# Why innovation alone won't save small towns | Marlise Horvath Schneider | TEDxNuremberg Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYiaW1qVQN8 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/zYiaW1qVQN8 Generated: 2025-12-27T15:32:59.406+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview The speaker argues that innovation policy alone, such as the CHIPS Act funding for Upstate New York, fails to revitalize struggling regions because it neglects the crucial element of societal engagement, proposing a shift from the Triple Helix Model to a Quadruple Helix Model that explicitly includes society to ensure that economic growth translates into tangible benefits like better education, healthcare, and housing for local residents. **Key Points:** - The speaker grew up in Cherry Valley, NY, a rural area in Upstate New York characterized by economic decline, low high school graduation rates (33 students in her class of 41), and poverty. - The current innovation policy, exemplified by the CHIPS Act providing billions to re-shore semiconductor fabrication facilities, risks creating an isolated ecosystem that benefits only industry and government without uplifting the local community. - The speaker advocates for replacing the Triple Helix Model (Government, University, Industry) with a Quadruple Helix Model that adds 'Society' as a fourth essential stakeholder to drive regional innovation and transformation. - The failure of current policies is exemplified by the fact that Upstate New York politicians told residents to leave for jobs elsewhere, showing a lack of investment in local human capital. - The speaker’s PhD project focuses on lost regions of innovation, analyzing why places like Silicon Valley become hubs while others lag behind despite similar policy efforts. - The goal of the Quadruple Helix is to ensure that regional transformation, driven by innovation, results in tangible improvements in social welfare metrics like housing, education, healthcare, and community engagement for the local population. - The speaker concludes by emphasizing that the Quadruple Helix Model ensures that policies benefit the people who live there, creating a future they desire. ![Screenshot at 00:06: The speaker, Marlise Schneider, stands on the TEDxNuremberg stage introducing her talk titled "From rustbelts to microchip valleys? What Innovation policy for regional revitalization misses – and how to fix it?"](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-00-06.jpg) **Context:** This TEDx talk by Marlise Horvath Schneider addresses the challenge of regional revitalization in areas like Upstate New York, often referred to as Rust Belt regions, which suffer from economic stagnation, out-migration, and poor social welfare indicators. The speaker contrasts the highly successful innovation ecosystem of Silicon Valley with the struggles of her home region, arguing that current innovation policies, exemplified by the massive government funding through the CHIPS Act, are insufficient because they focus narrowly on technology and industry without integrating the needs and voices of the local society. ## Detailed Analysis Marlise Horvath Schneider delivers a presentation arguing that current innovation policies aimed at revitalizing former industrial areas, or 'Rust Belts,' are fundamentally flawed because they exclude the direct input of society, leading to innovation hubs that remain disconnected from local residents. She recounts growing up in Cherry Valley, NY, a region facing high poverty and low high school graduation rates (33 out of 41 graduates in her class), which contrasts sharply with the success stories like Silicon Valley. The speaker highlights the CHIPS Act, which promises billions in federal funding to re-shore semiconductor manufacturing in Upstate New York, noting that while this brings industry and government (the Triple Helix components) together, the local population often remains isolated, lacking access to basic welfare like housing, healthcare, and quality education. She proposes adopting the Quadruple Helix Model, which adds 'Society' as the fourth helix alongside Government, University, and Industry. This inclusion ensures that policy aims at creating regional innovation that leads to tangible improvements for the people living there, securing a desirable future for the community rather than just building factories for external benefit. ### Personal Context and Problem - Speaker grew up in Cherry Valley, NY (a Rust Belt area) with low high school graduation rates (33/41) and poverty - She contrasts this with Silicon Valley's success and notes that local politicians historically encouraged migration elsewhere. ### Critique of Current Policy - The CHIPS Act funding for semiconductor facilities in Upstate NY represents a focus on the Triple Helix (Government, University, Industry) which is insufficient for true revitalization. ### Proposed Solution - Speaker advocates for the Quadruple Helix Model, adding 'Society' as the fourth component to ensure innovation policies address local needs. ### The Four Helices - The Quadruple Helix Model involves Government (e.g., CHIPS Act funding), University (e.g., SUNY Polytechnic), Industry (e.g., IBM, Micron, GlobalFoundries), and Society (local community/residents). ### The Disconnect - Current policy risks creating isolated innovation hubs where residents don't see the benefits (housing, healthcare, education) or feel part of the transformation. ### Call to Action - Policymakers and companies must actively engage the community through town halls and education to build a future that the residents want, ensuring the ecosystem thrives beyond just technology metrics. ![Screenshot at 00:02: Opening shot showing the TEDxNuremberg branding on a frosted glass held by a hand, setting the context for the event.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-00-02.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:05: Slide displaying the logos of event sponsors: REHAU, New Ventures, Turkish Airlines, and Fröhlich Film.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-00-05.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:50: Animated globe showing a flight path connecting Nuremberg, Germany, to New York City, illustrating the geographic distance the speaker traveled.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-00-50.jpg) ![Screenshot at 02:21: Split screen comparing an abandoned street in an Upstate NY Rust Belt city \(left\) with a brighter lot featuring street art \(right\), visually representing the contrast between decline and potential revitalization.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-02-21.jpg) ![Screenshot at 08:26: Venn diagram illustrating the Triple Helix Model \(Government, University, Industry\) with the CHIPS Act logo in the government circle, before showing the addition of Society to form the Quadruple Helix Model.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/zYiaW1qVQN8/00-08-26.jpg)