Will Arizona be placing some high risk bets in biosciences? Tuesday, December 03, 2002 Arizona is evaluating a proposed strategy to ramp up bioscience investment in the state. A new report by Battelle calls for heavy investment: $1.4 billion over 10 years. This approach to building an innovation economy is high risk. And the scale of the investment may crowd out other, more promising technology areas. Arizone does not have a strong base from whihc to start...In 2001, Arizona ranked only 27th in NIH funding with $117 million. And the state is losing share, as other regions are growing more quickly. Read more. Or download the Battelle report from the Finn Foundation site. Other regions are investing heavily here. A recent Brookings report pointed out that bioscience development is already concentrated in nine metro regions. These regions attract investment, because they have both a strong research base and strong entrepreneurial networks geared to the biosciences. Download the Brookings report. Putting these pieces together is very tough. I have some experience here. Twenty years ago, I founded the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. (In addition, my wife is a molecular biologist working on cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic, so I get a daily dose of recombinant DNA technology stories.) My experience tells me this: there is a reason why there is no Bill Gates or Henry Ford in biotech. Bioscience development is extremely complex and requires dense networks of skilled professionals. Converting the promise of bioscience into economic prosperity is a heavy bet with long odds. That's not to say that Arizona should not move forward. But I would advise making these investments with eyes wide open and as part of a broader strategy to build an innovation economy. Is $1.4 billion the right number? What are the alternatives? What's Plan B? posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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