Olympia takes Next step toward innovation

If you are wondering what’s next for the state of Washington, the governor’s office has some ideas. Many, in fact.

Last month, Gov. Chris Gregoire quietly released “Next Washington: Growing Jobs and Income in a Global Economy.” Quietly, in the sense the 22-page document has almost completely escaped media notice despite the intent to address the challenges Washington faces assuring prosperity for its businesses and residents. Little that state government does is more important.

But she unveiled Next in the right place, before the right people.

The occasion was the Governor’s Economic and Workforce Development Conference, held in Vancouver. Education and worker training have been priorities for previous administrations, but the scarcity of workers that employers need has become more acute with the resurgence of manufacturing, and the strong construction cycle.

And taking the message outside the Puget Sound area dovetails with one of the truly new thrusts of her administration: taking heed of the unique aspects of Washington’s regional economies, agriculture in central and Eastern Washington, for example, or Spokane’s increasing reliance on the health care industry.

Gregoire will apparently forsake traditional statewide, one-size-fits-all policies for alternatives designed to encourage Walla Walla’s booming winemakers or the emerging biofuels industry at Grays Harbor. The state has embraced the idea of industry “clusters.”

To underscore the attention to thinking beyond Olympia, members of her Cabinet have been dispatched around the state to discuss the plan and encourage feedback that can be incorporated in a final version. The final document will be used to shape the programs the governor will submit to the next Legislature.

Employment Security Division Director Karen Lee and Charles Earl, executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, were in Spokane last week to meet with business and education leaders. They also toured the Triumph Composites factory on the West Plains, a supplier to Boeing and its European competitor, Airbus.

As the plan says, and Lee emphasized, Washington businesses will not be able to compete globally on cost. But they can compete on work force capability, quality and innovation if the state provides the appropriate support in terms of education, infrastructure and service. The state has also made a commitment to direct aid to new industries like biofuels and the life sciences.

Lee and Earl said the coordination between Spokane businesses and the community colleges in addressing training needs is exemplary, as is the unified approach and agenda local leadership takes to Olympia.

But the Next Washington study is not without its defects. On taxation, for example, the document does not go much beyond this statement: “We need to deepen the on-going dialogue around the state about fair and sufficient tax policy.” Nor is much said about workers’ compensation or unemployment programs. Policy goes only so far without addressing some of the nuts-and-bolts issues.

Business will also expect measurable results, and commitments to more than short-term solutions. The document suggests that progress should be measured over 90-day intervals. A focus on quarterly results has undone many a U.S. business.

But this is a good time to undertake the kind of assessment Next was intended to prompt. Thanks to a resurgent Boeing Co. and a strong construction cycle, Washington’s economy has rebounded from the dot-com bomb and other setbacks of a few years ago. It’s tough to look ahead if you are in a hole. Bad times tend to induce more finger-pointing than forward thinking.

It doesn’t hurt that the state may have a few dollars to invest in innovation.

By the way, credit should be given to state senators who came to Spokane last week to get an Eastern Washington take on the issues. The extra costs involved were more than worthwhile.

There’s a link to Next Washington at the governor’s Web site: www.governor.wa.gov.