ONE REGION ONE FUTURE


Thanks to the hard work of CONNECT, along with EDC, UCSD, CleanTECH San Diego, BIOCOM, and others, the San Diego and Imperial Valley region was designated by the State of California as an Innovation Hub (iHUB). Launched in March 2010, the State’s iHub Initiative provides a platform for research clusters, universities, startup companies, government entities, business groups and venture capitalists to foster innovation and job creation statewide. The San Diego iHub consortium consists of 35 partners, including academic institutions, economic development groups and local trade associations. The consortium will concentrate on three areas deemed to have the most potential to turn research into jobs: wireless health, biofuels and solar power/energy storage.


OUTREACH / RETENTION


Business Development Manager Katie Mayfield completed 160 meetings with local companies since starting the program last August. These outreach meetings allow EDC to gather information on corporate growth plans and local issues, while educating companies about federal workforce training and layoff aversion/assistance programs.


EDC, the City of San Diego and the Port funded a maritime industry study presented as part of a breakfast program associated with the Port’s celebration of National Maritime Month. The study, completed by WORLD TRADE CENTER San Diego (WTCSD), shows the industry contributes nearly $8 billion and 42,000 jobs to the regional economy. Bella Heule, president of the WTCSD, presented the study, which was followed by a panel moderated by Julie Meier Wright with stakeholders from the U.S. Navy, The Maritime Alliance, The Pasha Group, and Scripps Institute of Oceanography.


In partnership with TechAmerica, EDC’s Jason Anderson organized a roundtable with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and high-tech executives to discuss the “state of the industry,” growth opportunities and challenges, and the support they need from the local government. Executives representing Energy Innovations, Dataskill, IPS Group Inc., Entropic Communications and ESET participated.


CALI BAJA BI-NATIONAL MEGA-REGION EDC arranged a tour for 20 San Diego-based business leaders to see key sites in Imperial County showcasing assets such as the Campo Tribe renewable energy investments, the future site of Stirling Energy’s solar farm where construction is scheduled to begin in September, SDG&E’s Renewable Energy Center, and the SUNECO Algae Farm.


Updating stakeholders across the border, Dr. Christina Luhn was among thirty participants in the Chamber of Commerce’s Mexico Business Center advocacy trip to Mexico City. The delegation met with a wide range of officials including U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual; Gaston Luken Garza, Member of Federal Congress representing 5th District in Tijuana; and Dr. Rafael Fernandez de Castro, International Affairs, Special Advisor to the President of Mexico. She invited officials to participate in the initiative and conveyed how it serves as a model for bi-national economic cooperation.


Q2 2010 Report to Investors and Regional Stakeholders page 3


Dr. Christina Luhn, Director of the Mega Region Initiative


and Canadian Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski in Mexico City.


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