Chancellor Justin Schwartz from the University of Colorado Boulder introduced Mr. Brian Lewandowski, Executive Director of the Leeds School of Business Research Division. To set the table for the Pillars of Innovation panel that followed, Mr. Lewandowsky shared data and insights about the Mountain West innovation ecosystem and economy.
Introducing his colleague, University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Dr. Justin Schwartzacknowledged it was no accident the Conversation was being held in Boulder; this part of the country knows how to compete, and how to win.
Boulder and the broader Mountain West are leading in quantum and climate resilience technologies, as well as in training the innovators who will create and use them. Both industries come as a result of federal basic research funding decades ago; quantum computing, Chancellor Schwartz pointed out, is “long-growing tree” that would not exist were it not for that initial federal research investment — the foundation of new industries. LED lights, something that has rapidly proliferated around the world in the past two decades, are another example of decades of federally supported investment in science. Dr. Schwartz called this model the “blueprint” of national competitiveness, making the case that if the United States wants to continue to make breakthroughs and create new industries, federal science investment needs to be protected.
“The Mountain West states have diverse economies, populations, and growth that forms an ecosystem that supports innovation.”
Mr. Brian Lewandowski
Executive Director
Business Research Division
Leeds School of Business
University of Colorado Boulder
Thanking Chancellor Schwartz, University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business Research Division Executive Director Brian Lewandowskiquantified the Mountain West’s innovation economy. He started by highlighting the region’s defining characteristics: ruralness. Despite taking up 320,000 square miles, 8.2 percent of the U.S. total, the Mountain West states of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico only represent 2.6 percent of the national population, as well as 2.6 percent of GDP and employment. GDP growth and employment, while experiencing recent slowdowns, have remained strong over the long term, especially compared to national trends, with local government, education, and especially technology jobs leading long-term growth. Mr. Lewandowski noted the labor force in all three states is at the highest levels on record and job openings almost exactly match the number of unemployed persons.
Diving deeper into the specific industries driving the Mountain West forward, Mr. Lewandowski noted the region lags the rest of the United States in manufacturing overall, having only half the national average for a region its size but, despite this, has a strong advanced manufacturing sector. All three states are in the top ten for energy production, and the region has higher scientific and technical employment than the nation as a whole, 9 percent versus 6.9 percent. Tourism also takes up a larger percentage of regional employment than the national average, thanks to natural endowments like national parks and ski resorts. And, according to Mr. Lewandowski, one of its biggest comparative advantages for the region is its scientific and technical employment, which is much more highly clustered in the region than nationwide.
New business applications have soared in recent years, from 75,000 in 2012 to 225,000 in 2024. This is in part reflective of a younger overall population than the U.S. average — younger people, Mr. Lewandowski notes, tend to start more businesses.
Mr. Lewandowski also highlighted the ways individual Mountain West states are competing. Wyoming has the most competitive tax environment in the United States, and has the highest percentage of people working for a small business. Colorado has the second-highest educational attainment in the country, and New Mexico has the fifth-highest R&D expenditures per capita. All three states, though, are in the top six for small business innovation research per capita.
Echoing the remarks from the previous night, Mr. Lewandowski also highlighted the role that “place” had played in the region’s economic success, with natural and cultural amenities, from ski resorts to the newly relocated Sundance film festival, serving as a draw to the Mountain West. But beyond culture, the convergence of research universities, federally funded laboratories, and an innovative private sector has also created a “place” in the sense of a regional ethos of innovation and collaboration — just as valuable.
