In 2005, the Prosperity Partnership built a broad-based regional economic development coalition of more than 300 government, business, labor and community organizations where none existed before. The Partnership laid out a detailed action agenda to grow jobs and ensure long-term economic prosperity for our region’s residents — and made major accomplishments on all fronts.

Cluster Initiatives

The Prosperity Partnership focused on strengthening and expanding seven industry clusters:

Aerospace

• Launched Washington’s first statewide aerospace association, the Aerospace Futures Alliance
• Led community efforts to support Boeing’s successful bid for the Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract
• Successfully expanded eligibility for state aerospace incentives to the entire industry

Clean Technology

• Created the first statewide clean technology trade association, the Washington Clean Technology Alliance, grown to more than 100 members
• Secured funding for a Metropolitan Business Plan to develop a Building Energy-Efficiency Testing and Integration Center and Demonstration Network in the region, now renamed the Northwest Building Energy Technology Hub (NBETH) and the Washington Clean Energy Partnership
• Released a clean tech cluster analysis — providing information about the size, scope, segments, and growth potential of the cluster in our region
• Produced Evergreen: The Washington Clean Tech Story — a documentary on Washington’s clean tech industry — in partnership with the WCTA
• Led the largest U.S. state delegation to the 2008 GLOBE clean tech conference and trade show

Life Sciences

• Together with the Global Health Alliance, launched Global Health Nexus, Seattle — a broad-based effort to make Seattle and Washington state known around the world as the epicenter of global health discovery, development, and delivery
• Supported the implementation of global health month as part of Next 50 – the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair
• Led with others the successful effort to create the Life Sciences Discovery Fund

Information Technology

• Successfully increased state investment in high demand degrees at our state’s colleges and universities (see Education Foundation Initiatives)

Logistics and International Trade

• Created a foreign direct investment toolkit to guide local government FDI attraction efforts
• Formed, with the Trade Development Alliance, the International Regions Benchmarking Consortium to learn from innovative regions around the world
• Led the planning and execution of the 4th International Regions Benchmarking Consortium, focused on sustainability

Military

• Created the Washington Defense Partnership to serve as a central coordinating body for facilitating solutions to support the military presence and mission in Washington
• Added Washington to the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children
• Made it easier for veterans with military driver’s training to earn their civilian commercial driver’s license

Tourism/Visitors

• Surveyed international visitors and students to better understand how our region and state can accommodate foreign travelers
• Supported successful efforts to authorize the Washington State Convention and Trade Center to take the next steps toward planning and development of an expanded facility

Foundation Initiatives

The Prosperity Partnership identified six foundations supporting the region’s economic vitality:

Education

• Successfully increased state investment by more than $90 million to fill existing capacity in high-demand degrees at the state’s higher education institutions
• Codified our goal of 10,000 additional degrees per year by 2020 into state policy

New and Small Business Support

• Developed the Minority-Owned Business Development Strategy to help support the creation and growth of minority-owned businesses via improved access to capital, credit, and contracts
• Created Performance First, a program for large companies to institutionalize best practices in supplier diversity, and successfully led five companies – including Starbucks and Puget Sound Energy – through the first nine-month training

Social Capital and Quality of Life

• Developed with business and community partners the Cultural Access Fund proposal to increase statewide access to the educational and inspirational benefits of our scientific and cultural institutions
• Crafted the Residential Infrastructure Fund proposal to provide local jurisdictions with increased allocations of existing state funding for infrastructure to accommodate growth, increase density and promote affordability
• Created the Housing Innovations Program — an online housing strategy toolkit to support local government efforts to encourage and expand affordable housing opportunities

Transportation

• Led efforts to secure the approval of an $8.5 billion statewide Transportation Partnership package with funding for safety, freight, efficiency, and capacity projects
• Supported the passage of Transportation 2040, the region’s new 30-year transportation plan

Tax Structure

• Developed a framework to replace the state’s tax structure with a more balanced, pro-competitive approach

Technology Commercialization

• Led with others a successful effort to revise Washington ethics laws, making it easier for researchers to translate their findings into commercial products