While the Milwaukee region's economic base is rooted in its manufacturing history, many believe that the region's future prosperity will be tied to its ability to successfully transition its economy into one that is based on knowledge and innovation. Indeed, fostering innovation has become the call to action for business and political leaders alike. With the growing emphasis on innovation as a critical component of regional, state and national economic development strategies, it is pertinent to ask where the region stands in this regard. Several local efforts have been launched to promote "next generation" manufacturing, increase university research and development, and grow the region's knowledge workforce. As these efforts pick up steam, it is important to assess whether they are succeeding and how the region compares to others. The Public Policy Forum's Innovation Index is designed to do just that. In the premier report, the authors gather baseline regional data on measures that have been closely linked to the 21st century economy: idea development and commercialization; entrepreneurship; and the availability of knowledge and skilled workers. They utilize that data not only to assess whether the region is making progress, but also to evaluate how it measures up to other similar-sized metropolitan regions, including some that have been widely recognized for their innovation prowess. The authors plan to update this analysis at regular intervals in order to continue to measure the progress and benchmark the success against other regions. Definitions are appended. (Contains 1 diagram, 22 charts, 20 tables and 31 footnotes.)