The Chesapeake Crescent Region – the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia – possesses an abundance of economic assets. The Region attracts more Research & Development funding than any other region in our country. It is home to over 70 Federal research laboratories as well as a preponderance of major research universities and institutions of higher learning. The Region is highly ranked in the concentration of highly educated workers as well as being the home to more scientists and engineers on a per capita basis than any other US region.
However, we have substantial work to do in moving inventions to market on the scale and at the pace as other regions in the US, such as Silicon Valley and metro Boston, as well as with emerging regional powerhouses in Europe and Asia. While our Region ranks No. 1 in technology research funding, it ranks an embarrassing 37th nationally in efficiency of technology commercialization, translating into lost opportunities for investment as well as for small business and job creation. While the region possesses a strong university, government and private sector presence, there is limited availability of early stage venture capital to new companies seeking to commercialize the IP stranded in Fed labs and research universities.
The Chesapeake Crescent Initiative (CCI) seeks to fill that gap by creating new American models of collaboration among Federal, State and local governments, major research universities and the private sector. It crosses the chasms which normally exist between and among industry, public-private and regional jurisdictional borders. CCI offers the opportunity to set ambitious goals for advancing regional technological innovation-based business and job creation by reaching across boundaries and leveraging the assets of the region in a way that no single jurisdiction could accomplish alone. Launched in January, 2008, its mission is to establish this Region as the global leader in the creation of new energy, security and life sciences innovation-based businesses and jobs through new models of government (federal, state, and local), university and private enterprise collaboration.
In today’s increasingly intense global competitive environment, we must work together as a region to encourage new approaches to the most pressing issues of our time while also stimulating the creation of small businesses and new jobs and the workforce needed to succeed in this challenging environment. It is only by leveraging the assets of the Region as a whole, that we can attain these goals.
Please visit our Working Groups to see the full extent of our activities taking place at CCI, and how you can participate.