Why is it important?
At it's heart, innovation is the ability to generate value by doing old things in new ways, or by doing entirely new things. Innovation is the new "currency of competition" for industry and government. Innovation inspires workers and customers, makes business more competitive and creates new and better jobs.
The Oregon Business Plan Vision for Economic Innovation
We need to create new, high-quality jobs in Oregon communities, cultivating a stronger research base capable of enabling innovation, increasing the availability of seed capital for Oregon entrepreneurs, increasing high-value exports, and making innovation the job of every Oregonian. Oregon must cultivate its reputation as a global leader in emerging industries including nanoscience, renewable energy, and bio-based products and sustainable technologies. Further, we must invest in future opportunities that will enable us to emerge from the economic downturn more diversified and in a stronger position to remain a national leader in the innovation economy.
Where We Stand Today
Through the efforts of the Oregon Innovation Council, Oregon has improved its climate for economic innovation. Since 2003, Oregon has launched three signature research centers focused on nanotechnology, clean technology and bioscience. We have sewn the seeds for an emerging wave energy industry in Oregon and we have advanced initiatives to make our seafood and food processing industries more globally competitive. Oregon has launched a University Venture Development Fund, expanded the scope of the Oregon Growth Account, and taken some steps to streamline technology transfer.
However, major inpediments to innovation exist in Oregon. Poor access to seed and venture capital, the lack of top managerial talent, and continued disinvestment in higher education put Oregon's innovation economy at risk.
The Oregon Business Plan Strategy
Building and maintaining a top-tier innovation economy will require Oregon to do several things, including:
- Successfully compete for private and federal investment.
- Generate new companies and jobs based on university R&D.
- Identify and make strategic investments in emerging opportunities where Oregon has a competitive advantage.
- Address Oregon's longstanding issues around lack of seed and venture capital, and help businesses who are struggling in an environment of tighter credit.
- Take a leadership role eliminating unecessary processes for technology transfer agreements.
- Create a supportive environment for Oregon's entreprenurial class, including a tax structure that does not hinder progress (see public finance and budgeting initiatives).
- Recognize the long-term ROI of investments in higher education, R&D and other job-creating priorities as Oregon enters a decade of budget deficits (see education initiatives).
Priority Actions
1. Support the Oregon Innovation Plan. The Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) has done a remarkable job of identifying investments to spark technology commercialization and innovation in both emerging and existing industries. The Oregon Business Plan continues to support Oregon’s three signature research centers, and targeted investments to accelerate inno-vation in food processing, electric vehicles, and wave energy. Learn more about the plan.
2. Support and accelerate other successful models for im-proving product and process innovation and technology commercialization. Several efforts have emerged in that are providing significant value and that don’t cost the state significant resources. Oregon’s public, private and nonprofit entities should work together to accelerate these efforts:
• Entrepreneur networks and angel funds to improve management talent and access to capital
• Business incubators and accelerators that are providing space and tools to assist new ideas and companies
• The Oregon Model for Technology Deployment, which connects providers of emerging technologies (new companies) with consumers of those technologies (large, established companies)
• Economic gardening services that assist growth companies with market research and other valuable data
• Better leverage of Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants.
3. Reduce capital gains taxes to spark investment in Oregon. See public finance and budgeting initiatives.
4. End the Oregon University System's status as a state agency, granting more flexibility for the system to deliver on its goals. See education/workforce initiatives.
5. Preserve funding for the Oregon Growth Account that has been successful at delivering re-turns to the Common School Fund by making promising investments in Oregon companies and Oregon Funds like the Oregon Angel Fund. See business finance/economic development initiatives.
6. Restructure the management of the Oregon Investment Fund, or create a new fund, to bet-ter deliver on the purpose of the program to simultaneously maximize returns for the state pension fund while investing in promising Oregon companies. Examples abound for how other states and provinces structure these funds to both maximize return to pension holders and spark job growth. Some possible changes include hiring local fund managers or requir-ing fund managers to spend a certain amount of time in Oregon or meeting with Oregon companies. See business finance/economic development initiatives.
Key Links and Documents
Innovation in Oregon: The website of the Oregon Innovation Council and Business Oregon.
Oregon's Signature Research Centers: Learn more about the activities of ONAMI, OTRADI, Oregon BEST.
Innovate, Collaborate Oregon: A collaboration of Oregon's research universities.
Oregon Business Plan Economic Innovation News
January 11, 2011
At a press conference on January 11, 2011, Governor Kitzhaber announced that he will support the Oregon Innovation Plan in his budget that will be presented to the legislature in February. Watch the press conference here or read about it in the Eugene Register Gaurd.
Help Shape This Initiative
Do you have ideas to improve Oregon's capacity for economic innovation? Please share them with us below. Be sure to select "economic innovation" in the drop down menu.