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| Flinn Foundation 2001 Annual Report |
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| New Directions Defined | Page 2 of 4 | < Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next > |
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AN ARIZONA ACTION PLAN
Before launching a new product line, corporations develop a business plan - a roadmap that analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of their ambitions. They devise an action and implementation plan, defining how best to identify and commit resources to achieve their goals. This task is now underway for Arizona's future in the biosciences.
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 Earlier this year, the Foundation commissioned the Battelle Memorial Institute to develop a biosciences economic roadmap for Arizona. Battelle, the world's largest private, nonprofit organization recognized for technology development, has developed a similar roadmap for other states and regions. For the past several months, guided by a 25-member steering committee comprised of university, state, business, and economic development leaders, the Battelle team has been assessing Arizona's ability to compete successfully in the biosciences economy. This information will form the basis of an Arizona action plan.
Several messages have already emerged from data compiled by the Battelle study team -
some encouraging, some challenging. Among the most notable:
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 Encouraging:
Arizona's economic base in the biosciences is small but rapidly expanding, easily outpacing national growth trends.
Arizona has established itself in recent years as a major player in basic research, especially in the physical sciences and ecology.
While not yet a leader in the biosciences, Arizona is well positioned to take advantage of niche markets. The current trend toward convergence of technologies in electronics, information, optics, materials, and biosciences creates a potential competitive advantage for Arizona.
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Challenging:
Arizona's growth in basic research has slowed as state support of our universities has decreased. In the biosciences, Arizona's universities lag the national average.In order to take advantage of dramatic increases in federal funding of the medical and life sciences, Arizona must position itself more competitively by investing more heavily in its universities and research institutions. Failure to do so means the state will continue to miss out on a key driver of future economic growth.
Arizona lacks a "tool kit" of assistance programs to attract, retain, and grow bioscience firms. Its fiscal policy and tax base were designed for an old economy. To compete successfully, Arizona must adopt policies and programs that meet the needs of bioscience companies at all stages of their development.
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