Local Competitiveness In a Global Perspective: the Global Rise of Innovation Districts and the Changing Face of Innovation Mary L. Walshok, Ph.D. University of California San Diego October 2015 Presented at a ESBRI and IVA seminar Oct 20,

The New Reality Responding to forces beyond local control Leap frogging technology Diversifying markets Competitors Downsizing due to competitors, acquisitions by global firms, offshoring production or services due to local requirements, cheaper or better Local economic performance requires addressing how to reinvigorate, repurpose and in some cases reinvent local assets and fill local gaps. To do this requires new forms of organization and new conversations with new kinds of people/resources at the table informed by reliable data and performance metrics 2

One Size Does Not Fit All Context Matters: Common Forces Shape New Economic Realities for All While Distinctive Elements of Place Shape Local Responses Geography and the Natural Environment Industrial Legacies Social Dynamics and Cultural Values Demographics and Human Capital What Roles are played by the Public and Private Sectors 3

Common Issues Must be Addressed Across Regions What are the Key Challenges/Opportunities We Face? What business and industrial capabilities are dominant What Talent and Innovation Resources are Available Leadership and Capital Resources needed Character of both Knowledge and Know-How Assets/Deficits 4

What are the Enablers and Barriers to Change? Behaviors, Values and Social Norms Talent Pools and Education/Training Resources Leadership Dynamics and Social Boundaries Regulatory and Legal Frameworks Jurisdictional and Financing Parameters 5

What Will Success Look Like in our Community? Ideas About what we want to achieve for individuals, enterprises, community life, economic performance and quality of life What metrics are we using to monitor progress and measure success 6

Practices Essential to All Places Recurrent Themes Across All Places Spatial, resource, organization and policy issues frame and can enable or inhibit change Ecosystems, clusters, “Commons” leveraging spatial agglomeration activities are the mechanisms enabling the knowledge flows, trust building and risk sharing essential to change The critical role of institutions such as universities and philanthropy in enabling the creation of new economic value and building competitive talent pools The importance of new social arrangements/organizations i.e., intermediary organizations such as CONNECT, innovation brokers, research parks and incubators The critical role of well aligned national, state and local policy can play in accelerating change 7

The Oxford Handbook of Local Competitiveness 8