Agenda
 

SUNDAY: 1 June 2008

5:00-7:00 pmInformal Kickoff Reception with Poster Session/Showcase of Regions
 Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Garden Room

MONDAY: 2 June 2008

What are the components of a successful innovative region?

7:30-8:00 amBreakfast
 Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Garden Room
 
8:00-8:30 amOpening Session: Performing Effectively in a Global Economy - A Learning Community of Sophisticated Regions
 Dr. V. Lane Rawlins, President Emeritus, Washington State University; Conference Co-Chair
 Dr. Rawlins will welcome our guests and provide an overview of the conference: What are the components of a successful innovative region? What are the strategies for successfully creating and competing on the global stage? How do we foster and sustain an innovative region? He will also highlight the themes of education, entrepreneurship, and environment which will guide our conversations throughout this conference.
 
8:30-9:15 amOpening Keynote
 Ms. Amy Liu, Deputy Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution
 Ms. Liu will speak on the overarching prosperity challenges facing the U.S. today and the role that metropolitan areas play in advancing prosperity. What do we mean by "prosperity" and how can metro areas try to benchmark their progress in achieving it? And what is the role that federal/national policies can, and should play, to help metro areas adapt and prosper?
 
9:15-10:30 amResearch Presentation: The Innovative Region
 Dr. Margaret O’Mara, Assistant Professor of History, University of Washington
 In a global economy where the production of ideas is as important as the production of tangible goods, innovation has become a chief measure of regional economic dynamism. This presentation considers historical evidence and present-day experience of the consortium regions to argue that innovation can best be defined and measured by looking broadly across "the three E's" – education, entrepreneurship, and environment – to consider both the productivity-enhancing and research-intensive activities essential to economic growth as well as the critical qualitative factors that make regions good places to live and work.
 
10:30-11:00 amBreak
 
11:00 amBus leaves for University of Washington
 
12:00-1:45 pmLunch and Panel Discussion with University Presidents: The University’s Role in an Innovative Region
 Kane Hall, Walker-Ames Room
 Universities play critical roles in growing innovation capacity, educating citizens and training workers for an innovative economy. Leaders from respected universities in member regions will discuss contributions their institutions make, work to better connect the community and economy with the university, challenges facing institutions of research and higher education in the coming years, and strategies to meet those challenges.
 Moderator: Dr. Lee Huntsman, President Emeritus, University of Washington; Conference Co-Chair
 Dr. Mark Emmert, President, University of Washington
 Dr. Yong-Ho Song, President, Chungnam National University, Daejeon
 Prof. Dr. Peter Kammerer, Vice President, University of Applied Sciences, Munich
 Dr. Amy Rader Olsson, Regional Planner, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
 
1:45-2:15 pmBreak and walk to bus pickup location
 
2:15 pmBus leaves for Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
 
2:45-4:15 pmRegional Presentations: Location-Based Strategies to Foster Innovation
 Moderator: Ms. Kate Joncas, President, Downtown Seattle Association
 Opening Remarks: Mr. Randy Hassler, Vice President of Operations & Finance, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
 Seattle: Ms. Ada Healey, Vice President - Real Estate, Vulcan Real Estate - South Lake Union in Seattle is described as a "city within a city," with numerous technology-based businesses, residences and retail/dining. It is the home of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, UW School of Medicine Research Campus, and soon Amazon.com. It is just north of downtown Seattle and is the vision of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
 Fukuoka: Mayor Hiroshi Yoshida, City of Fukuoka - The Island City Project is an Urban Renaissance Project constructed on a manmade island in the eastern part of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka. The project will serve as an industry hub which promotes business in cooperation with other developing Asian countries in industries such as health, medical care, welfare, information technology and robotics. The project which is two-thirds completed, includes both a state-of-the-art foreign trade container terminal, as well as a residential community.
 Barcelona: Mr. Josep Miguel Piqué, Chief Executive Officer - The 22@Barcelona project transforms two hundred hectares of industrial land in the Poblenou neighborhood into an innovative district offering modern spaces for the strategic concentration of intensive knowledge-based activities. It is the most important project of urban transformation in Barcelona of the last years and one of the most ambitious of Europe of these characteristics.
 
4:30 pmBus leaves for Fairmont Olympic Hotel and Break
 
6:00-6:45 pmReception
 Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Garden Room
 
6:45-8:30 pmDinner and Keynote Conversation
 Bill Gates, Sr., Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
 Mr. Gates will have a keynote conversation with Technology Alliance Executive Director Ms. Susannah Malarkey. Ms. Malarkey and Mr. Gates will discuss the key decisions and factors that transformed Seattle's natural resources-based economy into a thriving high-tech economy. From his 80+ years of living and working in the greater Seattle region, Mr. Gates will describe the key factors of civic leadership, business decision-making, and public policy that were instrumental in distinguishing Seattle as a leader in the global high-tech industry. Mr. Gates will also provide his perspective and insight on what regions should do to remain competitive in today's world. Mr. Bill Gates, Sr. is Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a longtime civic leader in the Seattle region. He is the founder of what is now the K&L Gates law firm, one of the largest in the United States, and is a former trustee of the University of Washington. In 1995 he founded the Technology Alliance, and is a founder of the Initiative for Global Development.
 

TUESDAY: 3 June 2008

Creating and competing on the global stage: What are the strategies for success?

7:30-8:00 amBreakfast
 Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Garden Room
 
8:00-8:45 amKeynote
 Mr. Brad Smith, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation
 Mr. Smith will discuss the importance of benchmarking competitiveness against peers, the value Microsoft sees in the International Regions Benchmarking Consortium, and the qualities that Microsoft seeks when determining where to locate research and marketing activities around the globe.
 
8:45-10:00 amPanel Discussion: The Business Perspective on Entrepreneurship and the Innovative Region
Innovative companies locate and grow in innovative regions based upon a number of factors. Leaders from member regions will explore the factors they consider when locating research and other functions, and will share their observations on the factors that encourage organic growth of innovation within regions.
 Moderator: Mr. David Tang, Managing Partner, Asia, K&L Gates, and Chair, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
 Mr. Tom Alberg, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group, Seattle
 Mr. Mats Hedenström, Marketing Director, Kista Science City, Stockholm
 Mr. Rob Arnold, President, Geospiza, Seattle
 Mr. Antti Korhonen, Head of Nokia Mobility, Nokia IT, Collaboration & Mobility Office, Helsinki
 
10:00-10:45 amPresentation: tmsuk Co., Ltd.
Mr. Yoichi Takamoto, CEO of tmsuk, will present on his company, demonstrate some of the company’s robots, and discuss their potential expansion to the Northwest.
 
10:45-11:30 amBreak
 
11:30 am-1:00 pmLunch and Mayors Roundtable
 Mayors and Deputy Mayors from participating regions will discuss the issues of the conference, offer reactions to the proceedings, and discuss lessons learned from peers. The mayors may discuss particular topics as well, including responses to climate change, efforts to encourage innovation in their cities, partnerships with higher education, or other issues.
 Moderator: Mr. Charlie Royer, Former Mayor of the City of Seattle
 Mayor Greg Nickels, City of Seattle
 Mayor Seoung-Hyo Park, City of Daejeon
 Mayor Hiroshi Yoshida, City of Fukuoka
 Deputy Mayor Hep Monatzeder, City of Munich
 Deputy Mayor Tuula Haatainen, City of Helsinki
 
1:15 pmBus leaves for Future of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing 787 Plant Tour
 
2:00-4:00 pmFuture of Flight Aviation Center and Boeing 787 Plant Tour
 Mr. Barry Smith, Executive Director, Future of Flight Aviation Center, and Mr. Vaho Rebassoo, CTO, Information Technology Services, The Boeing Company
 The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour, located 25 miles north of Seattle in Everett, WA, showcase The Boeing Company and the Everett product line, the 747, 767, 777 and 787. As part of the tour, visitors will tour the largest building in the world by volume (472,000,000 cubic feet). On the Boeing flight line, visitors will see airplanes in various stages of flight test and manufacture for airline customers around the world.
 
4:00 pmBus leaves for Fairmont Olympic Hotel
 
5:00-6:00 pmFree time
 
6:00-7:30 pmPrivate Reception at Town Hall Seattle
 Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue
 
7:30-8:30 pmRichard Florida: The Importance of Place
 Dr. Richard Florida is a professor of business and creativity at the University of Toronto and the best-selling author of The Rise of the Creative Class. His new book, Who’s Your City? examines the surprising importance of place. According to Florida globalization is not flattening the world; in fact, place is increasingly relevant to the global economy and our individual lives. Where we live determines the jobs and careers we have access to, the people we meet, and the “mating markets” in which we participate. And everything we think we know about cities and their economic roles is up for grabs. He offers city rankings by life-stage, rating the best places for singles, families, and empty-nesters to reside.
 Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with University Book Store
 

WEDNESDAY: 4 June 2008

How do we foster and sustain an innovative region?

 Breakfast on your own
 
8:00-9:45 amRegional Representatives Meeting: Where do we take it from here?
 Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Congress Room
 Co-chairs: Dr. Lane Rawlins, President Emeritus, Washington State University & Dr. Lee Huntsman, President Emeritus, University of Washington
 Representatives from member regions will discuss governance, work plan and potential future projects of the consortium. The designated representative from each member region should attend: Barcelona, Daejeon, Dublin, Fukuoka, Helsinki, Melbourne, Munich, Seattle, Stockholm.
 
9:45 amMeet in Fairmont Olympic Hotel lobby to be escorted to concurrent breakout sessions locations
 
10:00-11:00 amInnovations in Regional Leadership – Concurrent breakout session #1
 Member regions are engaged in some of the world’s most innovative regional projects, strategy development and programs. Participants will hear from the leaders of several innovative efforts in member regions about the efforts and the impacts they are having on their communities.
 
 Track A: Triple Helix Innovation Strategy
 Location: Two Union Square, 601 Union Street, 51st Floor
 Mr. Eero Holstila, Director of Economic Development, City of Helsinki
 
 Track B: Fukuoka City Disaster Prevention Center
 Location: Regional Business Center, 1301 Fifth Ave, 25th Floor, Swedish Room
 Mr. Junichiro Nakashima, Executive Director, International Economic Affairs Department, City of Fukuoka
 
11:10 am-12:10 pmInnovations in Regional Leadership – Concurrent breakout session #2
 
 Track A: Rainbow Project, Daejeon
 Location: Two Union Square, 601 Union Street, 51st Floor
 Mr. Jong-jun Youn, Manager of Innovation and Management Office, City of Daejeon
 
 Track B: City of Vancouver: Preparing to Play on the World Stage
 Location: Regional Business Center, 1301 Fifth Ave, 25th Floor, Swedish Room
 Mr. James Ridge, Deputy City Manager, City of Vancouver
 
12:30-1:45 pmLunch and Methods in International Benchmarking
 Location: Seattle City Hall, Bertha Landes Room
 Mr. Hayato Nagase, Senior Researcher, Institute of Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd.
 Mr. Kevin Kane and Mr. Eric Simpson, Scottish Development International
 
1:45-2:30 pmWhere do we take it from here?
 A report back from the conference co-chairs.
 Co-chairs: Dr. Lane Rawlins, President Emeritus, Washington State University & Dr. Lee Huntsman, President Emeritus, University of Washington
 
2:30-4:30 pmIndividual meetings or free time
 
4:30-6:00 pmIce cream social
 Location: Regional Business Center, 1301 Fifth Ave, 25th Floor
 
6:00 pmAdjourn
 

Sponsored by:

Conference presented by:

Prosperity Partnership

Copyright © 2008 International Regions Benchmarking Consortium