Texas Unveils Science & Technology Strategic Plan

Texas' Science and Technology Council recently released a science and technology strategic plan. The Council's vision is to make Texas the nation's leader in science and technology in the 21st century. The plan's premise is that technology is the economic force driving much of the state's current wealth and job creation. The report develops a series of recommendations with the intent of developing the research capacity and human resources Texas will need to ensure economic prosperity in the next century.

Much of the plan's focus is on human resources. However, two of the Council's recommendations would make significant changes to the state's technology-based economic development activities. The Council recommends in the report that the Advanced Research Program and Advanced Technology Program (ARP/ATP) receive an increase in funding. The current funding level of $60 million per biennium was established in 1985 when the program was created. The Council recommends the program be appropriated $90 million per biennium to foster the continued promotion of advanced research in Texas' universities.

The $90 million would be split with two-thirds of the new funding being allocated to institutions for matching money to encourage participation in research sponsored by the private sector and the federal government. The remaining one-third would be used to increase the dollars in the program for basic research.

The Council also recommends establishing the Texas Institute of Science and Technology to provide leadership, advice, and direction to the Governor and the Legislature and identify, support, and promote technology-based opportunities for Texas.

In the area of developing human resources, the Council estimates that more than 772,000 Texans work in the state's technology-based economy. However, industry requirements for skilled workers are growing faster than the state's workforce pool. Projections show that the state will need to fill more than 140,000 new positions in the technology workforce by the year 2000.

The S&T Council determined that the root of the workforce shortage problem stems from gaps in education and training. Texas is not producing sufficient numbers of high school graduates with adequate science and math skills which thereby decreases the number of students interested in pursuing college degrees in technology-related fields.

To combat this problem, the Council developed the following recommendations:

• Implement a statewide incentive-based Advanced Placement (AP) program in science and math in every Texas high school; and,
• Adopt a High Technology Curriculum in all of Texas' community colleges.

The Council feels that by implementing these two recommendations, students will receive the necessary education in math and science which will prepare them for, and therefore prompt them to pursue, technology-related careers.

The report also makes two additional recommendations to ensure that the state remains a technology leader. They are:

• Adopt a franchise tax credit for research and development activities; and,
• Develop a statewide information and marketing campaign.

For more information on the Strategic Plan, contact Jimmy Glotfelty in the Governor's Policy Office at 512/463-2198. The report will be able to be viewed on-line in a few weeks at www.governor.state.tx.us.