers, sellers, service providers, and experts can continue crossing the border to keep these relationships alive and trade flowing freely. 
• COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in U.S. supply chains and has resulted in renewed interest for protectionist and ‘Buy American’ policies. While reshoring and cultivating local supply chains is important, the U.S. must preserve its reciprocal and collaborative supply chains across the Canadian border. As new global trade relationships are established, the U.S.-Canadian trade relationship is more important than ever.

Safely Reopening the Border 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• The U.S. should work with Canada to develop a coordinated plan for the eventual safe reopening of the land border to non-essential travelers. This must include a discussion on reopening bi-national tourism.
• The U.S. and Canada must present a strong, safe, and well-coordinated border reopening message. Reopening the land border between the U.S. and Canada to non-essential travelers will be vital for the economic recovery of the border region and the reemergence of the bi-national tourism industry. Bi-national tourism brings sustainable income to small towns, especially as their economies move away from extractive industries. Coordinated reopenings with clear guidelines aligned with public health recommendations will allow businesses to safely bring customers across the border and generate consumer confidence.
• PNWER supports the Future Borders Coalition’s Four Principles to Implement a Phased Approach for Easing Canada-U.S. Border Closures and Other Travel Restrictions:

 

1. A bi-national and coordinated approach should be adopted with the objective to develop mutually accepted risk-mitigating measures and health protocols
2. Both governments should adopt a layered risk-based approach when reviewing entry requirements and travel restrictions
3. A phased approach for easing border restrictions should be informed by science-based criteria and communicated based on easily understood requirements.
4. The economic impact of border closures on communities should be carefully assessed by both governments and inform the path towards the easing of border restrictions.

 
Border Technology
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• Twenty-first century technology must be employed to ensure the health, safety, and security of our borders. PNWER supports the creation of pilot programs to test these new technologies in our border regions and urges the Biden Administration to provide funding for these projects.
• The Pacific Northwest hosts a wide variety of high-tech companies on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, many of which have a vested interest in using technology to safely reopen travel. Technologies such as vicinity-readable RFID in documents, facial verification, and virtual adjudications can protect the health of border officers and travelers alike by creating a more seamless and touchless processing environment.
• PNWER urges the Biden Administration to fund pilot programs to trial run these technologies and border-crossing solutions.

Preclearance 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• We encourage a methodical process of implementing preclearance at the land, marine, and rail borders. In order to implement preclearance in the most effective and efficient way, we encourage new investment and research to ensure that commerce and tourism remain unhindered and ideally improved by the implementation of preclearance measures. This can only be accomplished by working together as a region to understand policy and economic hurdles and to find solutions. Maximum flexibility and creativity are required as this process unfolds across the region.

 
Columbia River Treaty
U.S. Department of State

• PNWER supports the continuation and modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.

 
Bi-National Energy Policy
U.S. Department of Energy

• Energy is an integral part of the U.S.-Canada trade relationship, with Canada being our largest energy trade partner ($119b in 2019). The U.S.-Canada energy system is heavily integrated and includes cross-border pipelines and transmission. PNWER encourages the new administration to strategically address the long-term energy security needs of the U.S. and Canada and recognize the importance of this crucial and integrated energy system to the economic, safety, and security of the United States.
• PNWER hosts a bi-national energy policy course for state and provincial legislators to educate them on key energy topics that they are addressing in their legislative committees. We encourage continued investment in these types of programs to ensure our policymakers have a clear understanding of the North American energy picture. The Department of Energy should continue to support funding to educate state and local policymakers on best practices in energy policy.
• In order for states to achieve climate targets, multi-state planning must include Canadian provinces, because of our energy interdependencies. To achieve climate change goals and greater decarbonization, more funding is needed to address cross-border research, share best practices, and plan for the long-term infrastructure that will be needed to achieve those targets. This planning must include both public and private collaboration, for example on the future of green hydrogen.

 
 
Cross-Border Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Transportation

• PNWER urges the Biden Administration to fully fund a comprehensive transportation package with initiatives for innovative transportation modes, including expanded electrification options for vehicles and aircraft. This package should also include funding for the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Demonstration Program, which was first created by Section 1441 of the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
• PNWER supports ongoing cooperation on cross-border infrastructure development, especially the creation of a High Speed Rail service from Vancouver, BC to Portland, OR.

 
Aquatic Invasive Species
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

• PNWER actively advocates for the importance of aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention, especially along the U.S.-Canadian border.
• We encourage increased collaboration with border enforcement to prevent the spread of invasive mussels across the border. This involves working with local, state, and provincial governments on a regional prevention and response strategy.
• Continue to support the U.S. ACE program supporting state efforts at the prevention of aquatic invasive species.

 
Disaster Resilience
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• PNWER supports cross-border disaster resilience coordination and efforts to encourage further development of cross-border relationships between critical service providers and emergency management leaders to develop and share best practices and plans.
• We encourage the development of opportunities to collaborate on preparedness and response coordination for a catastrophic Cascadia subduction zone earthquake event that will impact the entire cross-border region. 
• We support continued cybersecurity coordination and sharing of best practices across border states and provinces to include both the public and private sectors.
• Continue to support the Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant Program. These grant funds are focused on regional planning and encourage jurisdictions to look at large scale disasters in a multi-jurisdictional manner. 

 
Forestry
U.S. Department of Interior; U.S. Forest Service

• With increasingly long and intense wildfire seasons, the U.S. and Canada should work with States and Provinces and Tribal Organizations and First Nations to share best practices on wildfire suppression, reforestation and recovery after wildfires, and community adaptation and resiliency.
• The U.S. Forest Service should remain committed to Shared Stewardship and Good Neighbor Authority and engage in collaborative cross-boundary efforts.

 
Arctic Policy
U.S. Department of Interior; U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Department of Commerce

• The U.S. must work with Canada and Tribal Organizations to promote greater collaboration and coordination in all sectors within the Arctic. A strong, united North American Arctic is key to ensuring continued safety and security for both countries in the Far North.
• Continue to support the modernization of the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker program.

 
Mining
U.S. Department of Commerce

• Continue to collaborate with Canada on the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Supplies. Securing Critical Minerals in Canada and the U.S. is an issue that will continue to be important to the bi-national relationship.

​Look closely, and you’ll see that none of this rural luxe is bolted ad hoc onto the gentrified quarter of an otherwise sullen community of less-fortunate townies. The vineyards, craft breweries (wheat remains an important staple), and restaurants harness local skill sets that were already there, honed by over a century. The elegant Marcus Whitman hotel, boasting tech-enabled conference centers and plush meeting rooms, is a rehabilitated local landmark nearly a century old.

This booming local hospitality and service industry in both towns wouldn’t exist without standing demand. Between four to six hours from both Portland and Seattle, they are a driveable weekend destination, but what’s made Bend and Walla Walla Cinderella stories rather than a boom town flash in the pan is their ability to strategically innovate and attract talent. They have found a way to attract a unique brand of tech commuters: tech elites empowered by the ongoing remote-work revolution to trade 10th floor office window views of 1st Ave for home offices close to hiking and mountain biking destinations.

None of this was an accident.

Rather, it is a testament to smart regional economic development. The success of certain north-western small and medium cities like Walla Walla and Bend are creating a model for sustainable small towns that has fertile ground across the region and the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic lit a fire under the telework movement- 77% of human resources executives expect the trend toward remote work to continue, even one year after COVID-19 substantially subsides. (Source: Conference Board 2020 survey) The sprouts of economic recovery before the large-scale reopening of the country has even begun demonstrates, in part, that productive remote work has found its footing: companies able to maintain a remote workforce have found overwhelmingly that productivity has been maintained or increased, coupled with the obvious massive savings in costs of facilities, travel, and centralized infrastructure.

When you can work anywhere, sooner or later you’ll probably ask yourself, “do I have to live in a dense technology center just to do my job?”

Now that it’s been proven possible, demand for alternatives to dense urban lifestyles for skilled technology sector workers has hatched, and it’s only going to grow.

Communities just need to show up.

Not A Bedroom Community — A Fully-Integrated Local Economy
Walla Walla’s was powered by calculated moves made by the local government. Harnessing the skills and assets of the existing population and localities included pivoting- not replacing- to adjacent value creation. Their community college invested heavily in leveraging a long-standing, quality agricultural sciences program to quickly develop local viniculture talent, creating a standing workforce ready to put existing farmland and infrastructure to work. Surrounding commercial zones (extant or created) transitioned to upscale dining and retail collateral to the wine boom; demand for hospitality followed naturally. Bend has been marketing its quality of life for remote workers for years citing high profile profiles of commuting and remote working tech executives. According to the U.S. Census in 2015, 9.3% of Bend workers are remote workers. (Source: Bend Bulletin)

​The planned revitalization and growth into a lifestyle city holds balance at its core. This isn’t about building an amusement park and resort in the middle of a desert; existing, localized value, skills, and labor are the starting point. When Amazon built its Seattle headquarters, for example, a condition of their agreement with the city was that the campus would not include a cafeteria and similar support facilities- employees would need to engage the surrounding communities for places to eat, gather, do laundry, get healthcare, and so on. For a second or third-tier city to plan its evolution into a lifestyle city, this sort of social contract is even more important, because there won’t be facilities popping up downtown, built by the employers of your incoming tech elite. You’ll need to grow your own- and the potential upside to your local population is far, far greater than becoming a company or campus town.

Where Can Cities Start?
While every city heading down this evolutionary path brings unique value to the table, there are fundamentals every planning committee should begin with. A solid, complete coverage of high-quality broadband is an absolute necessity, and the very first thing any municipality should prepare if they want to benefit from remote working trends. For many rural communities who aren’t already in this position, it’s the most daunting- but there’s a wealth of resources for clearing this hurdle. The Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) Initiative (for communities of 50,000 or less), Telecommunications Infrastructure loans and loan guarantees, and Strategic Economic And Community Development funding are all offered by the US Department of Agriculture for rural communities taking steps to develop infrastructure- and there are numerous grants within, and beyond, these programs.

Consider enlisting the services of an agency that can help you gather and analyse data on value in your region- what do you have? what do you want to attract? How to partner with other innovators? and the expertise to benefit from other investments and compete globally.[2]

The post-COVID business landscape holds the seeds of a renaissance in the relationship between work and location, and unprecedented opportunity exists for communities able to offer unique, distinctive character beyond the urban landscape. The development of lifestyle cities allow small towns the opportunity to create sustainable growth, retain their character, and honor their history while building a future.

Takeaways
— The acceleration of transition to full-time remote work has created an unprecedented opportunity for small cities in the Northwest to create vital, sustainable local economies catering to technology workers now able to sustain well-paying work outside of dense urban tech centers.

— This opportunity allows localities to enjoy the tax revenue of high-income — residents without the accompanying disruption to economic balance, or tax breaks to companies associated with the more traditional introduction of business facilities (factories, offices, etc.).

— The impetus is on the locality to provide the essential building blocks of a lifestyle city attractive to this influx: broadband internet and attractive activities unique to the community (restaurants, culture, local specialties) are a minimum.

— Communities will need to leverage their intrinsic value- natural beauty, local attractions, and existing infrastructure that can be upgraded or pivoted to create a balance of quality living accessible to both existing populations and incoming talent.
​
— Every move should be calculated to capture value, invite sustainable levels of growth, and invest in core capabilities; this begins with an intensive data analysis of local and regional factors.

​As the roots of America were being established, Lisbon was one of the richest cities in the world. In 1755, an earthquake that caused a fire brought the Portuguese economy to a grinding halt. In that local crisis, Amsterdam and London displaced Lisbon’s trading empire. A crisis that closed down one city displaced a global empire. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world economy to its core — bringing cities and national economies to a grinding halt. But like any large machine, the U.S. and global economies will need an orderly restart to get humming again. We will recover from this, but economic patterns have changed. Localities that identify these changes and innovate to address emergent challenges will be the ones that prosper. As we reopen the economy, what lessons will we learn, and how will we retool to make the Pacific Northwest economic region even more vibrant than it was?

Framework
While we are still in the midst of this crisis, we propose that when envisioning the creation of a “New Normal,” we consider four distinct but overlapping phases of the response: (1) health security, (2) economic restoration, (3) economic retooling, and finally (4) the new normal.

Phase One: Health Security
First, we need to stop the spread of COVID-19 while keeping the health care system functioning. It appears that social distancing, while resulting in a halting of the economy, is working to do this. However, as a nation, we cannot go on too much longer. We need to develop a plan that reopens the economy in a safe way and in a way that minimized downstream health and economic problems.

Phase Two: Economic Restoration
Once economies open for business, we will not be able to go back to work as normal. Assuming that economies open up again in early July, businesses need to start planning now for the contingency of a second wave causing us to need to take similar measures in December. In that time, companies need to create and train for a new normal, repair equipment and get factories humming again, and plan for a second wave. While travel will start up again, there will likely continue to be travel restrictions, more shift work, and more regular health checks and compliance guidelines. Further, international supply chains will continue to be a challenge.

Key to economic restoration is that we must make sure that producers and industry to keep functioning. This will make the task of supporting adjacent businesses (e.g. suppliers, shops, restaurants, and small businesses that cater to anchor industry workers) to get back on their feet and thrive easier. Further, we need to think about how to get the region exporting again.

Phase Three: Economic Retooling
The crisis has uncovered gaps, vulnerabilities, and strengths. It is also likely to change consumer and industry behavior. With all these changes, we need to:

• Learn lessons from this pandemic that provide greater business and economic resilience to the Northwest economy;
• Identify gaps and vulnerabilities that require coordinated investments to address;
• Attract external investment (federal, international, private) to support rebuilding the regional economy; and
• Judiciously manage government spending to maximize value and return on investment.

Phase Four: Creating the New Normal
The first three phases are traditional recovery. But then traditional recovery activities end, we will be living in a new reality. We need to harness innovation to challenge industry to address the gaps globally, and export capabilities that:

• Leverage policy and technology to build fault-tolerant industries;
• Address existing inequities in the economy that are vulnerabilities during a crisis;
• Build redundancy into essential industries; and
• Position the Pacific Northwest to be a global economic leader in the emerging next economy.

 
Lessons Learned 
As this crisis continues, our lessons are mounting. The pressure on the health system and the shelter-in-place orders uncovered conditions in society that leave us all vulnerable. There were also some notable successes — where technologies and innovations, though developed for other reasons, made the economy a bit more resilient. And COVID-19 made us think of other issues and risks that, while perhaps not causing problems in this crisis, could fail in a different crisis.

What Went Wrong — Vulnerabilities and Gaps
Health capacity is limited — For years, there has been an effort on efficiency in health care which has limited the number of unused hospital rooms and constrained deployment of technology. As such, the U.S. health care system operates far too close to its capacity on a typical day that it is ill-equipped to surge for a crisis.

Technology access — With shelter-in-place orders, knowledge workers and schools were forced to telework. Internet access has proven vital to the functioning of the economy and should be viewed as a utility. The technology sector was able to migrate to remote work quickly. More risk-averse industries suffered and companies whose employees had limited internet access suffered.

Education — We failed our children by not having a mechanism to ensure their education continued through shelter-in-place orders. While many private schools transitioned to on-line learning, public schools did not fare as well — not due to a lack of trying, but due to equity issues such as availability of computers and the difficulty of essential workers to supplement learning.

Unexpected Successes
Industry 4.0 — There has been a trend toward increasing automation in manufacturing. While this has resulted in job losses for years in the manufacturing sector, in an age of social distancing, this has proven to be vital for production.

E-commerce and delivery services — E-commerce platforms like Amazon and delivery services like Uber Eats were developed for consumer convenience. During this crisis, they served as essential services. It has been amazing to see dine-in restaurants transform into delivery and take-out institutions overnight. Grocery delivery services have made it possible for people in vulnerable demographics to get basics without needing to leave their house.

​Web Conferencing — One of the stars of the quarantine was web conferencing services like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Services that were built, to a large extent, to support global outsourcing and remote team collaboration have been redeployed to functions as broad as enabling children to attend school, telemedicine, and even on-line benefit concerts. And novel applications of virtual reality for virtual conferences and remote white-boarding sessions show promise that we can progress even further.

Adjacent Risks
Food security — We are starting to see an impact on slaughterhouses and farm harvests, but the general availability of food was not overly impacted. As the crisis drags on, this might not remain the case.

Infrastructure — Airports, rail corridors, and civic infrastructure have benefited from a scarcity of use since mid-March. Had this happened in more adverse weather conditions, it would have been difficult to repair infrastructure while also keeping workers safe.

Distribution/Logistics — We are seeing farmers throwing away tons of crops in a time when grocery store baking aisles are empty. We have not seen a lack of food, rather that it is not packaged for the new patterns of consumption. Likewise, our logistics systems have stood up well, but we have been acutely aware of their criticality.

Capabilities to Leverage
The Pacific Northwest region fared well following the Cold War and in the post-9/11 world. It was during this time that Microsoft took off, Amazon was born, Vancouver boomed, etc. The region became global leaders in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, immersive technology, cyber-security, enterprise technology, biotech, unmanned systems, agriculture technology, global health, and additive manufacturing. These capabilities form the core of what is needed for the emerging economy. Cloud computing and immersive technology are coming together to allow greater remote work and telemedicine. Robotic process automation and enterprise technology applied to agriculture and logistics are critical to building redundancy and resilience in the global economy.

Innovation is critical to business resilience. Companies that have embraced technological innovation have fared the best during the crisis. This is particularly notable by the resilience in the stock price of technology companies like Amazon and Microsoft. They continue to operate with little to no impact on productivity.

Remote work: A remote workforce is needed for business resilience. Companies that have a culture of flexible work agreement have fared well during this crisis.

AgTech: We need to identify ways to connect the knowledge economies along the coast with agriculture and logistics needs inland and throughout the region. Autonomy technology is vital in agriculture and logistics for food security.

Recommendations
To build the next global economy in the PNW, we need to bring industry and government across the region to work in tandem. In much the way that the moonshot challenged industry to build the core technology that led to the internet cell phones, and a global satellite network that allowed many of us to work from home the past two months, the challenge of pandemic resilience should be viewed as an opportunity to challenge this generation to invent, build, and commercialize technology that will be the basis of tomorrow. Elements of this are already happening. We recommend the several initiatives to ensure that the Pacific Northwest emerges from this crisis stronger than we entered it.

Cross-Sector Industry/Government Collaboration: Public-Private Partnerships that develop common repositories for policies, procedures, and training related to health security, but that also identify gaps vulnerabilities and emergent threats.

Governments should focus on the identification of risks to health, security, and economy and they should challenge industry to address these risks. Some examples of these challenge-based investments in emerging industries could include:

• Labor-safe automation: With AI booming and the need being even higher in an age of social distancing, we need to challenge industry to develop business models that share the benefits of automation across the economy and workforce. Can we make AI a tool to enable worker creativity rather than replace labor?

• Intelligent Edge for Privacy: Google and Apple are working on solutions for contract tracing. i.e. to alert citizens when they may have encountered infected communities and when one should get tested. They are doing this based on anonymized location tracking. Can we challenge industry to work on issues like this that leverage AI and big data to solve problems while also not infringing on citizens’ freedom and privacy?

• Redundancy in supply chains: With the trend towards globalization since the 90s, we have become dependent on capabilities that, in an emergency, might not be available. We need to leverage and invest in local capabilities, infrastructure to support remote work, and a combination of global and local sourcing.

• AI for Resilience: AI has grown dramatically in the last decade. We need to look into ways to harness this technology to grow industrial autonomy to secure agriculture, logistics, food security, and manufacturing.

Together we will build a stronger region, but we need to do this smartly!

In November, we will have an election.
Covid-19 will be an issue.
We may be in a harsh "second wave" as happened with the 1918 Influenza.
We may see Covid-19 decline and the glimmer of a vaccine.
Regardless, the economy will be different.
Change will accelerate.
 
Each candidate will have to deal with our experience, real costs (lives and treasure), problematic preparation and execution, and the risks of the "next one".
 
A candidate may choose to ignore the painful experience.
To a certain extent, we did that after 1918I[i].
Or they may release thick position papers and promise to do better with what we have.
Or a candidate may understand his base and look to Applied History for real measures that will resonate with voters and do the necessary hard things.
 
 
Covid-19 is the most serious attack on the United States in our collective lifetimes.
To date, the virus has killed 100,000+ of our citizens and cost over $4,000,000,000,000 (4 trillion dollars). More death and economic damage will certainly follow.
 
The US Covid-19 response was fragmented, leading to a shutdown which led to an economic crisis and the worst unemployment since the 1929 depression. Social unrest is already evident. Political and national security upheavals may follow.
We now know the very real Pandemic risks and consequences.
 
We were warned[ii]. In 2015[iii]Bill Gates laid out four things we need to meet the threat of pandemics: surveillance & data, personnel, treatments, and equipment. He said the failure to prepare would lead to increased death and cost. He was right.
 
Gates urged the development of a medical reserve corps, joint medical and military efforts, germ-focused war games, and stepped-up medical research. Covid-19 is what he called the “next one” after the well-studied 1918 Influenza pandemic. The one after Covid-19 could be even worse. Globalization and mass air travel have turned weeks or months of warning into days
 
Applied historical analysis[iv] tells us that we will need a unified response, an integrated system of planning, preparation, and execution.
 
In 1946, memories of the Nazi blitz, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, and the frightening power of massive aerial attacks were the basis for the creation of the Strategic Air Command (SAC)[v]. SAC’s mission was to deter and counter threats with effective reconnaissance, intelligence, planning, resources, and operations. SAC had money, people, material resources, R&D, plans, coordination, and war game verification. SAC also had a SIOP, a Single, Integrated Operations Plan[vi]. We need something similar now – a Strategic Pandemic Command (SPC) with a single, integrated operations plan for Pandemics (PSIOP). Its mission would be to defend the country against biological threats and to plan for post-threat recovery.
 
SPC would monitor all points of entry for biological threats. SPC would protect key interior assets like the health care system, economic nodes, senior citizen life care facilities, and supply chains.
It would muster necessary resources including dedicated operational bases, communications equipment, and strategic stockpiles for its partners in city, county, state, and regional jurisdictions. It would refresh and update strategic stockpiles as they age. It would use and support US vendors with periodic purchasing through the domestic supply chain, monitor how that chain integrates globally. and test the chain’s capacity to meet surges.
 
The SPC would use global reconnaissance to detect threats. International cooperation would be important. A “trust but verify” process would include the support of nations and international entities with converging interests.
 
The SPC would coordinate research and development for threat detection, defense, mitigation, treatment, and other needs. It would also conduct its own research and supply grants to other organizations, including foreign allies.
The SPC would coordinate with both public and private entities across the health and education sectors. It would provide those entities with federal resources and templates for action.
 
Finally, the SPC would use war games to test operational responsiveness under normal, partial, and full-scale deployments of its resources.  It could also use standard events, like the annual flu season, to test its responsiveness. Lessons learned from these simulations would strengthen SPC’s preparedness and pave the way for effective post-threat recovery.
 
The Strategic Air Command’s SIOP was both detailed and flexible. Roles and responsibilities were clear. It evolved and changed over time as threats and capabilities mutated. The Strategic Pandemic Command and its PSIOP should have all that and more.
 
The next pandemic, natural or man made, could be far, far worse. No plan is perfect, but a plan and an effective planning process and execution beat hope and luck.
We can and must do better.
 
A Strategic Pandemic Command with an integrated plan modeled on SAC which protected us for a half century is a path to a better way.
 
 
Mr. Jan Greylorn
BA Biomedical History, UW
BA History, Military History UW
20+ years Corporate Planning and Operations Research
(Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom, T Mobile, Washington State, Cities, Counties, Military Associations ….)


Click here for source and resource material
 
Applied History
Applied Historians begin with a current choice or predicament and analyze the historical record to provide perspective, stimulate imagination, find clues about what is likely to happen, suggest possible interventions, and assess probable consequences.
https://www.belfercenter.org/project/applied-history-project#!about

In the author’s humble opinion, Applied History

• is practical and not dogmatic. If it “works”; it’s not stupid. Reality is messy and complicated. Something usually beats nothing.
• wants to be relevant, understandable, useful, applied, tested, and adjusted when it meets reality.
• often deals with the moment, when things are not clear, and data is incomplete and just chaotic.
• is useful pre-event, during the event, and post-event (recovery).
• combines multiple disciplines (general history and economic, science, technology, and social history).
• draws on multiple sources (books, magazines, newspapers, archives, video, the Internet, etc.).
• uses the lenses of history, judgement, and experience to illuminate probable, possible, and desirable futures.

When the University of Washington launched the Population Health Initiative nearly four years ago, it was necessary to explain the importance of studying the intersecting and overlapping factors that influence health and well-being both here and around the world. The Initiative’s cross-disciplinary approach to problem-solving was unusual in a university setting, encouraging researchers to collaborate on projects across traditional departmental boundaries. Today, the relevance of this work could not be more obvious.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on how profoundly important scientific expertise and data are for helping policymakers, business leaders and citizens understand both the scale of the pandemic and the response necessary to address it. From developing treatments and caring for patients to researching the virus and combating misinformation, UW faculty, staff and students are playing an integral role in the global response to COVID-19.

Outstanding work is happening across our university to attack the problem from every angle. Our medical system staff are on the front lines providing extraordinary care to our community. UW researchers have sequenced COVID-19’s genome, identified the architecture and mechanisms of COVID-19, created a new laboratory test to expedite diagnostics, are testing potential treatments, built models to forecast the outbreak’s severity, and are crowd-sourcing a cure. Others are working to slow the viral spread of misinformation about COVID-19, 3D print face shields for hospital staff, locate and donate personal protective equipment, help monitor and understand the emotional impacts of self-isolation and provide resources to families whose kids are suddenly home 24/7. Public health experts are consulting with local governments and businesses about how to safely reopen when the time comes. Faculty and students are showing boundless creativity and compassion as they transition to online learning. Virology researchers are developing and processing antibody tests, computer science experts are developing a contact-tracing app. And the list goes on.

The University of Washington and UW Medicine are proud to serve our community and State as we take on COVID-19. This work would not be possible without support from the state of Washington, the federal government and the private contributions of so many generous individuals.

It is important to note that by its very definition, population health reminds us that the efforts of UW Medicine and the University of Washington are not in isolation – our work is interconnected with the herculean efforts of leaders in every sector of our economy and community. Daily, we are seeing the bravery of frontline essential workers, the tireless advocacy of community leaders and the sacrifice of those who are keeping their businesses closed and staying home. Thank you for all that you are doing personally and professionally to continue to reduce the spread and burden of COVID-19.

In our region, the curve may be flattening, but we are still a long way from the finish line. From improving testing availability and contact tracing capacity, continued therapeutic and vaccine research, and understanding the safest and most equitable ways to reopen the economy, there is still much more work to be done to beat this disease. The University of Washington will continue to serve the community and State as we weather COVID-19 and beyond. By standing together – while physically apart – our communities will defeat this virus and recover from its devastating effects.

Researched and written by Miranda Harris Hamlin, PNWER Policy Intern. Miranda is currently a senior at Seattle University studying Economics.

PNWER kicked off the decade with visits to several of our jurisdictions' capitals last month. PNWER traveled to Olympia, WA, first before heading to Juneau, AK, and Boise, ID. PNWER will visit the capitals of our other jurisdictions, Ottawa, and Washington, D.C. in the coming months. ​These annual capital visits allow PNWER delegates and stakeholders to meet with key government, legislative, and private sector leaders to discuss issues important to our region. 

​The PNWER Delegation traveled to Olympia for meetings on January 21. The delegation included Montana State Senator Mike Cuffe, PNWER President; Oregon State Senator Arnie Roblan, Past PNWER President (2017-18); Melanie Roberts, Pacific Northwest National Labratory; Dan Kirschner, Northwest Gas Association; Bruce Agnew, Cascadia Center and ACES NW Network; Nirav Desai, Moonbeam; Bryce Campbell, Consulate General of Canada - Seattle; Matt Morrison, PNWER CEO; and Brandon Hardenbrook, PNWER COO as well as additional PNWER staff.

During the visit to Olympia, the PNWER delegation presented to the House Innovation, Technology, and Economic Development Committee on regional innovation and its contributions to Washington State. Matt Morrison provided an overview of PNWER's 2019 Economic Leadership Forum held in Seattle in November which focused extensively on regional innovation across sectors. Bruce Agnew highlighted the Forum's discussion on Automated, Connected, Shared, and Electric (ACES) mobility and the emergence of 5G technology. Brandon Hardenbrook then explained PNWER's Center for Regional Disaster's (CRDR) recently completed project on Using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS or drones) for Inspecting Critical Infrastructure and recommended that Washington establish a state-wide UAS Coordinator. Lastly, Nirav Desai, PNWER's Innovation Co-Chair, shared the results of a joint project between PNWER and the University of Washington which mapped out innovation hubs across the PNWER region. A recording of PNWER's presentation to the committee can be found here.

PNWER delegates also presented to both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on the importance of continued financial support for preventing invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the Columbia River Basin and regional development in precision agriculture as well as highlighting examples of best practices in forest management including how Oregon is fighting wildfires. During these hearings, Senator Cuffe described the negative economic impact of invasive quagga and zebra mussels in the Columbia River Basina as well as explained the value of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) which will be showcased at PNWER's Annual Summit in Big Sky, Montana, in July. Brandon Hardenbrook then presented on the autonomous and precision agriculture technologies that were demonstrated during the PNWER Annual Summit in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 2019 and described the potential that these technologies offer to the region. Senator Roblan closed with a presentation on Oregon's efforts to contain and prevent wildfires, highlighting Oregon's use of fire insurance to help cover the costs to the state. A recording of the House presentation can be found here, and the Senate presentation can be found here. 

Lastly, the PNWER delegation presented to the House Environment and Energy Committee. Matt Morrison began by providing highlights from the Smart Grids and 5G Technology sessions at PNWER's 2019 Economic Leadership Forum and explained the Legislative Energy Horizons Institute (LEHI) program. Senator Roblan discussed the Oregon State Legislature's new approach to carbon pricing, which is currently on the docket. Melanie Roberts from PNNL and Dan Kirschner from NWGA also provided comments. A recording of the presentation to the House committee can be found here. 

Delegation members met for one-on-one meetings with Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib; the Office of Senator Steve Hobbs, Transportation Committee Chair; Lauren McCloy, Governor Jay Inslee’s Senior Energy Policy Advisor; Minority Leader Representative J.T. Wilcox; Representative Zach Hudgins, Chair of the Innovation, Technology & Economic Development Committee; Senator Lisa Wellman, Environment, Energy & Technology Committee; Representative Mary Dye; Representative Cindy Ryu; Senator Jim Honeyford; and Representative Sharon Wylie, Transportation 1st Vice Chair. Meetings covered a wide range of topics from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), invasive quagga zebra mussels, infrastructure financing, retraining displaced workforces, and the importance of technology in regional innovation.

The PNWER delegation visited Juneau, Alaska, on January 22-24. During the visit, Senator Cuffe met with several Alaska legislators and PNWER delegates on regional economic issues. PNWER was also hosted by Senator Mia Costello at a Lunch and Learn on January 23 in the Capitol. At the Lunch and Learn, attendees heard from Consul General Brandon Lee, Senator Mike Cuffe, and Matt Morrison about the current U.S.-Canada relationship and the projects that are underway that benefit Alaskans and the region.

The delegation met with Lieutenant Governor Kevin Meyer to discuss several topics related to transportation, economic development, and the Arctic. Lt. Gov. Meyer is the Office of the Governor's lead to PNWER and is a great proponent of the economic growth of Alaska and the region. 

​Rounding out the visit, PNWER and members of the Consul General staff in Seattle met with the Alaska Marine Exchange in Juneau to learn more about the maritime domain management occurring out of the operations center in Juneau. The meeting showcased the systems the Exchange has in place and the work they are doing to improve the safe transit of vessels through Alaskan waters.

In addition to the above meetings, the PNWER delegation visited the following offices of Senate Majority Leader Lyman Hoffman, Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich, Senator John Coghill, Senator Mia Costello, Senator Jesse Kiehl, Senator Bert Stedman, Senator Gary Stevens, House Minority Leader Lance Pruitt, Representative  Chuck Kopp, Representative Chris Tuck, and Representative Adam Wool.

The PNWER delegation traveled to Boise, Idaho, for meetings on January 27-29. Topics included specific issues impacting Idaho including Aquatic Invasive Species Funding, Precision Agriculture, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Transportation and Infrastructure, Columbia River Treaty, U.S.-Canada Trade, Legislative Energy Horizon Institute, and Cybersecurity. 

PNWER delegates and staff participated in a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee chaired by Senator Jim Gutherie. Brandon Hardenbrook and Patrick Kole, Idaho Potato Commission and PNWER Agriculture Co-Chair, gave an overview of recent working group activities focused on Agriculture technology and precision farming. This overview included a description of the demonstration of autonomous farm equipment during the PNWER Annual Summit in Saskatoon this past July. Matt Morrison gave an update on recent changes to federal funding for inspection stations to stop the spread of aquatic invasive mussels. Through PNWER's efforts, $18 million in federal matching funds is now available to 16 states. Finally, former Montana SenatorJohn Brenden invited committee members to Big Sky, MT, for the upcoming PNWER Annual Summit in July. 

The delegation also participated in a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee chaired by Senator Bert Brackett. Brandon Hardenbrook and Bruce Agnew, Cascadia Center and PNWER Transportation Co-Chair, gave an update on PNWER's recent activities relating to Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and stressed the need for a UAS coordinator in each state. Idaho is poised to become the first state in the region with an official UAS coordinator. Bruce Agnew also discussed truck size-weight issues, autonomous vehicles, and PNWER's efforts to improve large infrastructure projects in the region. 

The PNWER delegation was introduced on the House Floor by Representative Rick Youngblood, previous PNWER Economic Development Co-Chair. Following the introduction, PNWER hosted a legislative luncheon for members of the House and Senate to provide updates on current activities. Senator Chuck Winder, PNWER Vice President, introduced the delegation and provided remarks about the upcoming Legislative Energy Horizon Institute (LEHI) and the planning for the PNWER Annual Summit.

While in Boise, PNWER also met with Governor Brad Little to discuss several issues including invasive species funding, infrastructure permitting, and cybersecurity. They also addressed USMCA which was recently ratified by the U.S. Canada's Consul General Brandon Lee provided an update on the where the trade agreement stands in Canada's Parliament, which is expected to vote to approve the agreement very soon.

Other one-on-one meetings included discussions with Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, Speaker Scott Bedke, Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill, Senate Minority Leader Michelle Stennett,  Representative John Vander Woude-Chair of the House Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee, and Scott Pugrud-Director of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation and the lead of Governor Little's Salmon Working Group.

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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Confused about the difference between NAFTA and USMCA? Check out this graphic from PNWER partner the Pass USMCA Coalition.