PAÍSES INTELIGENTES TEM DIRIGENTES E SOCIEDADES INTELIGENTES
E EMPRESÁRIOS COMPETENTES QUE PROMOVEM O DESENVOLVIMENTO CONSTANTE PLANEJANDO ESTRATÉGIAS
E METAS DE LONGO PRAZO:
Ronald Almeida, 2015-05-15
***********************
O caso do Estado de Washington e sua estratégia de
desenvolvimento da INDÚSTRIA PORTUÁRIA e do COMÉRCIO MARÍTIMO até 2050 (período
de 31 anos à partir de 2019) no Oceano Pacífico litoral Noroeste dos EUA.
*****
Atualmente essas atividades econômicas ocupam
100.000 empregos diretos e 200.000 indiretos e geram receitas anuais de US$ 37 bilhões
de dólares.
*****
BLUE TECH: Joshua Berger of [the State of] Washington's ‘MARITIME BLUE INITIATIVE 2050’ in the Pacific
Northwest.
[01may2019]
Ø THE 6 F APPROACH: The
scope of work of WA Maritime Blue is six fold…. We call them the 6 F’s: FOCUS, FORUMS,
FORWARD, FORCE, FINANCE, and FACILITY.
 |
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The ULCV CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin at Port of Seattle,
2018
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Access RAS
2019-05-15
In early 2019, Washington State Governor (and
presidential candidate) JAY INSLEE launched THE MARITIME
BLUE 2050 INITIATIVE, the first program
of its kind in the U.S. to bolster innovations in the maritime sector that
create living-wage jobs, protect the environment and ensure long-term
sustainability for the industry.
The
initiative is meant to build on Washington’s strengths as a global leader in
maritime technology innovation and best practices.
JOSHUA
BERGER, the governor’s Maritime Sector Lead, laid much of the groundwork
leading up the launch of this initiative. Read his
answers to my questions about Maritime Blue below.
[1] What
is unique about the Pacific Northwest that led to the creation of Maritime
Blue?
Washington State is unique.
a) We are in the Pacific Northwest which sometimes feels removed from other
maritime regions.
b)
Therefore, the state’s
maritime industry is incredibly diverse and interdependent.
c) Washington’s maritime
industry contributes over $37 billion to our state’s economy, employing nearly
100,000 direct jobs and impacting over 200,000 more, making it the most trade
dependent state in the US.
d) We design and build world class vessels, operate the largest ferry
system in the US, are home to the fastest growing cruise industry, and serve as
a world class boating destination.
e) We have a $10 billion fishing
industry, a robust supply chain, service industry, and world class research
institutions working on everything from underwater robotics to novel energy
storage technologies.
f)
Combine this work with a
rapidly growing tech industry driven by groups like Microsoft and Amazon, high
amounts of capital looking for investments, a strong environmental conservation
ethic, and a culture of collaboration.
g)
Washington is primed to
become a leader in maritime innovation.
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The release of Washington State’s Strategy for the
Blue Economy with Governor Inslee and his Maritime Innovation Advisory
Council
|
[2] What
are the essential elements that brought Maritime Blue to fruition?
Ø This has truly been a public
and private partnership from the beginning. Having previously worked to stand
up a statewide trade association for the breadth of the industry, one of the
key goals was to better tell their story of environmental leadership. In my
current role, my job is to be the liaison between industry interests and state
government. It’s a unique role: I serve as a policy advisor specific to
my sector as well as lead strategic economic development goals.
Ø When we began the process to develop a plan to accelerate the Blue
Economy here in Washington, the governor called together a Maritime Innovation
Advisory Council made up of state and local government leaders, industry
executives, leaders from research institutions, organized labor, tribes,
workforce development, and community groups.
Ø
We built consensus on the
goals and recommendations outlined in the strategy and we maintain that diverse
leadership as we now shift towards implementation.
[3] How
did you build trust with industry or other key stakeholders?
Ø To be honest, it took years.
When my role was first established by Governor Inslee in 2013 a former
Port of Seattle Executive, Steve Sewell, was appointed as the first Maritime
Sector Lead.
Ø
Steve began the process of
bringing together diverse industry interests. We worked together to found the Washington
Maritime Federation. That Association of Associations (as we called it) took
the first steps to find more productive communication channels with industry.
Ø
When I came into this role
in 2015, we started with finding a common vision for the industry and shared
values with the broader community.
Ø
We all agreed that we wanted
a “world-class, thriving and sustainable maritime industry built on the values
of the Blue Economy” – a growing maritime economy, healthy ecosystems, and
resilient communities.
Ø
Once that agreement was in
place we began setting goals, finding models and examples, and committing our
plans to action.
[4] Maritime
Blue is just getting started, but can you comment on the long-term vision?
Ø I’m proud of the work we did
to ensure that the strategy we developed with all of these diverse stakeholders
is more than a plan on a shelf.
Ø
We were very intentional to
put in place accountability to the plan. The most effective tool we’ve seen is the cluster
organization. Following the model of public-private partnership, the cluster
model supports and requires these key elements to work together to accelerate
innovation and support entrepreneurship.
Ø
We launched an independent cluster organization whose mission is to
implement Washington State’s Strategy for the Blue Economy.
Ø
Over the long term, we
expect the cluster will gain further traction and momentum by attracting
investment, creating jobs, supporting a culture of entrepreneurship and
competitive cooperation, and building bridges to communities that are otherwise
affected or underrepresented.
[5] How
do you see it impacting the maritime community in the region?
Ø This cluster model, or
technology based economic development, is a new concept for many in the US and
most certainly in our maritime sector. It is different than a trade association
in that the focus is really on projects versus policy. It forces us to look
outside of our sector for new ideas and take some risks.
Ø
The world of innovation and entrepreneurship love to use the word
“disrupt,” but as a sailor that is about the worst thing one could say or
intend. In maritime, it’s about stabilizing chaos, not encouraging it. There is
a balance that we’re trying to tap into; innovation comes from doing things in
new ways and “failing fast,” but not upending the industry. Investors are
betting on technologies, but when margins are thin and the capital investments
are huge, there is much smaller risk appetite.
Ø That’s the beauty of the
Cluster Organization: it manages the risk. It seeks opportunity, builds
bridges, facilitates knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and
commercialization of technologies. If the (little c) cluster of members
are collaborative and sharing risk, analysis, and investments, then we are
quite literally “raising the hulls of all ships.”
[6] What sorts of services,
infrastructure, grants, or other types of support will WA Maritime Blue be
rolling out to support startups?
Ø The scope of work of WA Maritime Blue is six fold…. We call them the 6
F’s: Focus, Forums, Forward, Force, Finance, and Facility.
Ø
Blue Focus is a communications and marketing campaign. We need to
do a much better job telling the story of our sector and our members. We need
to reach the tech sector and those in control of risk capital. We need to reach
underrepresented communities and learn to communicate with diverse groups.
Ø
Blue Forums are open, public knowledge sharing events. This is
where we discuss the latest in technological developments, address community
issues, or invite new audiences to the working waterfront to learn about the
maritime industry.
Ø
Blue Forward is where much of the
work takes place. This is where we are facilitating Joint Industry Projects, connecting members and research
institutions, providing training and business services to include trade
missions and cluster-to-cluster connections.
Ø
Blue Force creates industry
driven workforce development programs. We are starting with the
coordination of the Youth Maritime
Collaborative – a group of youth-serving organizations that provide on the
water experiences for disadvantaged youths or underrepresented minorities that
otherwise do not have access or awareness of the opportunities in the
maritime industry.
Ø
Blue Finance is supporting creation
of a Blue Innovation Fund to drive
investments in the Pacific Northwest’s
maritime industry. We don’t intend to manage a privately capitalized fund but
we do intend to encourage it and then offer our network of entrepreneurs and
businesses as a investment opportunities, and our members and stakeholders as
market experts.
Ø
Blue Facility is the development of
a Maritime Innovation Center and related programming which will be a focal
point for all of the work mentioned above.
Ø With a hub and spoke model out to our more rural maritime communities,
this Center will both house accelerator and/or incubator activities,
public-facing events, and provide co-working space benefitting all types of our
members, from large global firms to local startups.
Ø
Although the physical
building may be a few years out, we are currently working on recruiting a first
round of entrepreneurs for a pilot accelerator program utilizing the existing
network of accelerator programs in the area.
PS: The opinions expressed herein are the author's and
not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.
