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The Minnesota High Technology Council promotes cutting edge industry and
influences public policy
by Gregory Lauer
If you strolled through the gates of the State Fair this summer, chances are you were one of 600,000 people who passed through the "Wonders of Technology" exhibit near Machinery Hill. However, in case you weren't able to feast on the culinary delights of 28 varieties of food-on-a-stick at this year's great Minnesota get-together, the "Wonders of Technology" building showcased technology-oriented organizations like Microsoft, 3M, US West, and the University of Minnesota. The exhibit was organized and sponsored by the Minnesota High Technology Council (MHTC), a private non-profit group striving to make Minnesota the best state in the nation for technology-based industry.
Formed in 1982 as an outgrowth of an advisory panel to the Institute of Technology, the MHTC currently represents more than a hundred businesses and organizations. Its mission is to "promote the importance of technology to Minnesota's jobs and industry, and to help shape public policy related to the state's technology base." In addition to organizing the "Wonders of Technology" exhibit at the State Fair, the MHTC is active on a variety of other fronts. Last year the group paved the way for the development of an information infrastructure. In response to the outbreak of lawsuits plaguing high-tech companies like Medtronic, a Minnesota manufacturer of medical devices, the group is advocating tort and product liability reform. The MHTC also sponsors Net Day and studies issues related to the economic development of greater Minnesota. Summarizing the organization, Rick Krueger, the president of the MHTC, said, "We try to build consensus with public policy issues. And the two areas that we've had the most success in, I would say, are information infrastructure and education."
Last August the MHTC issued a wake-up call warning that Minnesota's pre-eminence in information technology was at risk. The Council urged the state to take the lead in developing an integrated communications network.
The MHTC argued that an "information infrastructure" capable of transmitting voice, video and computer data would be as important to the economic vitality of Minnesota in the 21st century as railroads were in the 19th.
In Minnesota, state and local governments spend more than $1 billion a year on communication networks and related services, and few systems are linked together. The tally of information systems serving the state is almost mind-boggling: 10 statewide and 13 regional data networks, 35 educational video networks, and two satellite video systems. Ron Turner, president of Computing Devices International and former chairman of MHTC, likened the network to a poorly designed road system. "Right now, we have a bunch of roads that aren't connected and three-lane interstates emptying into dirt roads. Data isn't getting through."
Council members warned that the lack of coordination in developing an information infrastructure was a dark cloud looming over the state's business climate, and the MHTC urged the formation of a commission as a first step towards an information ubernetwork.
Although the proposal initially met resistance from the governor, in November Arne Carlson announced the creation of an information infrastructure working group. Krueger noted that the MHTC had "pretty good representation" on the council. Of the ten private companies appointed by the governor to the advisory board, eight were members of the MHTC.
This group studied developmental issues, and released a report filled with recommendations this past summer. Discussing the role of the working group, Krueger said, "We tried to come up with a Minnesota version of where the states should be going." He continued, saying, "What you're really trying to do on something like that is put a stake in the ground and say, 'This is where we ought to go.'"
Krueger believes Minnesota is making progress. "The bottom line is yes, we're moving," he said. "Some of these things are moving privately, some of them are moving publicly, and some of them are moving in conjunction with each other. But I think we have a much more coherent idea of where we want to go."
The MHTC considers the development of a well-educated and technically skilled work force a top priority, and many of its members require highly trained employees. Efforts in education focus on four different areas: K-12 schools, merged systems, private colleges, and the University of Minnesota. Commenting on the relative importance of the 'U,' Krueger said, "A very large segment of our education agenda revolves around the University. The reality is, there's one research university of this stature in the state. And that makes it pretty simple. We have executives who will tell you that their entire companies exist because of R&D at the 'U'."
According to the report, "Products of an Unheralded Industry," prepared by the MHTC in April 1993, the University of Minnesota has had a significant long-term impact on the state's economy. The study found that the research and educational programs at the 'U' generated substantial employment across the state. Les Krogh, retired senior vice president of research and development at 3M, succinctly summed up the role of the University, saying, "The most important contribution we can make in our society is to support institutions that create ideas, technologies and knowledge, and educate our people at the highest levels-and, through the transfer of these ideas, help to provide the highest quality jobs in our economy."
State, federal, and privately funded research at the University in nine selected collegiate units totaled more than $378 million in 1990, the last year that statistics were available. The data shows a significant return on investment in terms of income, sales, corporate, and other taxes collected by the state as the result of research activities at the 'U.' Directly, this investment supported 17,000 technology jobs in Minnesota, and the indirect impact during a single year amounts to $1 billion in Gross State Product.
Krueger noted the correlation between technology business centers and top-notch universities, citing Silicon Valley and Stanford as an example. "If you look at where high-tech companies are," he said, "they generally stay pretty close to high-quality research universities. That's one of the given ingredients that you need if you're really going to be on the cutting edge, and you're going to do a lot of work that requires high technology. You need that kind of intellectual infrastructure and companies know that. The sophisticated companies understand that."
Consider, for example, the vast array of more than 400 medical companies located in the state. In the 1950s, the University contacted a small medical electronics repair firm, Medtronic, Inc., to design and manufacture a battery-powered wearable pacemaker for use during open-heart surgery. The immediate success of the product led to the creation of an implantable pacemaker, and Medtronic is now one of the world's largest medical device companies. It employs more than 8,000 people and records annual sales in excess of $1.3 billion. Employees of Medtronic, in turn, have formed 40 new companies. One of those is St. Jude Medical, Inc. It controls 70 percent of the market for mechanical heart valves and has annual revenue of more than $250 million.
As part of its mission to emphasize the importance of education, the MHTC sometimes lobbies on behalf of the University at the Capitol. Discussing the Council's position on funding for the 'U,' Krueger said, "We feel there needs to be more resources, more state resources, put into the University of Minnesota."
From his vantage point, Krueger sees a continuing demand for IT graduates. "I see a lot of companies scrambling pretty hard to get high quality, technically skilled students," he said. "The prospects are good for people in these areas--very good."
