CCST Annual Report 2012-2013: A Policy for Growth

Release Date: September 5, 2013 | Last Updated Date: February 20, 2015

Release date: September 5, 2013

California is a state built on ingenuity. In both the public and private sectors, we are trendsetters and national leaders. Despite years of serious state budget shortfalls, California still leads the nation in a number of innovation related indices, such as total research and development expenditure and patent registrations. In 2012, our state attracted over 53% of the nation’s venture capital investment. Clearly California has many of the right conditions to encourage and sustain high-tech innovation and economic growth.

Long-term success depends on more than ingenuity, however. California cannot afford to be complacent, nor should we assume that its policy framework is ideal for encouraging the high-tech innovation the state depends upon so much. The breadth and depth of our research community gives us tremendous advantages, but we need to understand more about how to translate these advantages into lasting economic growth.