borderless innovation… maintaining competitiveness in the 21 st century
TRANSCRIPT
Borderless Innovation…Maintaining
Competitiveness in the 21st Century
Introduction Kenn Morris
Founder & Director of Crossborder Business Associates California-based crossborder market
research and strategic consulting firm specializing in border business and policy
Former Director of UCSD San Diego Dialogue’s Crossborder Innovation & Competitiveness Initiative
Lead researcher and lead author of Dialogue’s Borderless Innovation report
Overview of Comments Context of Challenge:
Why Worry? Border & NAFTA:
Outdated Paradigm Vision for Borderless
Innovation in San Diego-Baja California Region
Application of vision to Arizona-Mexico, border states, and North America
21st Century Competitiveness: Why Worry?
“World is Flat”: More than just China & India China: long term challenge Regional tech clusters: Large number of existing – and
emerging – regions of technology & innovation across globe Many regional economic development strategies not prepared
An issue for US, Mexico…and North America
Why Worry? Despite existing economic &
social linkages, US-Mexico relationship stuck at “border”
Few cases of open, public dialogue about weakening North American competitiveness
Fewer examples of policy leaders working to foster new paradigm for North America
New vision beyond NAFTA needed
A Regional Approach to Borderless Innovation
San Diego & Baja California: region of innovation, R&D, technology manufacturing
Given economic & social linkages, felt that a latent opportunity to catalyze regional synergies was possible…
…But no comparable data existed
Crossborder Innovation & Competitiveness Initiative: identify “clusters of opportunity” in high value-added sectors in the binational region
Focus on selected technology intensive clusters: biomedical devices, aerospace & defense, software, and others
Cluster Findings
Biomedical Devices Over 30,000 employed in Cluster (2003)
San Diego: 6,800 Baja California: 23,700
BC: highest number of FDA-certified BD companies in Mexico (65+) Many: Class 10,000 & 100,000 clean rooms
13 had HQ or operations in SD County
Range of products – heart pumps & stents, lenses, pacemakers, more…
Cluster Findings
Aerospace & Defense Over 23,000 employed in Cluster
(2003)
San Diego: 18,300 Baja California: 4,800
BC has highest concentration of aerospace companies in Mexico
Mexico: 9th largest aerospace supplier to US
US-MX BASA agreement pending
Binational S&T Workforce …Larger than expected,
and growing Surveyed large regional
universities Issuance of engineering
and software of note: More engineering degrees
issued by major BC universities than in SD (…industrial)
UABC graduated more individuals with software degrees than UCSD
A New Regional Model for SD-BC Recommendations for San Diego-Baja
California Crossborder Innovation & Competitiveness Centers
(leverage existing organizations and institutions) Research and comparable S&T data (foster
understanding) Private investor networks (foster investing) Increased educational linkages (physical & online)
and regional workforce training programs Promote shared infrastructure investments (energy,
water, digital) Increased security integration & enforcement
…Realized: Broader Implications
Implications for all of California Biomedical devices: Over
53,000 employed in CA Aerospace (Southern California) Automotive Software Semiconductors
…As well as the US-Mexico border states
Implications: Aerospace & Defense AZ: Large concentation of
aerospace companies (Raytheon, Honeywell, Boeing, etc.)
Aerospace education: Embry-Riddle, U of A, Maricopa Community College…and the ASU/ITESM crossborder Masters degree in Aerospace Logistics
35% of US aerospace employment in 4 US border states
Within 1100 miles of Phoenix, most of aerospace employment in the US and Mexico
Sept. 26th: Mexican Aerospace Conference…in Scottsdale
…Implications: Silicon Border Technology park in Mexicali, goal of 1-2 Fab facilities If successful…potential synergy with CA and AZ
semiconductor clusters (esp. Intel, Motorola, TI, Freescale, etc.)
… Not to mention concentration of semiconductor related employment (160k+) in 4 US border states
A Model – for the 21st Century North American Crossborder Innovation & Competitiveness
Initiative?
Take concept beyond San Diego-Baja California
Requires regional assessments in border states, and analysis of city-city and region-region “clusters of innovation & opportunity”
Some hope:
North American Council on Competitiveness
Emerging understanding of regional opportunities and economic development agreements (AZ-Sonora, maquiladora supplier promotion of TREO)
Opportunity for “Third Nation” to catalyze technology manufacturing and competitiveness for 21st Century – if we choose path of Borderless Innovation
Borderless Innovation… Maintaining Competitiveness in the
21st Century
Thank You – Gracias
Kenn [email protected]
CrossborderBusiness.comCopies of Borderless Innovation
report: www.sandiegodialogue.org