LA JOLLA -- More money for research means a more competitive economy, a Bush administration official told an audience of business and government leaders in the research hub of San Diego on Friday.

The money will come from Bush's proposed American Competitiveness Initiative, said Sandy K. Baruah, assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. If Congress approves funding, $5.9 billion will be available in fiscal year 2007 and more than $136 billion over 10 years. The money would go for research, education and tax incentives.

When members of the audience asked Baruah how San Diego could get the new funding, she said it would be distributed through the respective agencies under their own rules, including competitive grants.

However, San Diego's success in economic development posed a problem in one area in the discussion -- economic development grants. The question: Could the Connect program in technology business development qualify for funding from the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, which Baruah oversees?

San Diego's prosperity doesn't fit the picture of an economically distressed area, an investment criterion, Baruah said. Moreover, assistance is intended to help an entire region, not just one city. However, she didn't rule it out.

"Before we make an investment in a particular community, we want them to demonstrate to us, before we're willing to write them a check, how this project is regional in scope," Baruah said. "Show us that this isn't just a project for this community, that this supports a regional strategy. Do you have the private sector at the table? Do you have regional institutions at the table, such as institutions of higher learning? Do you have economic development initiatives, work force initiatives …"

Most of those elements were present at the meeting. Those included Marye Anne Fox, UC San Diego's chancellor; Julie Meier Wright, president and chief executive of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.; Gary Knight, chief executive of the San Diego North Economic Development Council; and private-sector business executives.

Earlier in his talk, Baruah said Bush believes that scientific research is the key to keeping American living standards high, because it provides the raw material of technological innovation.

"Entrepreneurship drives innovation. Innovation drives productivity. Productivity drives higher wages and higher standards of living," Baruah said at UCSD, which he cited as an example of a university that turns research into jobs.

"UCSD is the sixth-highest university in terms of federally funded research," Baruah said before a breakfast audience of about 40.

The money would go to three agencies, which would fund research grants. These are the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science and the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Baruah said the Bush administration is also encouraging nearby cities and regions to work with one another, and not to regard one city's gain as its neighbor's loss.

"(I)n in our global economy, our competition is not next door. The areas around us are our strength, not our competitors," Baruah said.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

Related links:

American Competitiveness Initiative

http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/aci

Biography of Sandy K. Baruah

http://www.eda.gov/Home/BaruahBio2005.xml