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Web posted
And so it is with Alaska's economic scorecard. The Alaska Science and Technology Foundation recently published the state's first Alaska Science & Technology Innovation Index, a compilation of some 30 indicators that rank Alaska among the 50 states, also comparing state technology capacity with selected, similar states.
What's Alaska's grade? There's good news and bad news.
The good news (or grades of A and B, if you will): Compared with the U.S. average, Alaska has a higher growth rate in technology industry jobs. We rank first in the nation for household Internet access and second in state government use of technology.
Patents issued to Alaska innovators are on an upward trend, although lagging the national average. Our students rank well in the SAT, and we have a high percentage of adults with high school degrees.
Alaska receives a "C" in per capita income, as salaries and wages have declined from downsizing in the oil, gas, mining and manufacturing sectors during the 1990s. Also average is state government research spending per capita, the percentage of the work force with doctoral degrees in science and engineering, and the percentage of adults with college degrees. We're exporting more graduates than we're attracting.
Unfortunately, the 49th state is doing poorly in many more indicators than the 10 for which we've achieved average or better performance. Whether Alaska is failing or simply struggling to improve a grade of "D," might depend on how one judges the focus and progress of initiatives by government, industry and educators to join the ranks of states that are chasing knowledge-based economic development.
Here's a rundown of where we lag the rest of the country:
On a per capita basis, we're enrolling significantly fewer science and engineering graduate students than the national average; faculty and student attendance at the University of Alaska declined over the last decade; and out-migration of college students and younger workers is high.
ASTF developed Alaska's technology index by comparing the state in the areas of population and economic infrastructure, innovation activity, financial capacity, and technology infrastructure and human resources.
The index is a snapshot of objective data, without recommendations for improvement. ASTF likely wanted it that way, as a tool for discussion and planning unhampered by analytical opinion.
The foundation does say, "High-paying jobs in (geographical) growth areas are critically needed to offset the decline in wealth and employment from Alaska's North Slope. These new jobs require technical innovation, capital, management and trained workers."
From the data compiled in this first Alaska Science & Technology Innovation Index, it appears Alaska has some homework to do. ASTF has indicated that it will periodically update the index as an ongoing measure of the state's technology performance.
Whether a boom-euphoria from potential natural gas and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge development will overpower the state's resolve to diversify into other lucrative industries remains to be seen. The full report is posted on the ASTF Web site at (www.astf.org).
Sally J. Suddock is the executive director of the Alaska High-Tech Business Council and IT Careers Consortium. She can be reached via e-mail at (Details@alaska.net).
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