Today, Governor David Paterson received the final report of the Task Force on Diversifying the New York State Economy through Industry-Higher Education Partnerships from task force chair and Cornell University President David J. Skorton.
The 93 page report set forth a series of recommendations and resources designed to boost the economic growth in the Empire State by enhancing collaborations between the academy and industry. Among its core findings the report emphasized that New York “needs to develop an innovation ecosystem that efficiently and effectively unites universities, industry and capital.”
The Task Force found, as NYSHEI argued, that “New York can and must do more to convert its tremendous research capacity into direct and sustainable economic impact.” NYSHEI engaged the task force by submitting a solicited white paper and by offering oral testimony at an October hearing.
Heading into the 2010 legislative and budgetary season, NYSHEI will use the Skorton report to continue pressing for greater state support of information resources, particularly as embodied by programs such as the Academic Research Information Access (ARIA).
Notable suggestions from the report include:
* “a fundamental cultural change that consolidates and sales existing efforts towards a statewide vision,”
* and endorsement of the Rawlings Commission report emphasis on faculty recruitment and retention, which was a factor leading the Rawlings Commission to endorse ARIA,
* the need for greater support for university-based incubators (something offered by the ARIA legislation,)
* “pursue and invest in long0term umbrella agreements with universities for access to a portfolio of intellectual property,”
* a focus on information intensive fields such as “health and life sciences, energy, and nanotechnology,”
* a strong recommendation to train a workforce for “general STEM-oriented service science” opportunities. Implementation of this goal will require an investment in bolstered STEM information resource collections at a broader range of colleges and universities than currently exists.
The Task Force also called attention to the “paramount importance” of collaborative practices and attitudes” at both public and private institutions of higher education.
NYSHEI is crafting a formal response to the Skorton report that will soon be delivered to the Governor and all members of the legislature that will underline the necessity of leveraging academic and research library resources to achieve the task force’s goals.
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