Contractors who build in San Carlos, Sunnyvale, and San Jose will now be working with one simplified set of regulations. Joint Venture developed a program to assign teams to mentor start-up companies and help them hone their business plans and drum up capital. The organization was also instrumental in recruiting the Flat Panel Display Consortium to San Jose. But Joint Venture isn't just a business booster. It is also addressing the region's social issues, like traffic, health, and education.
Silicon Valley is, after all, more than just a cluster of computer companies.
Morgan has been insistent that Joint Venture pay attention to social issues, especially education and health. Volunteers from the business community are partnering with teams of schools and trying to do some simple things that make a big difference. Like ensuring that year after year students learn new material. One team of schools found that between kindergarten and 8th grade, less than 30 percent of the material kids learned each year in science class was new. Because teachers from different grades hadn't been talking to each other.