BASIC Scores Big Win for California Innovation

The Council’s Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC) scored a hug win when Governor Brown recently signed AB 2664 into law. This bill, authored by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin and backed by BASIC, will help the University of California (UC) expand the infrastructure necessary to increase innovation and entrepreneurship at each UC campus for the purpose of creating economic development for California. Additionally, the Governor’s enacted 2016-2017 state budget provides $22 million to fund this effort. This new law and funding for innovation will help UC boost economic development and job creation throughout the state. According to UC, it is now the world’s academic leader in the number or research inventions, with 1,700 reported in 2014. Recently, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute released a report titled, “Entrepreneurs, Startups, and Innovation at the University of California,” which highlighted the role of UC as an economic driver for innovation and economic development in California’s economy.  The report found that UC’s startup ecosystem has spawned hundreds of new companies, employing tens of thousands of workers and adding $20 billion to the California economy. To engage in the Council’s BASIC initiative, please contact Bay Area Council Economic Institute Senior Director Sean Randolph.