Written by Tiffany Wilson, via Philadelphia Inquirer
Next year, Philadelphia will take its place on the international stage. We’re one of 15 North American cities to host playoff games in FIFA’s 2026 World Cup — arguably the most-watched sporting events on the planet — just a few of the many big-deal events helping to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, right here where it all began. It’s a rare opportunity to show off Philly as the world-class city we know it to be.
But as a recent Brookings Market Assessment makes clear, our region’s current economic performance does not yet reflect our world-class potential — particularly in the high-growth, high-opportunity sectors that drive national and global competitiveness. Next year is not going to deliver a “new” Greater Philadelphia — but it can give our region the jolt we need to capitalize on the momentum we already have and sustain that growth over the coming years.
Doing so will require our business leaders, civic institutions, and investment community to act deliberately and in lockstep — and we shouldn’t wait until 2026 to set the stage.
Capitalizing on where we’ve been to get where we’re going
Our region has long been a place of builders. From its early democratic, then industrial, roots to our now-global reputation in education, research, and healthcare, Philadelphia has never lacked talent or ambition. That potential is especially visible in medtech (a growing healthcare sector that generally connects patient care with technology, through devices for diagnosis, treatment, etc.) an area of strength for the region that hasn’t yet attracted the kind of recognition we’ve long seen with cell and gene therapy.
With deep clinical expertise, a thriving health system landscape, and a growing roster of diagnostics, digital health and device companies, Greater Philly has the ingredients to lead — but ingredients are not enough. To translate potential into performance, medtech innovation needs something more: a connected, credible ecosystem that brings all the players to the table and clears the path from invention to impact.
Aligning ecosystem momentum
What the Brookings report highlights — clearly and persuasively — is that fragmented approaches, no matter how well intentioned, are not sufficient to move regional markets. Our peers in other metro areas are coalescing around defined industry clusters with aligned investment, workforce, infrastructure and policy strategies.
Boston has a globally competitive ecosystem that breeds the best talent and produces some of the most valuable biotech research. Pittsburgh has made tremendous progress in advanced manufacturing, robotics, and AI, driven by Carnegie Mellon’s deliberate push to support translational R&D. These efforts didn’t happen by accident: They reflect sustained, cross-sector coordination around shared economic priorities.
The opportunity for Greater Philadelphia is to do the same — but in a way that reflects our distinctive strengths.
The solution isn’t just a policy or a program. It’s a mindset shift supported by intentional infrastructure. We need civic and industry leaders who are willing to think beyond individual institutions or transactions and invest in shared outcomes. We must invest in the connective tissue that makes this kind of alignment possible. That means convening stakeholders across counties and sectors. It means supporting medtech founders not just with programming, but with access to payors, health systems, clinicians and capital. That includes health systems leaning into innovation partnerships, investors aligning with regional priorities, and public-sector champions supporting scalable infrastructure rather than fragmented pilots. It means engaging in national dialogues while staying rooted in the needs of this region.
Greater Philadelphia’s economic challenges are serious, but they aren’t intractable. We tend to have duplicative efforts in the market, competing for the same mind share, and a history of not celebrating our biggest wins. When there’s a startup acquisition or exit, we need to rally and ensure that the talent, IP and positive ripple effect stays right between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.
Next year can be the spark that accelerates our progress, but it will require a sustained collective effort. We have the talent, institutions, and momentum required to go beyond this moment. Doing so will demand that we remain collectively focused on the goal after the headlines fade and the cameras leave. It will depend on a shared vision of a region that not only welcomes the world, but one that ensures economic opportunity and mobility for the people who already call it home.
And most of all, it means doing the hard, behind-the-scenes work that turns ambition into execution.
If we unlock our medtech potential the payoff is clear: more family-sustaining jobs, stronger clinical-commercial partnerships that result in better health outcomes for patients, and increased access to capital. Further, we’d strengthen our position as a national leader in health innovation — one that doesn’t just create the science, but brings it to market in ways that improve lives and reduce system-level costs.
More importantly, we’d be building an innovation economy that’s inclusive of the people who already live and work here. That’s what real impact looks like — when the science is world-class, the application is meaningful, and the economic growth is shared.
What comes next
We are seeing real momentum across Greater Philadelphia — and the Science Center is proud to be part of the coalition advancing it. In medtech, that means building the platform for others to plug into, invest in, and help shape.
For us to turn 2026 into a textbook moment of economic spark, we must focus on multi-stakeholder collaboration and scaling the infrastructure needed to ensure that high-potential innovations have a clear and supported path to market. The invitation is open to those who want to build with us: investors, health system leaders, public sector partners, and innovators alike.
This is not a return to a legacy industrial era. It is the next chapter in Greater Philadelphia’s story as a global hub of innovation — one that includes world-class science, practical application, and equitable opportunity. We know what is possible. Now is the time to make it real.
