Final NorTech Strategy Report

Navigating the New Realities of the North Shore

Table of Contents

Letter from the Executive Committee

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1Executive Summary

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3AVision for the Technology Economy of Northeast Ohio in 2020

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I.The Vision—A Glimpse Into A Possible Future............................

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II.Scenario Thinking — Action Planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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III.Growing Our Economy for the Benefit of All Citizens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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IV.Our Strengths.........................................................

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V.Emerging Global Market Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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VI.Gaps/Regional Weaknesses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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VII.Building Our Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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VIII.Some Suggested Tactical Responses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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IX.Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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X.How We Will Know We are Succeeding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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XI.How We Will Continue to Build a Common Language andUse Scenario Thinking to Adjust Course. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14Appendix A: Overview of Scenario Approach & Methodology

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15Appendix B: Suggested Regional Innovation Metrics

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Navigating the New Realities of the North Shore

AVision for the Technology Economy of Northeast Ohio in 2020

Letter from the NorTech Executive Committee – February 14, 2006

sAlexander Graham Bell wisely observed,“When one door closes, another door opens;but we oftenlook so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones whichopen for us.”

For far too long we in Northeast Ohio have gazed upon the closed door of the past instead of focusing our eyes and our imag-inations on the new doors opening before us. Yet it is not too late for us to shift our attention to the many possibilities that the future holds for the region.Each of us recognizes that it is impossible to predict the future, impossible even to plan for the future with any certainty. Still, it is possible for us to set our sights on a particular vision or “shore” we want to navigate towards, a shore that holds great promise for regional prosperity. Recognizing that there will be both unforeseen risks and unforeseen opportunitiesalong the way, we must plot a course that is sufficiently flexible to take these risks into account as we make our way towardsour goal. As Alan Kay has said, “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”Our shared goal for the year 2020 is

to build an innovation-focused, technology-based economy that makes Northeast Ohio one of the Top Ten Places in the World to Live, Learn, Work, and Invest.

Innovation-focused because we recognize, in the words of Michael Porter, that “Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.” Technology-based because thegreatest return—both in terms of the strengths of our region todayand in the market opportunities we see emerging for tomorrow—will result by building upon a technologicalfoundation. Weinclude in this foundation the advanced manufacturing processes and materialsexpertise upon which this region was built as well as the agriculturaland other technologiesthat haveplayed such a formative role in the development of the state’s economy overall. We believe this goal is a realistic one to pursue both for the technology community andthe region as a whole.In its most recent report,

The Economist

magazine’sIntelligenceUnit identified the Greater Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas as the 26

th

best place (tied) inthe world to live, and the number one place in the United States (utilizing 40 factorsacross five broad categories).Moving from #26 into the Top Ten over the course of the next 15 years may be a “stretch goal,” but it certainly is not an unreasonableor unrealistic one. While

The Economist

report limits itself to a subset of important factors relevant to our goal, and while our goal encompassesmany things which are beyond the purview of the technology community alone, the technology community can—indeedmust—play a significant role in the development of the region’s economy if this overarchinggoal is to be achieved. We also believe that a technology strategy for the region must, of necessity, differ from the strategies of the individual companies,institutions,and organizations that make up our region. A truly regional strategy should provide a framework that supportsand enables the independent strategic goals of those companies, institutions, and organizations that reside within our borders. At the same time it must align and leverage those independent assets in ways that create distinct, globally competitive advantagesfor the region as a whole.Such an approach requires,however, a delicate hand: each organization, institution, and company in the region must have thefreedom to pursue its own future course. But these “independent agents” must also find ways to work together cooperatively towards a common goal if we are to have any hope of remaining competitive as a region in our increasingly global economy.Provided here is the overarching framework, the “meta-map,” that establishes a vision and a goal for the region, along with thescaffolding that supports and unifies the various independent plans of our key institutions and organizations around this vision. This vision was created through a strategic planning process that combines the best of the traditional planning methods withnewer, more dynamic processes that will enable us as a region to communicate more effectively and respond more quickly and dynamically to changing conditions in the marketplace.Communications = Connection = Competitive advantage. In order to compete effectively as a region we have to remain con-nected and in constant communication with one another, so that we can adapt our strategies to the changing realities that confront us. We must have independent, concrete plans of action that support a shared vision of what our future might be.

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Beware of the tyranny of makingsmall changes tosmall things. Rather,make big changes to big things.

Roger Enrico,former Chairman ofPepsiCo