"Growing Innovation Clusters for American Prosperity" ed. by Charles W. Wessner

This issue captures the presentations and discussions of the 2009 STEP symposium on innovation clusters. It includes an overview highlighting key issues raised at the meeting and a summary of the meeting's presentations. This report has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.

The Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP), conducted a symposium which brought together state and federal government officials, leading analysts, congressional staff, and other stakeholders to explore the role of clusters in promoting economic growth, the government's role in stimulating clusters, and the role of universities and foundations in their development.

CONTENTS
PREFACE
I OVERVIEW
II SUMMARY OF PRESENTATIONS
Welcome
Opening Remarks
The White House Keynote Address: The Role of Research Universities in the Formation of Regional Innovation Clusters: The Impact of Arizona State University on Metropolitan Phoenix
Panel I: Why Clusters Matter: Innovation Clusters and Economic Growth
Cluster Development: A Path to Growth
Stimulating Regional Economies
Panel II: Regional Innovation Clusters: The Obama Administration’s Innovation Initiative
The Geography of Innovation: The Federal Government and the Growth of Regional Innovation Clusters
New York State’s NANO Initiative
Applications Center (E2TAC), Albany, New York The Technology Innovation Program: Connecting the Dots
Panel III: State and Regional Initiatives
Clusters Growing in Pennsylvania
Building and Branding Clusters: Lessons from Kansas and Philadelphia
Virginia Industry Cluster Analysis
The Washington State Innovation Economy
Luncheon Address
Panel IV: The University Connection
The Akron Model
The South Carolina Innovation Ecosystem
California Initiatives
Panel V: Filling the Gaps: The Role of Foundations
How Innovation Clusters Are Reviving the Economies that ‘Urban Renewal’ Destroyed
Building the Workforce and the Universities
Roundtable: Key Issues and Next Steps Forward
III APPENDIXES
A Agenda
B Biographies of Speakers
C Participants List
D Bibliography