Military Cluster Development Strategy Now Available The Prosperity Partnership recently released its strategy looking at better supporting and growing the military cluster in the Puget Sound region. Initiatives in the strategy include enhancing employment opportunities for military spouses and veterans, improving education opportunities for military personnel and families, and using business attraction, retention, and expansion strategies to expand defense contracting in the region. The strategy has already enjoyed a few early successes. First, thanks to the hard work of members of the Prosperity Partnership's Military Working Group, the Interstate Compact for Military Children was signed into Washington law. They then launched the Washington Defense Partnership, a permanent statewide military group that will provide a central coordinating body for facilitating solutions to support the military presence and mission in Washington. This includes support for installations and the units based here, as well as armed forces members and their families, retirees, veterans, and the contracting community. After accomplishing its first two military action items, the Prosperity Partnership is poised to tackle goals of increasing work opportunities for military spouses and veterans, as well as expanding defense contracting opportunities in the region. Washington state has the 7th highest military population in the nation. The military presence in the Puget Sound region includes major bases for the Army (Fort Lewis), Navy (Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Station Everett), and Air Force (McChord Air Force Base), as well as installations for the Washington National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard. Collectively, these installations directly support over 125,000 jobs in the region (more than 60,000 of which are held by non-military personnel) and provide more than $3 billion annually in total payroll. In addition to economic activity generated by the operation of these bases, a wide range of Department of Defense contracts support many private sector contractors and subcontractors in the region. In 2006, defense contracting activity in the Puget Sound region (both base- and non-base related) totaled $3.7 billion. Find out more about the Prosperity Partnership's work to improve the business climate for this important cluster at: http://www.prosperitypartnership.org/clusters/military/index.htm For more information, please contact Olivia Robinson at orobinson@psrc.org or 206-464-7890. back to top The Washington Aerospace Partnership Needs Your Help Aerospace is vital to Washington's economy. Aerospace companies and their suppliers support more than 200,000 jobs in our state and pay $5 billion plus in wages. Some 650 aerospace companies are operating in 28 counties, statewide. The Washington Aerospace Partnership is a coalition of business, labor and local government leaders working to sustain and grow aerospace industry jobs in Washington. The Partnership is developing a unified vision/agenda on which communities all over the state can collaborate to ensure that Washington remains the leading location in the world for aerospace. Join the Washington Aerospace Partnership in these important efforts. Add your organization to the more than 125 partner organizations and hundreds of individual supporters furthering the cause of a strong, dynamic aerospace economy. Write your local paper to share your story about why the aerospace industry is important to you. Write your elected officials to encourage them to continue their support of Washington's aerospace industry. Invite a Washington Aerospace Partnership member to come to speak to your community group or council. Act now to ensure that this foundation of the region's economy does not fade. For more information see http://www.washington-aerospace.com/index.php. back to top Prosperity Partnership Conducting International Visitors Survey As part of the recently completed Tourism/Visitors Industry Cluster Development Strategy, the Prosperity Partnership is currently conducting a survey of international visitors to the central Puget Sound. The survey, which will be conducted in August and September at locations throughout the region, asks a wide variety of questions to international visitors to the region, including why they chose to visit; what are the major barriers to arriving at and traveling within the region; and how their visit could be improved. The results of the survey will be used to identify specific, actionable ways that our region can better accommodate - and therefore attract - more international visitors. The survey is available online at http://www.seattletradealliance.com/aboutSea/visitor-survey/main.php. For more information, please contact Eric Schinfeld, 206-971-3053, eschinfeld@psrc.org back to top