| Young Americans Urged to Submit, Rate USA's Most Innovative Ideas; 12 Awards of $25,000 Each to Be Granted as Seed Money to Turn Ideas into Reality |
“We learned from the first campaign last year that innovative concepts come in all shapes and sizes - from filming documentaries to drive a point, to new business concepts, to new, online fund-raising techniques to enhance educational opportunities for children in a remote African village.”
The Seattle area is the most innovative region in the United States, Austin is the most entrepreneurial, Providence, RI is the most giving, and Los Angeles is the most creative, according to Visa's new Innovation Index, which examined variables of innovation for its www.ideashappen.com campaign.
Seattle was followed by Austin, Nashville, Minneapolis, and Washington D.C. Rounding out the Top 10 on the Innovation Index were San Diego, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, West Palm Beach, and Cincinnati.
The Index was created by Visa to measure on a per capita basis community support, entrepreneurialism, and creativity - elements of innovation - among the nation's top 50 markets. Many of these cities also finished strong individually in one or more of the three individual categories. (Comprehensive lists are attached.)
"The findings show that innovation is springing up all across the nation," said Jon Raj, campaign coordinator for Visa's Ideas Happen (www.ideashappen.com) campaign, which is urging young adults 18-to-29 years of age to submit ideas online for the chance to receive one of the dozen $25,000 awards ($300,000 total) to help turn their ideas into reality. "We learned from the first campaign last year that innovative concepts come in all shapes and sizes - from filming documentaries to drive a point, to new business concepts, to new, online fund-raising techniques to enhance educational opportunities for children in a remote African village."
Raj said the Index examined data, such as the average number of new businesses, expansions, new divisions, and the number of new patents issued by the U.S. Patent office through 2003 for the major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) to evaluate entrepreneurship.
Variables for community support were based upon U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data regarding the percentage of people employed by social organizations and the number of volunteers in the top 50 MSAs. The research also examined the percentage of adults employed in occupations that are classified as "creative," such as artists, musicians, architects, designers, writers, etc. Aside from the Index, which represents combined scoring:
-- The Top 10 scorers in the Entrepreneur category are: Austin, San
Diego, West Palm Beach, Houston, Raleigh, Dallas, Detroit, Salt
Lake City, Phoenix, and Seattle.
-- Top 10 scorers in the Community category are: Providence,
Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Milwaukee,
Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Kansas City.
-- In the category of Self-Expression, the Top 10 scorers were: Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Nashville, New York, Seattle,
Minneapolis, Raleigh, Boston, Orlando, and Austin.
While the new study looked at the largest 50 markets in the U.S., innovative ideas are being submitted to www.ideashappen.com from all over the country, in cities large and small, Raj said. In recent weeks, more than 4,000 people have submitted their ideas online in the form of 250-word "elevator pitches" in one of three categories: Community, Self-expression, or Entrepreneur. Ideas will continue to be accepted through Wednesday, October 20. (No purchase is necessary to enter or win. For official rules and how to enter, go to www.ideasHappen.com/rules.)
Recipients of the 12 $25,000 awards from Visa will be announced in mid-January, following a public online vote.
"Most importantly, we wanted to use the Index to encourage 18-to-29 year olds to express their ideas. They are so loaded with great ideas to help their community, start a new business, or express themselves creatively, but often fail to act upon their ideas because of what they perceive to be the lack of money or peer support. So, we're out to change that," said Raj.
EDITORS NOTE: The following pages include comprehensive lists of the Top 50 MSAs in the Innovation Index, and individual scores in Community, Entrepreneurship, and Self-Expression.
Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives. Nearly 21,000 financial institutions worldwide rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate $2.5 trillion in annual transaction volume with virtually 100-percent reliability. Cardholders in more than 150 countries carry more than 1 billion Visa-branded cards, accepted at millions of locations worldwide. Within the United States, nearly 14,000 financial institutions issue 450 million Visa cards, accounting for more than $1.1 trillion in annual transaction volume. Visa offers a trusted, reliable and convenient way to access and mobilize financial resources - anytime, anywhere, any way. please visit www.visa.com.
2004 VISA IDEAS HAPPEN INDEX
(Combined Score for Community, Entrepreneur, and Self-Expression)
Rank MSA State Score
1 Seattle WA 81
2 Austin TX 78
3 Nashville TN 77
4 Minneapolis MN 76
5 Washington DC 74
6 San Diego CA 73
7 Indianapolis IN 73
8 Salt Lake City UT 72
9 West Palm Beach FL 72
10 Cincinnati O 72
11 Dallas TX 72
12 Milwaukee WI 71
13 Portland OR 70
14 Charlotte NC 69
15 Raleigh NC 68
16 Detroit MI 67
17 Louisville KY 66
18 Columbus OH 66
19 Kansas City MO 66
20 Sacramento CA 66
21 Denver CO 65
22 Orlando FL 65
23 San Francisco CA 65
24 Los Angeles CA 64
25 Grand Rapids MI 64
26 Boston MA 64
27 Houston TX 61
28 Pittsburgh PA 61
29 Hartford CT 60
30 Richmond VA 59
31 Buffalo NY 58
32 Atlanta GA 56
33 New York NY 55
34 Phoenix AZ 55
35 Providence RI 54
36 Philadelphia PA 54
37 Chicago IL 52
38 St. Louis MO 51
39 Rochester NY 50
40 Cleveland OH 50
41 Tampa FL 48
42 New Orleans LA 48
43 Memphis TN 46
44 San Antonio TX 46
45 Las Vegas NV 46
46 Norfolk VA 44
47 Greensboro NC 42
48 Jacksonville FL 39
49 Oklahoma City OK 34
50 Miami FL 29
2004 VISA IDEAS HAPPEN INDEX
(Entrepreneur)
Rank MSA State Score
1 Austin TX 95
2 San Diego CA 93
3 West Palm Beach FL 93
4 Houston TX 90
5 Raleigh NC 90
6 Dallas TX 87
7 Detroit MI 86
8 Salt Lake City UT 85
9 Phoenix AZ 81
10 Seattle WA 81
11 Atlanta GA 79
12 Indianapolis IN 76
13 Charlotte SC 75
14 Grand Rapids MI 74
15 Tampa FL 72
16 Los Angeles CA 71
17 San Francisco CA 70
18 Boston MA 69
19 Hartford CT 68
20 Orlando FL 68
21 Milwaukee WI 68
22 Columbus OH 68
23 Portland OR 67
24 Sacramento CA 67
25 Rochester NY 66
26 Jacksonville FL 66
27 Denver CO 65
28 Las Vegas NV 64
29 Cincinnati OH 64
30 Chicago IL 63
31 Cleveland OH 62
32 Philadelphia PA 61
33 Buffalo NY 60
34 Memphis TN 60
35 Kansas City MO 59
36 Nashville TN 58
37 Louisville KY 58
38 New Orleans LA 58
39 Greensboro NC 58
40 Minneapolis MN 57
41 Miami FL 56
42 Richmond VA 56
43 San Antonio TX 56
44 Washington DC 55
45 Pittsburgh PA 53
46 New York NY 46
47 Providence RI 38
48 St. Louis MO 35
49 Oklahoma City OK 28
50 Norfolk VA 27
2004 VISA IDEAS HAPPEN INDEX
(Community)
Rank MSA State Score
1 Providence RI 83
2 Washington DC 82
3 Minneapolis WI 82
4 Louisville KY 82
5 Nashville TN 81
6 Milwaukee WI 74
7 Cincinnati OH 73
8 Indianapolis IN 73
9 Buffalo NY 72
10 Kansas City MO 72
11 Seattle WA 71
12 St. Louis MO 71
13 Pittsburgh PA 69
14 Charlotte SC 69
15 Sacramento CA 66
16 Portland OR 63
17 Grand Rapids MI 60
18 Columbus OH 60
19 Dallas TX 58
20 Salt Lake City UT 57
21 Richmond VA 54
22 Austin TX 54
23 Detroit MI 53
24 San Diego CA 47
25 Denver CO 45
26 Philadelphia PA 42
27 West Palm Beach FL 41
28 Orlando FL 40
29 Greensboro NC 36
30 Boston MA 35
31 Cleveland OH 32
32 Hartford CT 31
33 Memphis TN 31
34 Tampa FL 30
35 New York NY 28
36 San Francisco CA 28
37 Chicago IL 27
38 Rochester NY 26
39 Raleigh NC 26
40 Norfolk VA 26
41 Houston TX 24
42 Los Angeles CA 24
43 San Antonio TX 20
44 Oklahoma City OK 19
45 New Orleans LA 16
46 Atlanta GA 15
47 Phoenix AZ 15
48 Jacksonville FL 15
49 Las Vegas NV 6
50 Miami FL 1
2004 VISA IDEAS HAPPEN INDEX
(Self-Expression)
Rank MSA State Score
1 Los Angeles CA 98
2 San Francisco CA 96
3 Nashville TN 92
4 New York NY 92
5 Seattle WA 91
6 Minneapolis MN 89
7 Raleigh NC 89
8 Boston MA 87
9 Orlando FL 87
10 Austin TX 87
11 Denver CO 85
12 Washington DC 84
13 West Palm Beach FL 82
14 San Diego CA 80
15 Hartford CT 80
16 Cincinnati OH 79
17 Portland OR 79
18 Norfolk VA 78
19 Salt Lake City UT 75
20 Atlanta GA 72
21 Milwaukee WI 71
22 Dallas TX 70
23 New Orleans LA 70
24 Indianapolis IN 70
25 Columbus OH 70
26 Phoenix AZ 69
27 Houston TX 69
28 Richmond VA 67
29 Las Vegas NV 67
30 Chicago IL 67
31 Kansas City MO 66
32 Detroit MI 63
33 San Antonio TX 63
34 Sacramento CA 63
35 Charlotte SC 62
36 Pittsburgh PA 60
37 Rochester NY 59
38 Louisville KY 59
39 Philadelphia PA 58
40 Grand Rapids MI 57
41 Oklahoma City OK 57
42 Cleveland OH 56
43 Memphis TN 49
44 St. Louis MO 45
45 Providence RI 43
46 Tampa FL 42
47 Buffalo NY 41
48 Jacksonville FL 35
49 Greensboro NC 33
50 Miami FL 29
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