Clusters role seen for NZ varsities

By DITA DE BONI

New Zealand universities have a key role to play in developing and fostering economic "clusters," says a visiting expert.

To build this key role within tertiary institutions, universities should consider committing a person full time to the task of cluster-fostering, he says.

The director of industry relations at the University of Arizona, Brian Catts, manages a programme that develops relationships between the university and relevant industries, with the main purpose of enhancing the competitiveness of Arizona's high-tech industries and the organisations supporting them.

He is here to advise community and Government groups on how NZ's budding knowledge economy can take lessons from Tucson, Arizona, where a heavy emphasis on attracting and retaining high-tech industry has seen the city become the fastest growing US metropolitan economy in recent years.

Clusters - a group of interdependent firms that can be in competition with each other in a related field - usually occur when small and medium sized enterprises pool together to share expertise and resources, but can stumble from internal politics and lack of strategic direction - just like a small business, Mr Catts says.

"Universities are part of the integral support structure of clusters, which can really benefit from access to research and other things universities provide. The running of clusters is usually a volunteer thing which can leave people burned out.

"It is also good for a cluster to have a neutral organisation like a university involved - a university can be a safe partner."

The University of Arizona coordinates services and supplies resources to support industry clusters in aerospace, bio-industry, IT, teleservices and Tucson's multimillion-dollar optics industry employing over 6000.

Mr Catts and a small staff administer a cluster analysis unit that monitors the activities and progress of the cluster industries, and have a hand in relevant public policy.

The university has been integral to the state's efforts to attract industry and capital to the area because Arizona is prohibited from offering the types of financial incentives other states offer companies - offers that will take some states 80 years to recoup, Mr Catts says.

"Through our work, we've created a meaningful role for universities in Arizona's economic development process, launched several clusters and researched things like locations for tech parks and international trade initiatives.

"One challenge now is how to replicate the success with the clusters in the heavily urbanised areas in the smaller centres."