Changes
What better way to go out than on the heels of Jim Cramer declaring that the next wave of innovation would come not from Silicon Valley, but from “Cleveland Valley.”
TechFutures began a little over three years ago as part of an effort to build better coordination and collaboration among economic development groups in Northeast Ohio. We wanted those groups to consider multiple possible futures for Northeast Ohio, and to adapt both their strategies and their actions to accommodate the social, technological, economic, environmental and political factors that were beyond their control. We focused heavily on the need to be more innovative. We refused to predict what specific technologies would rise or fall, but we knew that if we planned for multiple possible futures all our organizations and all our companies in the region would be better prepared to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Lately it is the environment itself that has taken center stage.
The last three and a half years have seen dramatic, large scale changes none of us could have imagined at the time. JumpStart has become a national model for how regions can increase the number of start ups and the flow of venture capital funding that is necessary to grow new industries. National attention has been paid to efforts in the region to develop both on- and off-shore wind power as an alternative source of energy. The fuel cell industry here continues to grow, with Rolls Royce acquiring a local start up and setting up shop in Canton.
Youngstown has gained national attention for its approach to sensible, smart redevelopment focused on quality of place as opposed to quantity of residents. Environmental watchdog Grist.org calls Cleveland one of the cities to watch because of its many environmentally-friendly development efforts. And as water quality and availability grow ever more important as both a national and a global issue, The Brookings Institution chose Cleveland as the place to kick off its latest project concerning Bi-national Great Lakes freshwater technology and policy leadership.
Attitudes and actions are changing—and those changes are affecting the future of our region. Our industrial and agricultural legacy led to many of the images of the rust belt as a dying, polluted wasteland as attention turned to sunny California and the shiny bright glow of the computer screen with its vast, seemingly limitless possibilities. And yet, as we come face to face with the true challenges of our times—better healthcare, cleaner, more reliable sources of energy, water quality and scarcity, sustainable growth and development—we see computer games for what they are—just games—and our region for what it can be: home to the next wave of technological innovations in biotech and healthcare, advanced energy and fuels, new materials and manufacturing processes, and a sustainable regional community where people are proud to live, learn, work and play.
The TechFutures site will remain up for some time to come, but this will be the last blog post in this forum. As NorTech adapts to the changes around it, new priorities are emerging and new initiatives are being launched. We invite you to revisit the stories and history of this project here on this site, but even more than that we encourage you to get and stay involved in the new projects NorTech and other economic development groups in the region pursue in the months and years to come. To see what NorTech is up to today, click here and you’ll be taken to the NorTech site.