by Tera Roberson
Staff Writer
What price global economic prominence?
Tuesday, the University of Houston and Rice University announced plans for a 10-month study that would yield the necessary information to help Houston answer that question and remain a "world-class" global economic power as the 21st century approaches.
"People in Houston use the term 'world-class city' a lot. I've been in Houston a long time, (and) I believe that it is a world-class city already," said Mark Giles, president of Sterling Bank, speaking at a press conference at the University Hilton Tuesday.
The study, The Houston Metropolitan Study: An Entrepreneurial Community Looks Ahead, will be prepared by a team of national researchers and analysts. Richard Murray, a UH political science professor, will be the director of the study.
The study team will also include Gregory R. Weiher, a senior research associate at the UH Center for Public Policy, and Robert Stein, dean of the Rice School of Social Sciences.
The team of researchers and analysts has established several priorities that will serve as its mission during the study. These priorities include addressing Houston's potential role in the global economy of the 21st century and taking an inventory of Houston's assets and weaknesses relative to its economic environment.
From the information found in the study, the team plans to recommend feasible changes that would eventually prepare Houston for global prominence. "Houston remains a wonderfully entrepreneurial city. We are very well-positioned in many respects for the global economy that is emerging," Giles said.
The study will cost an estimated $100,000, which will be provided by tax-deductible contributions from individuals and businesses of all sizes.
All donations will be paid to the universities to help cover the expenses of research and reporting.
The study team will also rely on a few Houston-area businesses to provide it with pertinent information that has been found in past studies, although it will still conduct original research, Stein said.
"There are a large number of private companies who do a lot of this kind of research," he said.
"We have been contacting their executives and CEOs and simply saying (that) we don't want to break confidentiality, but we could use research that has already been done that we don't have to repeat - particularly demographics updates and census data - (but) we will do our own original research," he said.
The findings of the project are scheduled to be completed by March 1998. However, in-depth progress reports will be released periodically throughout the study period.
Upon completion, the study will be presented to the city and the citizens of Houston.