Boise a Case Study for the High-Tech Economy

A new report prepared by a professor from the Affairs and Planning Program, Virginia Tech finds that "Idaho’s state and local policymakers have to understand and recognize the importance of the knowledge economy. They need to support entrepreneurship, industry-university connections, workforce and skill development, talent creation, and the region’s quality of life. Knowledge-based industries are critical for future growth for any region, and Boise needs to recognize that it already has the right prerequisites to succeed in a knowledge economy. To take the region to the next level, policymakers need to make strategic investments in their universities, connect to and leverage industry R&D, and they need to develop, attract, and retain talent.

Boise, Idaho, is part of a growing community of so-called emerging high-technology regions. Even though Boise’s high-tech economy is small when compared to places like Silicon Valley or Seattle, the technology community in the Treasure Valley is highly specialized and very entrepreneurial. The region is home to leading high-technology employers such as Hewlett-Packard and Micron Technology. These firms contributed to the creation of a skilled labor pool and the formation of many dynamic and entrepreneurial startups. This white paper presents the result of an online survey of 135 high-tech firms in Boise."