Leaders in the Global Biomimicry Movement

We have partnered with the City of San Diego and local universities to become the world’s first biomimicry hub.

Biomimicry in Action

Read all about innovations that have been inspired by nature.

The Economic Impact of Biomimicry

“Global Biomimicry Efforts: An Economic Game Changer”
“In 15 years biomimicry could represent $300 billion annually of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 dollars. It could provide another $50 billion in terms of mitigating the depletion of various natural resources and reducing CO2 pollution. Biomimicry could account for 1.6 million U.S. jobs by 2025. Globally, biomimicry could represent about $1.0 trillion of GDP in 15 years.”

These are the exciting results of an economic impact study commissioned by San Diego Zoo Global in 2010. The study, conducted by the Fermanian Business and Economic Institute at Point Loma Nazarene University, predicts that in the coming years biomimicry will be an economic game changer. This promising study shows the reality of biomimicry as a means of creating both environmentally sustainable and economically viable products.

Download the Executive Summary
Download the Full Report

Da Vinci Index:  The First Metric for Biomimicry
An Introduction
Biomimicry is one of the most promising scientific fields that could transform the ways goods and services are designed, produced, transported, and distributed.  It could represent a major “game changer” in the 21st Century by forging a bridge between environmental and business interests.

In order to increase awareness among business leaders, government policymakers, investors, and the media, the Da Vinci Index has been designed to measure activity occurring over the past decade and going forward in the field relating to biomimicry and bioinspiration. 

The Da Vinci Index is designed to provide a tangible metric or barometer of progress in the field.  It would join other tracking indices, such as the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, the S&P 500 Stock Price Index, and many others.

The Da Vinci Index is comprised of four sub-components.

Number of Scholarly Articles
Because much of the work being done in biomimicry has roots in academia, monitoring the publications in various journals in the field is viewed as an important element.

Number of Patents
Patent awards are often one of the first steps in the commercialization of bio-inspired concepts and are therefore included.

Number of Grants
National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants are incorporated in the Index to capture the extent of government support for the field, with the prospect for further development as research is translated from concept to implementation.  While other agencies also issue grants, NSF and NIH appear to capture the bulk of activity.

Dollar Value of Grants
To incorporate not only the scale but also the scope and magnitude of the grants involved, the dollar value of each award is also included as one of the sub-components.

The Results

Download the Initial Report
Biomimicry has experienced explosive growth during the past decade.  The composite Da Vinci Index posted a seven-fold rise between 2000 and 2010, climbing from 100 to 713.  This represents a 22% compound annual rate of growth.  The Index has advanced further in 2011 to a level of 752 based on annualized data for the first six months of the year. 

The number of patents has experienced a particularly rapid climb, jumping 14-fold between 2000 and 2010.  Only 3 patents were issued in 2000, while 41 were issued last year.  So far in 2011, the number of patents issued is running about 17% above last year’s level.

The number of scholarly articles rose from 285 in 2000 to 1507 in 2010, representing more than a five-fold increase.  For the first six months of 2011, the scholarly publication numbers indicate an annualized number of 1760 articles.

The number of grants increased from 71 in 2000 to 224 in 2010 for a three-fold rise.  The dollar value of these grants advanced from $24 million in 2000 to $93 million in 2010, representing nearly a four-fold rise.  A further sizable advance occurred in the first quarter of 2011 before easing in the second quarter.

The Da Vinci Index and its sub-components document and underscore the dramatic rise in the field of Biomimicry as it embarks on a course that could impact large swaths of the U.S. and global economies.

The above information was graciously provided by:
Point Loma Nazarene University
Biomimicry BRIDGE