Make Mine a Million Event on June 11 - Discount for Partners

Hundreds of women business owners gather at the Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion to learn from experts in financing and marketing, network with other women entrepreneurs and get tools and inspiration to grow their business. Make Mine a Million $ Business is a program of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence. Featured speakers include: Governor Chris Gregoire, Nell Merlino, Founder & CEO of Count Me In, and Simon Sinek, CEO of Sinek Partners. See www.makemineamillion.org/seattle for more info. Partners in the Prosperity Partnership will receive a $35 registration discount.

Prosperity Partnership's Southwest Washington Tour

From Wednesday, June 18 through Friday, June 20, the Prosperity Partnership will visit Southwest Washington where leaders and businesses are working to strengthen the state in a number of industries and foundation areas important to both Puget Sound and Spokane. Nanophotonics, Clean Technology, Life Sciences all play important roles in the economies of SW Washington, as do Arts and Culture and Higher Education. Tour participants will learn what is being done in these clusters and explore ways to collaborate.

Registration materials are online at prosperitypartnership.org

Leadership in a Diverse Business Climate

University of Washington's Business and Economic Development Center is hosting a panel presentation on June 11 at the Washington Athletic Club to kick off its 2nd National Diversity in Business Research Conference. The panel is geared toward the private sector with the goal of sharing the most current research in areas of employee/management diversity and minority- and women-business ownership. Panelists include: Timothy Bates, Professor of Economics at Wayne State University, William Bradford, Professor of Business and Economic Development at the Foster School of Business, and Charles West, a nationally recognized expert on franchising, minority business acquisitions, social entrepreneurship and economic development.

See bschool.washington.edu for more information.

Logistics and International Trade Industry Cluster Tour on June 13

This event will highlight various aspects of the logistic and international trade industry cluster, and stops will include Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma and Highline Community College. The Industry Cluster Tours are quarterly, industry cluster-specific tours of the Puget Sound designed to help business, government, education, labor and nonprofit leaders learn about important economic development efforts in our four-county region. To register, contact Eric Schinfeld, Senior Economic Policy Analyst, at (206) 971-3053 or eschinfeld@psrc.org.

Find out more prosperitypartnership.org

Washington Business Week Seeking Summer Volunteers

Washington Business Week is a challenging program designed for high school students, 9th -12th grade, to get hands on work knowledge. Volunteers will spend a week on a college campus working with students and other business volunteers from around the state. Throughout the week, students will be working their way through an industry simulation, addressing everything from daily HR issues to project based work under a tight deadline. Volunteers challenge students take the lead, share experience and help answer questions along the way.

Find out more at http://www.wbw.org/.

Prosperity Partnership E-Newsletter
June 5, 2008

  • Prosperity Partnership Becomes Regional Partner in the Blueprint for American Prosperity
  • Prosperity Partnership Recognized with Award, Federal Grant

    Prosperity Partnership Becomes Regional Partner in the Blueprint for American Prosperity

    The Blueprint for American Prosperity is a new action agenda developed by the Brookings Institute to help focus economic policy on metropolitan areas and to leverage the economic assets in these regions. The Prosperity Partnership is helping to deliver the message to the nation's leaders that regions play a central role in the nation's economy and global economic competitiveness and that federal policy should support and nurture the essential role metropolitan areas play in the U.S. economy.

    "We want our leaders to understand that the metropolitan areas are the engines for the economy," said Amy Liu, Deputy Director of the Brookings Institute. "As they think about the economic agenda for the nation, they should also think about the work our cities do that can help the nation compete and prosper."

    The Brookings Institute has done extensive research on the importance of city regions in the nation's economy, specifically on the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. (measured by 2005 employment levels). The central Puget Sound region is one of these 100 metropolitan areas, which together are responsible for 75 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). These same areas hold the bulk of the primary assets of the nation's economy: human capital, innovation, quality places and infrastructure. Human capital is a talented pool of skilled workers and is measured by the number of college graduates, 74 percent of which live in these 100 metropolitan areas. Innovation is measured by patenting, 78 percent of which are coming out of these same areas. These areas also are responsible for 79 percent of the U.S. air cargo weight and home to 92 percent of the nation's public transit miles.

    With the Blueprint, the Brookings Institute has identified three key indicators of economic productivity that are essential to a productive future and that metropolitan areas can further develop with federal assistance to increase national prosperity. These indicators are sustainable growth, inclusive growth, and productive growth. Seattle scores in the top third of regions in America in two out of the three. Our region is also the 4th most productive in the world, according to Brookings. However, our productive growth since 2001 has slowed relative to that of our peers.

    Sustainable growth is measured by carbon emissions, and Seattle is ranked 6th in the nation. Other related policy issues include transit, land use, energy policy and natural areas.

    Inclusive growth examines wage distribution levels, specifically the incomes of the top 10 percent of earners compared to the bottom 10 percent. The Seattle Metropolitan Area is ranked 32nd out of 100 for this indicator. Policy issues under inclusive growth also include the aging population, baby boomer retirees, immigration policy, education levels for people of color, and workplace diversity.

    Productive growth measures GDP per capita. The Seattle Metropolitan Area rate of growth is 79th out of the 100 identified areas. Policy issues around productive growth also include innovation and patenting, technology transfer from universities to commercial enterprise, and worker productivity.

    The Prosperity Partnership has signed on to help build the coalition to lead national policy in improving these indicator areas and increasing prosperity regionally and nationally.

    For more information, see www.blueprintprosperity.org.

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    Prosperity Partnership Recognized with Award, Federal Grant

    The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded the region's Economic Development District (EDD) a $10,000 planning performance award for being a national example in collaborative efforts to increase prosperity. In her presentation to the EDD board, Bettye Atkinson, Chief of Planning for the Seattle Region office of the EDA, praised the work of the Prosperity Partnership by stating that the EDA was pleased with the Partnership's economic outreach to other parts of the state through its summer tours and its inclusion of nontraditional economic development partners like the YWCA.

    The Prosperity Partnership was also notified of its $120,000 Regional Economic Strategy Grant by the office of U.S. Representative Dave Reichert. This funding will be used to further the creation of regional economic development strategies for two additional industry clusters: Military and Tourism & Visitors.

    For more information, contact Bill McSherry at bmcsherry@psrc.org or 206-971-3269.

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