How Greater Phoenix can build on a decade of innovation

Published in 2014, “ Velocity: A Blueprint for Transforming Greater Phoenix into an Innovation Economy ” laid out a plan to bolster the region’s capacity for technology development, grow the skills of its talent pool, increase exports, and create a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and new firms.

During the Partnership for Economic Innovation’s (PEI’s) inaugural Innovation Summit on Nov. 24, Amy Liu, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Metro, offered a retrospective on the accomplishments made over the last decade and outlined what needs to be done to keep the Valley competitive in the years to come.

“[Greater Phoenix] has become a major center of advanced industries and innovation,” Liu says. “Getting to this point was not an accident, and nurturing all the conditions for in