However, coming from one of the “big cities” Phoenix always gets compared to, I see many characteristics that are both positive and negative in that comparison.

Phoenix and Arizona as a whole is very spread out. Even our major cities seem to sprawl, causing our natural and financial resources to be stretched thin. Just because we can build anywhere, doesn’t mean we should. Concentrating on what we already have I think would both spur new business and lead to more innovative thinking.

At the same time, the spread has led to some great partnerships and an increase in communication. What the museums through Maricopa are doing with the Culture Pass is a fantastic example of working together to help fight the sprawl. The space between people leads to an increase in conversation, more intense debate.

That’s the lay persons take on these issues =)

(Taxpayer funded) IP developed by AZ’s university professors gets managed by university IP licensing offices whose success is measured by licensing revenues they can generate. So, for example, breakthrough algae research from ASU gets licensed to a penny-stock start-up in Florida (who promises revenue) rather than used as part of a strategic effort to make AZ the “green solar” capital of the world.

Should we recast the mission of university licensing offices to focus on AZ benefit (in appropriate circumstances)? Should we require university-generated software to be open sourced?

[again let me emphasize: personal views]

Create collaborative spaces. Gangplank is an obvious and excellent example of this, but efforts like Chandler Innovations, SkySong, T-Gen, are variations on the theme (and different approaches are a good thing). AZ could showcase its collaboration successes, and build a template for more. The future is about diverse parts working together, not one company dominating top-to-bottom, and we could demonstrate that we’re a region that gets this.

An example that’s near-and-dear to me (and I know to you as well): algae — or “green solar,” as Mark Edwards calls it. Algae for fuel, food and medicine is a potentially transformational technology, and AZ should *own* this.[1] We have amazing, world-class research and pioneering entrepreneurs — yet each are working in isolation. Let’s create an open, collaborative campus where AZ algae entrepreneurs can bring their growing strategies, their drying technologies, their extraction techniques — and collaborate with others to develop working systems. Gov’t can play a role in helping to facilitate this.

Another small example: recently I’ve been used both the Cisco and HP remote conference rooms (video conferencing around a half-circle table, facing giant hi-def screens). To my surprise, I *love* it — it feels like you’re sitting FTF with someone, and FTF matters. It would be cool to have rooms avail to the entrepreneurial communities in Phx, Tucson and Flagstaff (and elsewhere?) — a simple way to facilitate statewide collaborations.

More broadly (responding to question II.1): let’s be a region that understands that open collaboration works, and promotes it. We have some successes we can build upon.

—

[1] http://desertbiofuels.blogspot.com/2010/01/arizona-not-on-algae-biofuels-map.html

When faced with remaking Bookmans’ tech infrastructure, we took the attitude of “we’re Japan after the war”. We can build better and faster precisely because we’re so far behind now.

Brad’s idea about WiMax is appealing and timely. I just returned from a very rural town in the Philippines. In just the last 3 months they’ve added WiMax. Their kids have it, why not ours?

In addition, I’d echo Bob Bookman’s sentiments about our solar potential. Let’s attract new business around solar, in exchange for solar tech at cost for residents.

And finally, let’s make improvements which will attract tourists, but also enhance life for residents. Solar panel shaded urban walkways, reclaimed pedestrian areas and greenbelts; electric trains and large civic water harvesting installations would do more for our tourism than another golf course and resort. We’re in the desert, we should embrace shade, solar and water, it will resonate with everyone who lives here and those who visit.

Combined with education reform, to me these ideas represent an AZ I’d be proud to leave behind. The movement represented by @Gangplank and social media has me more hopeful than ever. But I’m solidly in the camp of seeing opportunity, not problems. We’re not waiting, we’re taking steps toward realizing this now.

Changing from within, consistent with our finely honed sense of place would be a radical departure from past efforts. With that change, I hope we can entice the “same old people” in government to try new things along with us.

1)Tie the traditional faith and investors in the real estate market to the entrepreneurial community. This can be done through education and builder incentives.
2) Encourage and train citizens to be involved and elect intelligent leaders rather than ideologues
3)Separate church and state
4)Government: Get behind existing businesses and efforts. That movement in AZ is non-existent. In California, everything is behind innovation and Silicon Valley. Pick something and get behind it. And don’t change it every year
5)Don’t blame the national economy. It’s picking up. And innovation never stops. How about some community support for the people who ARE doing something
6) Government should concentrate on making education better and providing health care. Then people will move here.

See above comments for the rest. My blood pressure is at a boil

2. None. The stakeholders and those who rule our state still think of it as the Wild West, with the shining jewel of this being Scottsdale, which seems to rely on clubs, shopping and golf clubs, none of which make anyone want to stay.

3. We rise and fall with the strength of the American economy as a whole. Because we place so much emphasis on growth and/or tourism, if people don’t have extra money to spend, they don’t come here. You don’t NEED to visit AZ, you come when you want to and can afford it.

4.EDUCATE THE PEOPLE. We are last in education funding. Many of the more affluent areas in the state (Paradise Valley, North Scottsdale) also have a high level of educational achievement. While I admit that degrees aren’t always the answer, we need to at least be on some level to compete on a national stage.

Let’s throw up Wimax towers like it’s an Amish barnraising. E.g., Gangplank current makes Wifi available to everyone at GP; what about figuring out how to build a Wimax tower and make broadband wireless available to everyone in Chandler? Then do it in 3 other cities. On Indian reservations. Teach others how to do it. Let’s grow a 4G wireless infrastructure in AZ bottom up, not carrier-dependent top-down.

[Note: I don't really know if this is technically feasible. Also, full disclosure: one of my employers is a stakeholder with Wimax, but this idea (and everything I say online, unless otherwise noted) is purely a personal view.]

Use the high bandwidth infrastructure to lead in distance education. (As f&$%ed up as AZ’s education system is, we do have a lot of innovation around charter schools and around distance education — let’s capitalize on this strength.)

1. I think an online, constantly refreshed inventory of civil society/NGO (non-governmental orgs) could be useful. There is a dizzying array of groups that are engaged often on similar issues (consider just the various downtown Phoenix groups as an example). Simply knowing what groups are working on what issues could be useful, and enable collaborations between like-minded organizations. (Perhaps something like this already exists?)

2. Fiber and broadband wireless. What if AZ had the fastest connectivity in the world? This would undoubtedly attract entrepreneurs, and be the foundation upon which businesses would be built. Forget building roads to nowhere to subsidize real estate developers. Build the infrastructure for the knowledge economy instead.

I’ll think harder about all of this and try to add some bigger picture ideas tomorrow.