A Voice for Washington's Innovation Economy
The Technology Alliance is a statewide, non-profit organization of leaders from Washington’s technology-based businesses and research institutions united by our vision of a vibrant innovation economy that benefits all of our state's citizens. Through programs, events, data analysis, and policy activities, we advance excellence in education, research, and entrepreneurship to support the growth of our high-impact industries; the creation of high-wage jobs; and economic prosperity for our entire state.
Pillars
At the Technology Alliance we believe that the foundation of a robust innovation economy rests on three pillars: an educated workforce, research capacity, and an entrepreneurial climate.
Educated Workforce
It’s no secret that high-tech companies require a highly educated workforce. Whether we are talking about techs at a life sciences start-up or Ph.D’s doing advanced research, the innovation economy doesn’t run without an excellent education system.
The Technology Alliance has worked on supporting and transforming education in Washington State since the organization was founded. In 2020, the TA led a Task Force on Remote Learning to ensure that all of our kids have access to a high-quality education, even when a health crisis or natural disaster means that education can’t occur in the classroom. That report can be found here.
Research Capacity
From the early days of the Technology Alliance, it was clear that no area had become a hub of the innovation economy without being in proximity to at least one major research institution. At the TA we research and report on metrics like how much stakeholders spend on R&D in Washington, how many patent applications are generated, and are we attracting and retaining leading scientific and medical researchers and engineers - all key markers of a thriving innovation economy.
To see our work and findings please visit our reports page and join us for our monthly presentations spotlighting the stunning breadth and depth of Washington state research institutions during our monthly Discovery Series.
Entrepreneurial Climate
It’s clear that entrepreneurs are critical to the success of an innovation economy. But what exactly is an entrepreneurial climate and how does the Technology Alliance support it? There is no one definition, but it does feel like we know it when we see it. Access to capital is an important metric - tolerance of failure is another key component. Further, a regulatory framework that encourages innovation is crucial for success.
In 2020, our Enterprise Capital Alliance (ECA) brought hundreds of local entrepreneurs together with leaders in the field to start making an impact here in WA. For future plans and news check out our ECA page.
Impact Over Time
Over two decades, our programming has directly impacted the following areas:
Alliance of Angels - Uncovering an unmet need for an active ‘Angel’ investment community, the Technology Alliance incubated and spun off the Alliance of Angels. Ten years later, the Alliance of Angels has granted more than $100M to more than 200 companies.
Technology in education - In its first five years, the Tech Alliance’s Smart Tools Academy provided in-depth, hands-on training to every school principal in Washington state, ensuring that they had the tools and know-how to lead their schools through a technology revolution (digitizing workflow first and beginning the conversation about using technology to transform teaching and learning).
Ada Developers Academy - With women representing less than 30% of tech employees, there is a clear need to be creative and multi-faceted to increase workforce diversity. The Technology Alliance launched, incubated and spun off Ada Developers Academy, which, after only two years, has already helped more than 100 women get the programming skills and hands-on job experience to make a transition into well-paying software engineering jobs with this region’s top employers.
Emerging research and innovations - Great ideas exist across the state, across sectors, and in public and private institutions. Through the Discovery Series, Innovation Showcase, and Research to the Marketplace, the Technology Alliance has worked to shine a bright light on emerging trends, big ideas, and early start-ups, and at the same time connect leaders from these organizations to others in the field, investors, policy-makers, and other audiences key to their future success.
Youth in computer science -As an increasing number of jobs require basic coding and mathematical skills, the call to introduce computer science principles early has become louder. The Tech Alliance’s Youth Apps program provided an accessible, fun entry point for both students and teachers in middle school and high school, through a combination of teacher training and a development contest for students. The program introduced basic programming and problem solving skills to more than 1000 students and 100 teachers over three years.
Opinion leaders’ understanding of tech issues - We know how important it is for our local, state and federal elected officials to understand the issues that cut across and directly affect the varied tech-driven sectors (IT, energy, life sciences, aerospace, retail, wireless, etc). And for the leaders in each of these sectors to have that same visibility and connections for themselves. The Technology Alliance has provided objective benchmarking research, thought leadership retreats, and compelling speakers to ensure that our elected leaders have a solid understanding of and strong relationships across the state’s tech-driven industries.