Government Research and Small Business

The political and economic pressures of creating employment opportunities and providing higher standards of living for individuals have resulted in intense examinations of economic growth stimulators. These studies have shown the international attractiveness of encouraging, developing, and utilizing advanced technologies. The result is that government and education have focused their efforts on research, technology transfer to industry, and the encouragement of new enterprises. While research parks and incubators hold some immediate attraction, longer term efforts are toward developing university research with industrial applications, accelerating knowledge transfer, and providing technical assistance, Iowa's new efforts using advanced technologies as an economic development tool began in 1982 and have expanded rapidly. These efforts include venture capital, incentives for research, education and training, and direct grants for research. The next major steps are expected to be in increasing the flow of information and technologies between researchers, universities, and the laboratories. Some of the problems, similar to marketing products in secondary markets, are discussed.