A new study commissioned by the Salt Lake Chamber proposes that the state spend $400 million to help Utah's two publicly funded research universities.

That action, supporters said Wednesday, would boost the institutions' current work and lead to economic development gains in the future.

"I've been involved in Utah and Utah economics for the last 15 years, and I will tell you I don't think there has been a more important announcement in 15 years as far as economic development is concerned," said Lane Beattie, the chamber's president and chief executive officer.

The study, compiled by Janice Houston of Houston Consultants and Steve Mecham, an attorney with Callister Nebeker & McCullough, seeks $270 million in facilities and $130 million in non-facility spending over five years for the University of Utah, Utah State University, three Technology Innovation Centers and 25 "research clusters."

The innovation centers would help foster ideas for development and transfer technologies to the private sector. The clusters, 15 at the U. and 10 at Utah State, would be composed of faculty and students working at the new facilities.

The research report says the U. and USU facilities likely would cost more than the $250 million total, but the universities would raise private money to pay anything over the state-provided funds. Beattie described them as "facilities that will take us into, literally, the next 20 years of economic opportunities."

Sens. Greg Bell, R-Farmington, and Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, are expected to sponsor a bill during the upcoming legislative session that incorporates the study's concepts. The study recommends bonding for the new facilities.

Backers on Wednesday said the investment would pay off for Utah because the initiative eventually would be self-sustaining and would be an economic driver.

"Probably one of the key factors to make any business successful is we must invest in the future," said Mark Howell, chairman of the chamber's board of governors and executive vice president at Wells Fargo Bank. "We can't just worry about today, but we have to look forward."

"What we believe and what we argue is that this will generate so much economic activity that there will be revenues produced to more than make up for what the state has to devote to this," Mecham said. "And that's one of the reasons we feel strongly about this.

"And we need to act now. We really can't sit and wait. . . . Other states have moved forward in this area, and we need to move now. We need to take action in this (legislative) session."

Houston said that in 1968, Utah was "quite frankly, a backwater." But the development of a research park and technology transfer program led to the formations of Novell, WordPerfect, Iomega and Evans & Sutherland, among others, and helped Utah become known as "Little Silicon Valley," she said.