Special Supplement
UC Davis' Aggie Square Can
Lead to Regional Prosperity
P H O T O : C O U R T E S Y O F G A R Y S . M AY
R
eport cards don’t always deliver the results one hopes ogy and innovations of UC Davis to the economic benefit of
Sacramento-area business, governmental and civic officials expressed support as well. This year’s state budget
for, but they can be great motivators. A group of
organizations was recently reminded of this after re-
ceiving the outcome of a Brookings Institution economic
performance assessment they commissioned.
Sacramento and surrounding communities. Other elected
includes $2.8 million for planning the 25-acre innovation hub
on our Sacramento campus that houses UC Davis Health.
Aggie Square will bring together a diverse array of start-
The report, “Charting a Course to the Sacramento Region’s ups, established companies, community organizations and
Recession lingered in our region. Between 2006 and 2016, the to discover new partners, launch businesses, scale ideas and
Future Economic Prosperity,” found affects from the Great
region ranked in the bottom third
UC Davis researchers, faculty and students. It will be a place
provide economic opportunity to
of the 100 largest metropolitan
areas in growth (67th), prosper-
ity (71st) and inclusion (84th),
all of which are critical to robust
economies. However, the authors
recognized improved economic
performance over the last five
years. They noted the region
“can take advantage of changing
market, technology, and demo-
graphic trends, but it must focus
residents
This year’s state budget
includes $2.8 million for
planning the 25-acre
innovation hub on our
Sacramento campus that
houses UC Davis Health.
on the core drivers and enablers
across
demographics,
skill levels and industries. It will
leverage our strengths and part-
nerships in health, agriculture,
food technology, clean energy,
clean transportation and more.
UC Davis is well-positioned to
be a catalyst for innovation that
translates into new businesses,
new jobs and new wealth for the re-
gion. We’re second only to the state
government as the area’s largest
of regional competitiveness and prosperity.” employer. Our regional economic impact equates to more
“globally relevant innovation asset” to grow the Sacramento annually. We have about 40,000 alumni who live and work in
Not surprisingly, the authors called out UC Davis as a
innovation pipeline. Sacramento-area leaders agree, and a
number of them have worked with the university to take on
bold new strategies for regional competitiveness and more
than 65,000 jobs and nearly $7 billion in economic output
the six-county region and have a stake in seeing their alma
mater contribute to the good of their communities.
Our external research funding has been on an upward
inclusive prosperity. We see opportunities to strengthen trajectory for many years, reaching a record $847 million
cational opportunities, and to bolster the local economy. previous year. Our innovations enabled the startup of 137
neighborhoods with a range of new jobs, services and edu-
One such strategy is Aggie Square. In April 2018, I joined
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg to announce the launch
of this innovation ecosystem to leverage the talents, technol-
in fiscal year 2017-18, an increase of $64 million from the
companies during the past 10 years; 16 were launched this
past fiscal year alone, which set a new record. These start-
ups raised more than $862 million in capital, and much of
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