Bay Area Council Economic Institute and Silicon Valley Leadership Group Receive California 100 Grant to Examine CA’s Advanced Technology Future

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BACEI) and Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) today announced that they are the recipient of a research award from California 100, an ambitious statewide initiative to envision and shape the long-term success of the state. The California 100 research award, along with technical assistance from the Institute For The Future, will enable BACEI and SVLG to evaluate current facts and future trends to better understand the role that advanced technology will play in California’s next century. The team’s research will be led by Bay Area Council Economic Institute Senior Director Sean Randolph and will begin this summer.  

“It is never too soon to begin thinking about California’s future and through our research, we will shed light on future scenarios for California related to the innovation economy,” Randolph said. “Advanced technology and research and development have been catalysts for the state’s economic success over multiple decades, and we are excited to further study this area to begin to chart a path forward for California’s next century.”

The research will be complete by December 2021, and will lead to a set of policy alternatives for the future of California. The policy alternatives will be developed in conjunction with research teams from 12 other issue areas, and will be coordinated by Henry Brady, director of research of the California 100 Initiative and former Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley. “We are excited to work with our research partners that are international experts in their issue areas,” Brady noted. “We will not only develop a comprehensive knowledge base on various policy issues, but we will also offer actionable recommendations for the California 100 Commission and the larger public to consider.”

BACEI’s piece will focus on California’s innovation economy, looking at the various economic drivers like universities, talent, and venture capital—among others—that contribute to the state’s advanced technology ecosystem. In addition, the research will compare California to other states along a number of different metrics, highlighting opportunities for California while uncovering areas of weakness.

The California 100 Commission is a multi-generational advisory body that will develop recommendations for the state’s future and test those recommendations across a broad set of policy areas by directly engaging Californians. Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of the California 100 Initiative, is tasked with assembling and engaging the Commission, and ensuring that the research stream intersects with the initiative’s other activities including advanced technology, policy innovation, and stakeholder engagement.

“From climate change, to aging populations and rapid changes in industry, California will face enormous challenges in the years ahead,” Ramakrishnan noted. “We are fortunate to be able to draw on the deep talent of researchers in California to produce evidence and recommendations that will inform robust public engagement and set the state on a strong, long-term trajectory for success.”

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About the Bay Area Council Economic Institute
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute is a public-private partnership of business, labor, government and higher education that works to foster a competitive economy in California and the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Francisco, Oakland and Silicon Valley. The Economic Institute produces authoritative analyses on economic policy issues affecting the region and the state, including infrastructure, globalization, energy, science and governance, and mobilizes California and Bay Area leaders around targeted policy initiatives. Learn more at www.bayareaeconomy.org

About the California 100 Research Grants
California 100 is a new statewide initiative being incubated at the University of California and Stanford University focused on inspiring a vision and strategy for California’s next century that is innovative, sustainable, and equitable. The initiative will harness the talent of a diverse array of leaders through research, policy innovation, advanced technology, and stakeholder engagement. As part of its research stream of work, California 100 is sponsoring 13 research projects focused on the following issue areas: 

• Advanced technology and basic research
• Arts, culture, and entertainment
• Education
• Economic mobility, inequality and workforce
• Energy, environment and natural resources 
• Federalism and foreign policy
• Fiscal reform
• Governance, media, and civil society
• Health and wellness
• Housing and community development
• Immigrant integration
• Public safety and criminal justice reform
• Transportation and urban planning

For more information about California 100, please contact Jesse Melgar at jesse@California100.org.