As America races to maintain standing in the global economy, industry clusters have been touted as a key strategy for technological innovation. While Silicon Valley and North Carolina's Research Triangle are held as
bright spots where higher education meets high tech, few innovation clusters are successful. A recent
column in the Washington Post dubbed government funded industry clusters "the modern day snake oil," doomed to fail.
At the third annual Regional Affinity Incubation Network (RAIN) meeting, held last week at the
University City Science Center, David Finegold, Dean of
Rutgers' School of Management and Labor Relations, responded. "A lot of efforts haven't panned out, but industry clusters are not without hope." He explained that early efforts were "real estate plays." What sets the tri-state region apart is the ability to build from that which is distinctive about this area, said Finegold, rather than starting from scratch and hoping that if it's built, innovation will come.
New Jersey, in particular, has nowhere to go but up, having ranked last in 2010 in U.S. job creation. While traditionally the state was a leader in biopharma and telecommunications, these industries made up a large-firm culture, and it's now time to build diverse networks, according to Finegold.
The
University City District in Philadelphia is a 2.5 square mile powerhouse of commercial and institutional vitality, employing 70,000 people, according to UCD president Matthew Bergheiser. Forty percent of NIH funding in Pennsylvania is granted to projects within the boundaries of University City, and the Science Center has long been a fertile startup breeding ground that encourages organic growth, rather than superimposing ideas of innovation on an otherwise bereft area.
In Delaware, by contrast, plans are underway to convert Newark's former Chrysler assembly plant into an 250 acre
innovation hub complete with living and working space, with an existing rail station to encourage commuters, and the potential to create collaboration across state lines, according to David Weir, PhD, Director of the
Office of the Economic Innovation & Partnerships at the University of Delaware.
With a continued soft real estate market, Finegold offers that the way out of the recession is through leveraging human capabilities and university facilities. "We already have a great talent base here," said Finegold of efforts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, which he terms one of the most diverse regions on the planet.
RAIN is a regional network of over 40 research parks, incubators and support organizations located in the tri-state area.
Source: David Finegold, Matthew Bergheiser, David Weir, RAIN
Writer: Sue Spolan
PHOTO:Former Chrysler Assembly Plant in Newark DE