In the early 1980s, the San Diego regional economy was in crisis. Traditional industries were on the decline, the business attraction efforts of economic development professionals were challenged and regional leaders were searching for a path to economic renewal and growth. The research institutions on the Torrey Pines Mesa had been quietly incubating innovative companies such as IMED, IVAC, LINKABIT, SAIC and Hybritech. At that time, community visionaries posed the provocative question, “Based on the strength of our research institutions, could we build a technology and life sciences industry for San Diego similar to the hub in Silicon Valley?”
Twenty-five years later, the San Diego economy has been transformed into one of the leading innovation hubs in the world. Today our city is home to thousands of technology and life science businesses representing fully 25 percent of the wages paid and a median income equal to leading business centers like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
How did this exciting transformation happen? In 1985, a small group came together to create the CONNECT Program as a way to translate San Diego’s growing research capabilities into commercially viable products and businesses that would ultimately increase the prosperity of the region. In 1986, Bill Otterson, chairman of Lexocorp, was hired to head the program. He created a culture of collaboration that has become a hallmark of San Diego’s innovation economy and built the volunteer core that helped us address the many challenges our region faces in technology commercialization including a severe lack of management talent and venture capital, particularly for research discoveries.
To read the full, original article click on this link: CONNECT — a worldwide model for technology and life science innovation Organization celebrates 25 years of fostering job-generating businesses | San Diego Metro Magazine
Author: sandiegometro
