SCR 10-ALASKA YEAR OF INNOVATION    3:37:46 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced that the next order of business would be CS FOR SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 10(STA), Proclaiming 2019 to be the Year of Innovation in Alaska. 3:38:35 PM DAKOTA ORM, Staff, Senator Mia Costello, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Senator Costello, prime sponsor of CSSCR 10(STA), stated, "Introduced by Robert Tucker [chief executive officer (CEO), Innovation Resource Consulting Group, Santa Barbara, California] last year [2017] at the [Alaska] Innovation Summit, SCR 10 would proclaim 2019 as the year of innovation in Alaska." She said that this designation spotlights a crucial need in the state and highlights the work being done by the legislature and Alaskans statewide. She relayed that innovation can help address all challenges that Alaska faces, whether it be harnessing technology or growing economic diversification. MS. ORM continued by saying that Alaskans are innovators by tradition and necessity. She maintained that there is a pioneering spirit in Alaska that requires innovation and adaptation; it existed among the founders that helped build our state and encompasses public policy and how Alaska manages its resources. MS. ORM maintained that declaring a year of innovation would not only spur conversations but also allow organizations to take advantage of that declaration in various ways. She asserted that it would recognize innovation already occurring in the state from the university level to groups such as those engaged in LEGO robotics and Lemonade Day. She offered that Alaska constructs a culture in which innovation, entrepreneurship, and "out of the box thinking" is encouraged and accepted. She maintained that declaring a year of innovation would aid in the growth of this culture, as well as Alaska's overall economy. 3:39:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked, "Why 2019?" MS. ORM replied that 2019 was chosen to allow for an entire year to "really enjoy and prosper in innovation." REPRESENTATIVE TUCK mentioned that sexual assault awareness resolutions are proposed year after year. He asked if it is the intent of the sponsor that resolutions like CSSCR 10(STA) be introduced every year, or if this would be just for one year. 3:40:57 PM SENATOR MIA COSTELLO, Alaska State Legislature, responded that as the sponsor of CSSCR 10(STA) and because she has made innovation and entrepreneurship the hallmark of her legislative career, her intent is to proclaim only 2019 as the year of innovation in Alaska. She expressed her belief that proclaiming a year of innovation would have positive results in the form of startup companies ("startups") and new jobs. She said that it is her intent to designate 2019 and is open to other years being designated. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK expressed his appreciation that the University of Alaska (UA) is included in the proposed resolution. He stated that Alaska is 49th or 50th in patents among the [states]. He relayed that Texas invested in their universities to do research and development for its petrochemical industry. Texas set up the [Texas] Materials Institute (TMI) so that once the students learned the science and technologies of the industry, they were able to develop the machine tool technologies and applications, then entrepreneurially apply them to the industry. He added that Silicon Valley heavily invested in California's universities for high-technology ("high-tech") innovation and development. REPRESENTATIVE TUCK expressed his belief that Alaska has a great deal of underutilized potential; the university could play a significant role; and university research dollars can leverage federal funds. He referred to page 2, lines 26-28, which read, WHEREAS university research contributes to the development of intellectual property, interdisciplinary entrepreneurial programming and education, and effective technology transfer and is a vital component of an effective innovation ecosystem; REPRESENTATIVE TUCK referred to page 3, lines 6-8, which read, WHEREAS 20 percent of innovations come from collaborations between multiple institutions, half of which are public-private partnerships between private companies and universities or government research labs; REPRESENTATIVE TUCK expressed his appreciation that this language was included in the proposed innovation resolution. 3:43:21 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS stated that he supports the proposed resolution. It is consistent with trends in Alaska, which are needed more than ever with the current fiscal situation. He offered examples of startup businesses and creating value where none existed before: [Barnacle] Kelp Salsa [in Juneau]; The Boardroom co-working space in Anchorage; and microgrid and energy startups. 3:44:01 PM REPRESENTATIVE BIRCH relayed that he fully supports the proposed resolution. He stated that as a mining engineer, he can attest to Alaska's long tradition in the creation of innovative products. He mentioned as an example the "Intelligiant," a water cannon used in hydraulic mining, invented by John Miscovich of Fairbanks. He added that it is used around the world and is the standard for water delivery. He opined that the proposed resolution is a great idea; from the oil fields to the fish processors, Alaska could improve techniques. 3:44:54 PM REPRESENTATIVE WOOL commented that between the new University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Engineering Learning and Innovation Facility (ELIF) and the adjacent School of Management (SOM) [Bunnell] Building is a lounge where business students and engineering students are encouraged to collaborate and eat together. 3:45:31 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS opened public testimony on CSSCR 10(STA). 3:45:57 PM MATT MORRISON, Executive Director, Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER), testified that the proposed resolution represents an opportunity for Alaska to provide leadership not only in state but in the Pacific Northwest to enhance ecosystems for innovation, which requires empowering local public-private collaboration. He opined that naming next year [as the year of innovation] could spawn events around the state and encourage young and old to enhance creativity to solve real challenges within their own communities. He maintained that Senator Costello has been instrumental in leading the PNWER Innovation Working Group; it serves to inform neighboring states and provinces as to the role they can play in promoting shared leadership with local governments, communities, neighborhoods, schools, universities, and the private sector. He opined that the resolution is a great idea; he looks forward to Alaska's leadership in the region, especially with its unique environmental challenges; and the proposed resolution could empower collaboration between the public and private sector. 3:48:24 PM NOLAN KLOUDA, Executive Director, Center for Economic Development (CED), University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA,) testified that he believes that the time is right in Alaska for dialogue about innovation, entrepreneurship, and future directions for the state. He relayed that CED research has shown that Alaskans are more likely to start businesses than residents of most other states; Alaska ranks in the top two or three states for individuals starting a business. He said that startup companies in Alaska add about 4,000 to 6,000 jobs each year to the state's economy, and that has continued despite Alaska entering a recession and its economy losing jobs. Businesses are still being started, and they are continuing to hire. MR. KLOUDA maintained that Alaska has many of the assets that fuel innovation: the UA System has research specialties in energy and atmospheric science in Arctic technology; some of the research is moving into the commercialization phase with a very active commercialization effort within the university. He stated that Alaska also has a high concentration of engineers and experts in technology for many of its industries - resource development industries and transportation and aviation industries. He said that there is a strong "knowledge economy" component to the industries in the state. MR. KLOUDA maintained that there is also an entrepreneurship ecosystem forming and maturing within the state; a formal Angel Investor Network (AIN) that specializes in investing in early stage startup companies now exists in the state; and there is a startup accelerator in state, called Launch Alaska, to advance startup companies to a more mature phase. MR. KLOUDA mentioned there is a regular calendar of events including a startup weekend, which takes people through the process of creating a new business over a 54-hour period during a weekend. He stated that CED staff perform research on the economy and apply it to activities that might foster more entrepreneurship. He relayed that CED uses Google's Design Sprint process, in which an interdisciplinary team focuses on creating a new product. 3:51:55 PM JULIET SHEPHERD, Project Manager, Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, expressed her appreciation for the inclusive and meaningful resolution to align infrastructure in state, through which innovation can be developed and startups come to fruition as full stage Alaska businesses with the support of the legislature, the UA, economic development entities, and the communities in public-private partnership. She reported that she is one of the founders of the "year of innovation" pipeline piloted over the past two years, which has resulted in three startup businesses from the cycle of the integrative (indisc.) through a process in a cyclical manner incorporating available infrastructure. She stated that she knows that the process works. She maintained that the proposed resolution would offer an opportunity to highlight the emerging pipelines that collectively make up a channel through which not only private individuals in communities can enter into the startup process but also have the opportunity to work closely with the university; it would diversify the perspectives for creating products useful to the public both in and well beyond Alaska and incorporate intellectual properties through university research. 3:54:20 PM CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS closed public testimony on CSSCR 10(STA). CHAIR KREISS-TOMKINS announced CSSCR 10(STA) would be held over.