When an area attracts a new company to expand in their region it often has a high upfront cost. Incentives packages, tax cuts, and infrastructure payments made by the jurisdiction are just a few examples of how Northern Virginia has drawn corporate partners. The unemployment rate of 4.4% is testament that some level of incentives are good for a jurisdiction, to get a foot in the door or a whole sale relocation, as was the case with SAIC. The cost of these packages are often overwhelmed by the greater good of higher employment and regional stability. Unfortunately, with Fairfax County’s proximity to DC, most of the prospective companies that could be lured with this technique are tied to federal contracts. If they weren’t, they could likely find bigger incentives packages elsewhere.
In our previous article we noted that Fairfax has more than just proximity to DC going for it. An affluent population and high levels of educational attainment on par by numbers and by subject matter with Palo Alto are just a few examples. Why are some areas better at creating new types of jobs and unlocking innovation than others? Will a lower tax rate encourage a 25-year old future billion dollar innovator to select Fairfax as their hub? Will providing a $25,000 new businesses grant have much of an impact when the cost of living in this area is so high?
When you are talking about emerging industries, the great creations come out of new thinkers not yet locked into the profit models of modern corporatism. In corporate innovation an idea must show first how it addresses the current market place the corporation is involved in before it is pursued. This was the biggest flaw with Xerox Parc, a collective of young innovators funded by Xerox who created more future technology than any time since Menlo Park. Unfortunately, because many of these ideas did not bear any connection to Xerox’s existing business core, they were sold off for pennies on the dollar of what their future markets would create.
In non-corporate innovation the idea is focal first, strengthened by logistic feasibility, and commercialized through a market place. This is how the personal computer began. The idea was to provide a computer in every home, Xerox had this concept years before Apple, but what happened next is the difference in the two models. Apple pursued while xerox passed, and ultimately lost out on being the biggest technology company the world has ever known.
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Our area is a magnet for intelligent and creative individuals. Our high schools consistently rank high, graduates from local high schools often attend the best colleges as well as attain on the job training while in high school through after school internship programs and technical in-school classes. Unfortunately, many of these individuals move on after graduating to areas like Palo Alto, New York City, and other start-up hubs.
It is not shocking that the best and the brightest find federal contracting and the massive corporate systems antithetical to their career goals.
So how can Fairfax capture this talent and utilize it in a more productive manner?
The technology workhouse is a concept as old as the Renaissance. Gather the smartest and most creative into a collective place so that they can discuss, debate, collaborate, and move forward human knowledge. This is the concept behind our modern collegiate research system, behind Menlo Park and Xerox Parc, and most recently behind start-up hubs. How have these been so successful? There are three key elements to the technology workhouse;
- Housing is provided for free and at the same location as where the work research is occurring, helping to reduce the cost of living significantly for the otherwise unemployed innovators.
- The technology workhouse is broadened by multiple disciplines, an even mix of aesthetics (graphics and creatives), function (engineers and business), and innovation (scientists and inventors). This inter-connectivity of people generates fully envisioned products, not just theoretical concepts lacking feasibility.
- The tools and materials needed to design and create.
Clearly, creating a workshop like Leonardo’s would have little impact in modern business innovation… unless you are hoping to create some really nice wood-works. With modern technology comes new precedent and tools that will help create the future tools. This means common-share CAD, programming, graphics and business software; high end rendering capabilities, 3d-Printers, plotters, and office equipment. It also means common industrial tools and materials capable of creating proto-types.
There are many examples of this today; DC’s Startup 1776 Hub Center, Rotterdam’s Startup Campus, and locally (though in an alternative output) with the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center.
What would it look like and how much would it cost?
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