Reinventing Manufacturing

Reinventing Manufacturing
Recommendations to Bolster
California’s Clusters of Innovation
Related to Manufacturing
Leverage capabilities across California iHubs, and
within individual iHubs, through a dedicated statewide
funding mechanism.
Currently, the iHub system operates without any
state funding. Instead, iHub activities have been
funded through external partnerships—that often
then dictate the iHub’s strategies going forward.
If the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic
Development (GO-Biz) were to provide a pool of
competitive funds based on targeted metrics and
goals, iHubs could be more effective and accountable
in expanding the innovation infrastructure that
underlies advanced manufacturing. Competitive
funding also creates an opportunity for iHubs with
overlapping capabilities or geographies to partner
together to further their reach.
Invest in shared manufacturing spaces and provide
avenues for small manufacturers and start-ups to
engage with and commercialize new technologies
and processes.
Particularly in portions of the state where national
laboratories do not exist, there are opportunities for
the state to invest in high-tech facilities with state-ofthe-art
equipment that can support specific innovative
regional clusters. An example of this approach is New
York State’s commitment of $225 million to investments
in the Buffalo/Niagara region that would build
a cluster of green energy businesses. 26 The money will
go toward state-owned facilities that will house equipment
and machinery that clean energy firms need
to develop new products but cannot easily afford on
their own. To catalyze participation among a wide
range of manufacturers in similar programs, California
can employ a strategy resembling the small business
voucher program used in some national labs. Small
manufacturers would submit business plans to a governing
body that would select companies to participate
in the shared facility. These manufacturers would
then be given credits to be spent through utilization
of equipment and other business assistance.
Create improved coordination across engineering research
functions at University of California campuses.
Similar to the multi-state strategy employed by the
NNMI designee headquartered in Tennessee—which
includes participants from eight states—future California
applications for federal grants could consider
ways to better leverage competencies and areas of
specialization across the UC system. For example,
UC Davis has a well-regarded machine tools program;
UC Irvine’s core competencies include defenserelated
applications and medical devices; UCLA has
a smart manufacturing research center; UC Berkeley
is a leader in sustainable manufacturing; and UC
Santa Barbara has core strengths in materials. Creating
cross-campus partnerships in an application
supported by businesses and other research and
manufacturing organizations across the state would
allow California to better leverage the assets concentrated
in distinctive regions.
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