Trickle Down at the David Brower Center: Innovating the Green Economy Conference, 1/21/10. Berkeley, CA. Opinion by Willi Paul.
As I walked away in the wet morning from the first session of the Innovating the Green Economy Conference at the David Brower Center in downtown Berkeley, there were more issues than solutions gurgling in my green pea brain. Consider:
The “presentation then – audience Q+A” format was insufficient to generate any real innovation – the goal of the conference. I think a “presenter lead workshop” format would be a smarter use of brain power and tax payer money.
From what I heard from panelist this day, there were far too many disconnected statistics and far too few qualitative inputs in the green pool. Academics and State research needs to be tied to real people.
Conference Co-Organizer and U.C. Berkeley Center for Community Innovation Faculty Chair Karen Chapple’s presentation sparked some interest. Her thesis is that innovation is best driven by local organizations. During her the Q+A, I asked her why the Berkeley Ecology Center and Oakland’s Green for All failed to show up on her on her high tech map of East Bay “innovation sites” and if her methodology to measure localization and innovation was “top-down” and she agreed. I need further clarification as to what Dr. Chapple means by “localization” and “local innovation.”
Isn’t there a ton of jargon and a lack of definition in the emerging green economy?! One presenter Tracey Grose, Vice President of Collaborative Economics, favors more open and flexible definition in the sustainable development field, because the conditions are complex.
Lastly, sadly, the conference started with over half of the name tags still loitering on the lobby table. Rainy day! I wish the Center for Community Innovation would have engineered a more robust and interactive in-conference community for the conference attendees.
This is a critical time for the Earth and innovation. This event, co-sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, did not seem to build on the local collaborative efforts that we desperately need to produce “green jobs.”
