Project Support: Innovation Technology in San Diego

Twenty five years ago, CONNECT at UC San Diego was launched with a vision to stimulate the commercialization of science and technology discoveries from local San Diego research institutions through education, mentoring and access to capital. CONNECT has assisted in the formation and development of more than 2,000 companies and is widely regarded as the world’s most successful regional program linking investors and entrepreneurs with the resources they need for commercialization. The program has been modeled in almost 40 regions around the world. The key to success has been the unique “culture of collaboration” between industry, capital sources, professional service providers, and research organizations. Today, San Diego is home to almost 6,000 technology companies employing almost 140,000 people.

Recently formed, the CONNECT Innovation Institute is a think tank established to focus exclusively on innovation economy issues and publish timely thought papers on innovation policy and competiveness in the global economy for San Diego leaders to use in addressing federal policy issues.

Peter Cowhey, Dean of UC San Diego Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, has agreed to Chair the oversight board with Irwin Jacobs, Mary Walshok, Ted Waitt, Drew Senyei, Greg Lucier, Ted Roth and David Hale having agreed to serve on the board of directors.

First Project: Innovation and Production - Reviving U.S. Prosperity

To explore the strategic investments and policy initiatives that are needed to stimulate the growth of manufacturing clusters in regions across the United States. Activity currently planned includes:

A jointly convened meeting in March at UC San Diego with a mix of industry leaders, practitioners, academics and yourself focused on the promise of building clusters of manufacturing, which would result in a white paper.

A deeper analysis of the policy financing and competitiveness issues shaping the promise of building manufacturing clusters, jointly organized by the Brookings Institution and CONNECT in Washington DC this fall, out of which an agenda for action would emerge.

The development, under the leadership of CONNECT’s Washington DC advocacy office, an advocacy agenda that could incentivize company manufacturing ‘on shore’ simultaneous with stimulating the development of clusters of manufacturing in promising regions across the United States.

Project Team Leaders

Peter Cowhey, Ph.D., is Dean and Qualcomm Professor of Communications and Technology Policy, UC San Diego, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. In 2009 he was on leave from the university to join the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as Senior Counselor for policy planning. His responsibilities included working with Ambassador Kirk on the strategic agenda for trade policy while supervising the work of USTR offices for the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, Market Access and Competitiveness, Intellectual Property, and Services and Investment. Peter Cowhey is currently spearheading the Aspen Institute’s International Digital Economy Accords project to develop policies that will update the international regime for communications and information markets, and serves as chairman of the board of the CONNECT Innovation Institute. Cowhey also serves on the boards of the Grameen Foundation, the Institute of the Americas, the California Council on Science and Technology, and the Bishop’s School. Cowhey holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Duane J. Roth is Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of CONNECT. CONNECT is the globally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining the growth of innovative technology and life science businesses in San Diego. CONNECT has been directly involved with over 2,000 companies since its inception in 1985 and these companies have secured over $10 billion in funding. Prior to joining CONNECT Mr. Roth founded Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp., where he serves as Chairman of the Board. Prior to Alliance, he held senior management positions at Johnson & Johnson and Wyeth operating companies. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors and executive committees of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and BIOCOM (past Chair). Mr. Roth was appointed to the oversight board of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 and was elected Vice Chairman in 2009.

Mary Lindenstein Walshok, Ph.D., is an author, educator, researcher, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Programs and Dean of Extension at the University of California San Diego. She is a thought leader and subject matter expert on aligning workforce development with regional economic growth. Dr. Walshok is the author of more than 100 articles and reports on regional innovation, the role of research institutions in regional economies and workforce development. And, she has authored and co-authored numerous book chapters and articles on the world of work. As an industrial social scientist studying the dynamics of regional economic development and transformation, Dr. Walshok has studied various communities across America. She has evaluated 13 WIRED regions funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, studied three innovative regions for a National Science Foundation-funded project, measured research outcomes for a National Institutes of Health-funded comparative study of three regions, and assessed one region’s efforts to grow an industry for a Lilly Foundation-funded endeavor.

Other Waitt/CONNECT Joint Ventures

Since 2006, the Waitt Foundation has partnered with CONNECT on a number of collaborative programs and ventures, including:

A proposal to create the “California Institute for Climate Change,” a partnership between academia and the public and private sectors, to find practical technological and policy solutions for the problems posed by climate change…

Educational activities with CleanTECH San Diego, a non-profit membership organization formed to accelerate San Diego as a world leader in the clean technology sector via outreach, policy advocacy and leadership opportunities…

A Webcast of ‘Stem Cells on the Mesa,’a one-day, yearly symposium hosted by the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (SDCRM) for San Diego pioneers to discuss and explore the imminent scientific, ethical and business challenges facing stem cell research today. Established in March 2006, SDCRM is comprised of UC San Diego, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and The Scripps Research Institute.

Resources/Media

CONNECT Website
CONNECT Innovation Institute Website