Technology, Innovation, and Regional Economic Development. Background Paper Number 2. Encouraging High-Technology Development

摘要

The background paper examines a wide variety of initiatives launched by different communities and identifies some of the factors that lead to success. The intense competition for high-tech development has generated hundreds of high-technology initiatives. Those investigated here fall into six general categories: research, development, and technology transfer; human capital; entrepreneurship training and assistance; financial capital; physical capital; and information gathering and dissemination. State and local initiatives hold promise for promoting technological innovation and regional economic development. Most have been launched in the last three to five years, and have had no formal evaluation. Many experienced a considerable amount of high-technology development before launching their initiatives. OTA's investigation suggests that additional factors increase the odds of success: identifying and focusing on local needs and resources; adapting to external constraints; linkage with broader development efforts; local initiative and partnership; and sustained effort. The background paper helps address the factors influencing the creation and location of high-technology firms and the roles that high-technology industries play in the growth and revitalization of the US economy.