| The Kitsap Economic Development Council (KEDC) was recently notified by the Governor’s office that it has been awarded $10,000 for what has been termed an Innovation Zone Planning Grant. The competitive grants are intended to encourage local collaborations to explore the nature and implications of “Innovation Zones” as an economic and workforce development tool. According to former KEDC Executive Director David Porter who wrote the proposal, the grants are viewed as the first step in developing a statewide strategy for driving public resources towards areas with unique concentrations of innovative activity.
The grant proposal was authored in conjunction with the KEDC’s economic development partners Olympic College, the Port of Bremerton, and the Olympic Workforce Development Council.
The industry focus outlined in the proposal is the marine cluster, which includes recreational and commercial fishing; aquaculture; environmental engineering; water quality management; marine engineering; and alternative energy (wave and tide). The geographic boundary includes the entire Hood Canal Watershed, which runs from Port Gamble south to Shelton in Mason County. Collectively the two counties have over 600 miles of shoreline that already includes a critical mass of cluster-related activities and enterprises, as well as valuable marine fauna.
The proposed zone will tap into the diversity of scientific and engineering disciplines associated with the marine industry cluster, such as oceanography, hydrology, meteorology, geology, marine engineering, biochemistry, and microbiology. The opportunity to form partnerships that leverage research and development initiatives and encourage innovative practices is viewed as a major benefit of the Innovation Zone proposal. |
