The United States and its higher education systems are on the verge
of a "new paradigm" in defining the roles of colleges and universities
in promoting state and regional economic development, says a report being issued today.
"The old paradigm rests largely on the traditional mix of business attraction and retention incentives," such as tax breaks or infrastructure, says the report, by the Rockefeller Institute of Government of the State University of New York. "Research, technology transfer, management assistance, and/or worker training are often thrown in among the incentives -- but sometimes as a kind of afterthought.... Perhaps there is now an opportunity to flip the old model around -- adopting a new, 'knowledge first' paradigm in which higher education systems explicitly take a leading role."
The study was commissioned by Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNY's new chancellor, as part of her efforts to promote economic development in New York State. But the analysis intentionally avoids a New York State focus. The idea is to survey national trends by compiling activities linking higher education and economic development in every state, with the goal of creating a framework to view these efforts. The report acknowledges that the concept of higher education-inspired economic development is hardly new, with many politicians boasting about how this or that research accomplishment spurred the creation of new businesses, or talking about how they would create the next Silicon Valley.
To read the full, original article click on this link: News: 'New Paradigm' for Economic Development - Inside Higher Ed
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