Dear State Legislature, cutting funding for UW research is not a good idea

echoing arguments heard previously on this blog

David Ward, president of economic consulting firm NorthStar Economics, based in Madison, said he agrees that the state needs to improve job growth to keep graduates in Wisconsin. And he points to the public university system as the key to stemming brain drain and boosting the state’s economy.

University research has led to hundreds of commercial licenses. Partnerships offering commercial outlets for university talent have been lucrative, Ward said, and the University Research Park in Madison hosts more than 100 companies with a several thousand jobs.

“That’s the way we need to go — transfer that intellectual property from the research and lab bench into commercial products, businesses and jobs,” Ward said. “And if we’re doing that, we need to scale it up more.”

Wisconsin could benefit from modeling itself after Dane County, which is one of the top 20 most-educated counties in the nation, thanks to the presence of UW-Madison and other educational and research institutions, Ward said. “It’s one of the parts of the state that really has attracted people from outside,” Ward said. “And it’s a good idea to play to the strengths.”