April 3, 1997
The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project
announced today its five-year goals for enabling Greater Washington to
compete with Silicon Valley, Malaysia, Boston and other regions for global
leadership in the knowledge industries. The goals are:
- new companies: cultivate 2,000 new entrepreneurial "Digital Age" firms
- new jobs: create 50,000 new knowledge-based jobs beyond normal growth
- more knowledge workers: triple the region's net-savvy work force
- bottom line results: increase the region's personal consumption by
$3.5 billion annually, beginning in 2002
- reputation: establish this region as the top U.S. location for
knowledge-based companies and entrepreneurial activity
A cross section of the region's leadership came together at The
Washington Post Company to hear this plan to face increasing domestic and
international competition. The Potomac KnowledgeWay plans to raise $10
million to pursue this aggressive agenda; the Development Campaign has
raised $4 million to date.
The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project is a Greater Washington collaborative
effort focused on fostering the growth of new and existing companies in the
knowledge industries; producing, recruiting and retaining a skilled work
force capable of competing in a global, information-driven economy; and
connecting our community at all levels to the opportunities in the
"Digital Age."
"Dozens of regions across the country and the world are gearing up
to compete in this new economy. Greater Washington needs to act now to
secure its leadership position," said George Newstrom, group executive
of EDS Government Services and a member of the Potomac KnowledgeWay
Project Development Campaign Council and Board.
Members of the Potomac KnowledgeWay point to statistics that
highlight the region's talent and experience in knowledge industries
such as satellite, wireless and Internet communications, new media,
systems integration and other information technologies:
- Greater Washington employs 262,000 technology workers at over 2,300
companies, the second highest concentration of technology firms in
the country. These firms generated $21 billion in direct revenue in
1994, or 16% of the economy's total revenue (George Mason University).
- More than 50 % of all Internet traffic passes through the Greater
Washington region, headquarters of companies such as AOL, MCI, and
UUNet (Washington Technology).
- More than half of the companies that control the $15 billion global
satellite communications industry are located in Greater Washington
(Washington Technology).
"Greater Washington's competitive edge in national and international
business development will be determined by regional collaboration," said
President John Tydings of The Greater Washington Board of Trade and a
member of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project Board. "Our success will be
measured by a net increase in new jobs and new business: a plus for
the whole region."
"It is up to this region's stakeholders to decide whether they want
to be leaders or followers in the new, digital economy," said Mario
Morino, chairman of the board of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project.
"The region's unique raw information assets and the emergence of a
network-driven entrepreneurial economy fill all the requirements for
becoming a top location for businesses in the 'Digital Age.' Our
leadership in the digital economy will mean a net increase in revenues
and a net improvement in the economy—that's a real 'Net Plus' for
everyone in the region."
Visit the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project's Web site at
http://knowledgeway.org.
Top of Page
