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    • Congregate
  • Events
    • 2025 Annual Summit
    • Past Events >
      • 2024 Economic Leadership Forum
      • 2024 Annual Summit
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Innovation

PNWER at Work > Working Groups > Innovation

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About

The competitive landscape of the global economy, coupled with worldwide environmental challenges, is creating unprecedented demand for scientific discovery and application. The Pacific Northwest region must channel the strengths of its many separate resources into a collaborative, comprehensive effort that maximizes the economic benefits of regional innovation. 

The PNWER Innovation Working Group enthusiastically embraces the following initiatives:
  • Host the PNWER Innovation Asset Inventory Survey to harness a comprehensive understanding of our regional innovation capabilities and resources.
  • Investigating and showcasing innovative models of intellectual property management that can enhance creativity and collaboration within the working group.
  • Encouraging policy principles that jurisdictions can implement to foster a more collaborative and economically robust environment for innovation.
  • Presenting the latest, most cutting-edge technologies to regional stakeholders, highlighting our commitment to technological advancement and economic growth.
 

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Working Group Activities

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RISEWA PROGRAM
Rural Investment for Small-business Empowerment Accelerator

The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) received a Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF) Grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce to launch the RISE-WA (Rural Investment for Small-business Empowerment) Accelerator. The aim of RISE-WA was to connect rural Small, Women, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color-owned businesses (S/W/BIPOC) in Washington State with solution providers and subject matter experts. This initiative intended to harness the innovation and technology of the urban tech sector to bolster these businesses' success and enhance their resilience against future challenges.
Learn More About Congregate Here
PNWER Congregate: A Solutions Accelerator

Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) is excited to share that we are one of 44 organizations awarded the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Scaling Pandemic Resilience through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge Grant announced April 6th by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
 
The SPRINT Grant award will support the creation of “Congregate: A Solutions Accelerator'' focused on scaling solutions that help safely re-open tourism, performing arts, travel, and hospitality (TPATH). With PNWER’s history of working with state and local governments, industry leaders, and innovators on solutions that drive the economy forward, Congregate will:
  • Be a catalyst for innovation in biotechnology, health security, and supply-chain solutions,
  • Increase regional, national, and government connectivity across innovation clusters to support entrepreneurship,
  • Scale models to address the new congregation environments post-pandemic.​
 

 

Past Webinars

Remote Workers and the Rise of the Main Street: Innovating Our Way out of a Crisis Webinar Series
Wednesday, August 5 | 1:00 - 2:00 pm PDT​

Watch the Webinar Here

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected urban cores of cities due to population density, shared resources, and the difficulty of minimizing person-to-person spread. Additionally, it has introduced millions of workers to tools for remote productivity. If managed and planned for effectively, this could spark a golden age for small and medium sized cities. This panel will feature three smaller towns in the PNW and highlight how they are positioning to grow in the emerging new economy by levering their incumbent capabilities, strategic planning, and welcoming remote workers. We will discuss such topics as broadband requirements, inclusive growth, and virtual agglomeration.
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Innovating our Way Out of A Crisis: The Four Phases of Response Webinar
Monday, June 22 | 1 pm - 2 pm PDT

Watch the Webinar Here

COVID-19 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 once was?
  • Margaret O'Mara, Howard & Frances Keller Endowed Professor, Department of History, University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America
  • Senator Mia Costello, Alaska State Senator, PNWER Innovation Co-Chair
  • Nirav Desai, CEO, Moonbeam Exchange, PNWER Innovation Co-Chair

Read PNWER Innovation Co-Chairs' Op-ed on Innovating Our Way Out of a Crisis: The Four Phases of Response

Watch the Recording Here

Leadership

 
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Nirav Desai
Senior Partner & CEO
Moonbeam
Co-chair
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Brittny Anderson
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 
Co-chair

PNWER Staff

 
Steve Myers
Senior Program Manager, PNWER​
[email protected]
p: 206-443-7723
f: 206-443-7703
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Phone: (206) 443-7723 
Email: [email protected]
Pacific Northwest Economic Region
520 Pike Street, Suite 1310
Seattle, WA 98101