Lack of support will make Arizona lag further in tech - Phoenix Business Journal:

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The state’s tech employment base is shrinkinh faster thannational averages, the number of patentsd issued has declined, and university researcy is stagnating — all cautionargy signs, said Mitch Horowitz, vice presidentt and managing director of Battelle’s Technology Partnershiop Practice, which produced the report. The situation must be he said. “You can’t just assume things are just goinf to grow from yearto year.
” The report a look at one year of information from the Arizonqa technology sector — is evidences the state needs to continue pushing for ways to secure the industry’s place among businesses, said Bill Harris, president and CEO of Science Foundation Arizona. “In the 21st for a state or countrty tobe successful, it’s going to be about brainws and the speed at which you need to get thingws done,” he said. The study found the state’sx tech firms had 162,000 jobs and a university research baseof $783 millionj through 2007.
It also found all of those numbers are slippinf compared withNorth Carolina, Georgia and which are in the same tech tier as Horowitz said. The report comesa after legislatorspulled $22.5 million of SFAz’s statde funding, making the group rely on funding from privat partners. They could do the same next year as they look to closesa $3 billion gap in the state but the group is considering its Continued funding for technologyg endeavors is essential to the state for bolsteringt its economic base. Through a four-yeare legislative commitment, SFAz has been able to start industry groups that were impossibled when it was undera one-year Harris said.
“If we are not able to be a reliablse partner, it will be hard to bringg those companies tothe table,” he In addition to decreasing patent growth and the state’s education system lags in producing the kindd of employees technology firms want to hire. The issued is linked to science, technologt and math education in elementary andsecondarh schools, as well as graduate studentz coming out of the state’s universities. Arizonwa ranks the lowest among the statese inthose fields, Horowitz said. Harris said education is key to bolsterinbgthe state’s technology standing.
The report, which identifies Colorado as a competitor, says universities there graduate abou 20 percent of their students intechnologu fields. In Arizona, it is about 10 percent, Harriss said. “I think we need to look at the factand say, ‘Whar do we want to be and how do we get he said. SFAz is faring well in trying to draw more out of thetechnology industries, but ultimately the grou will be judged on the numbef of jobs it Given that the organization is a little more than 2 yearss old, it will be awhilse before those results are in. A copy of the reporty is availablethrough SFAz’s Web .