The economy of Silicon Valley has been notable both for its massive growth as well as its fluctuations in recent decades. While always looking around the corner for the next new thing, the Valley has continued to be home to the industry that made it famous: the chips that put the silicon in our name – as well as products and services that power information technology. Innovations arising from both the health care sector and our higher education institutions have built a strong cluster in medical devices and biotech. The strong regional presence of NASA has given rise to aerospace and supporting industries, as well.
Despite these diverse and powerful economic forces, we have periodically suffered severe setbacks. When the dot-com bubble burst, Leadership Group members determined to look more closely at the business climate challenges facing the region and look for opportunities to partner with government to mitigate those problems.
The annual CEO business climate survey was launched in 2004 as one tool to identify concerns and gauge the outlook of senior executives (results from previous years are available here). The results have helped guide the Leadership Group to focus on Sarbanes-Oxley reform and Immigration on the federal level, elevate health care as an area for focused advocacy, as well as to underscore the concern our executives have about housing costs and commute times for their employees. The 2007 survey will be released soon, in conjunction with our annual summit.
The business climate of the region is significantly impacted by policy decisions made in Sacramento. Accordingly, we support bills that improve the environment for business expansion and foster growth, while opposing those that would stifle innovation. A high priority for 2007 is to support California Competes, a coalition of business and higher education dedicated to advancing three shared priorities: excellence in California’s K-16 math and science education, encouraging companies to invest in California, and investing in innovation.
The coalition supports funding for the recently announced $95 million Governor's Research and Innovation Initiative. This includes $20 million in annual funding for the four California Institutes for Science and Innovation and provides multi-year matching funds to successfully compete for large research initiatives funded by the federal government and industry.
On a local level, Leadership Group members are committed to creating proactive programs to foster communications among business, government, advocacy and professional organizations. Later this year, we will conduct a study of business location decision-making which compares Silicon Valley with comparable regions and identifies solutions our local governments can consider to be more competitive.
As the Valley continues to evolve and new issues come to the fore, the Leadership Group will continue to work with our members to create an environment where companies can thrive.
