Dallas-Fort Worth Adds Building Blocks for TBED

During the past two years, efforts have been launched in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex to boost its capacity for building a technology-based economy. The efforts have been directed toward increasing public-private cooperation, especially across organizations and jurisdictions that traditionally have thought of themselves as competitors, and conducting a critical review of the area's strengths and weaknesses.

Egos can get bruised in the critical assessment phase for any community or state, so outside experts may be used for an objective and independent review. For example, the Dallas Citizens Council (DCC) sponsored a study last year identifying the strengths and weaknesses of six public universities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area. The goal: raise the universities to the level of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. At the same time, the BiotechnologyDallas Coalition released an update of its initial 1998 assessment of the region as a potential biotech center. The Dallas advocacy group set forth its study to stimulate economic development focusing on biotechnology and the life sciences. Both studies outline key initiatives the Dallas-Fort Worth region must undertake if it and the region's six universities are to compete for future economic growth.

Strengthening the Higher Education Research Enterprise

The Dallas Citizens Council study, Metroplex Higher Education Benchmarking Study and Enhancement Strategy, considers the area's largest universities – the University of North Texas, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Texas Woman's University, and the University of North Texas Health Science Center – and discusses the role of each. The universities are compared with those in similar metropolitan areas such as Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Research Triangle and Silicon Valley.

Creating a top tier research university in the Metroplex, the study argues, would overcome two concerns perpetuated by the region — a minimal output of degrees in engineering, science and business information systems and an inability to produce the research capacity necessary for sparking advances in biotechnology.

A "tier one" university in the Metroplex could have a ripple effect on the entire region, the study suggests. Such an institution with top research capacity may draw top academic researchers who, in turn, attract academically elite students and "businesses looking for synergy between their needs and the academicians' research agenda." The researchers help bring federal research dollars to the local economy, and the students offer a talented science and engineering workforce, thus providing a base for entrepreneurial leadership.

In conclusion, the report recommended creating a strategic research alliance between the DCC designated universities and Metroplex businesses to focus their resources on research and to bring more research money to the region. As a result, the Texas Research Alliance was formed in December 2002 to serve those purposes.

Encouraging the Biotech Industry

Building on its 1998 groundwork, the 2002 update to BiotechnologyDallas centers on the industry's health care segment and related industries such as medical devices and telemedicine. It also considers how new studies and efforts released since 1998 have worked toward attracting biotechnology to the Metroplex.

Dallas already has some important resources for developing the biotech industry, the report states, and Dallas leads other Texas cities in venture capital investments. In 2001, $1.5 billion was spent on venture deals in Dallas with $51 million directed into Dallas-based biotech companies — a figure representing more than the combined total of Austin and Houston.

In the study's action plan, numerous goals are set with a target date of 2005. At least one of these goals is underway. In November 2002, the Dallas Morning News reported that 13 acres near the UT Southwestern Medical Center were sold for $4.15 million to build a biotechnology incubator there. The action plan proposed building the incubator as part of a BiotechnologyDallas Corridor near the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Other action steps include:

• Establishing a BiotechnologyDallas BioReady Building certification;
• Improving communications about biotechnology and the life sciences;
• Expanding networking and business support resources for companies and individuals;
• Increasing funding for biotech and related companies;
• Supporting research at Metroplex medical and educational institutions; and,
• Strengthening educational and training programs at all levels.

Copies of the DCC study may be obtained by e-mailing Donna Halstead, president of the Dallas Citizens Council, at dhalstead.dcc@sbcglobal.net. BiotechnologyDallas is available at: http://www.biotechnologydallas.org/