A June 22 economic summit may yield more details, but Christensen and Frey spoke often Thursday about focus and concentration of certain activities. For example, Frey said the state needs to target certain industry clusters "that really build on the strengths that Utah has, both at the university level (and) at the industry level." International economic development in the past was a "target the world" approach, but Utah instead should establish only high-level relationships and target only a few countries, he said. Corporate recruitment needs to be limited to specific companies or industries.

Even the Centers of Excellence program, which provides funds to help promising research projects, needs to be refined so more money is awarded per project, he said. Technology commercialization should be the ultimate goal.

"I'm certainly supportive of increasing the funding," Frey said. "I think we need to put more wood behind the arrow on each of the products when it comes to technology commercialization, and unless we do it, we really have more of a grant-for-grant type of program."

Christensen noted that Thursday's comments were meant to be ideas or starting points. Frey said he and Christensen want to "build on what's been done in the past without being beholden to it. Really we're trying to take a fresh approach, but yet at the same time really make sure we understand the context and the lessons and why things were done the way they were, and then obviously look to evolve them as we go forward."

"I think how things have worked in the state in the past is there has not been a master plan of economic development," Christensen said, "and I make that statement that has been made by many of you before. . . . I would hope, come next Legislature, that we may have a master plan."

One potential sore point may crop up before the end of the current legislative session. A bill to split several of the department's divisions into a new department for the community and the arts and put the remainder into the governor's office is in the form of HB315. But so far the bill has no body text.

"I'm concerned about what's in that, and we won't know until our next meeting what's happening," board member Clifford White said. "I think it's important that we have some input to that. I'm sad that we didn't have input on it."

"As am I," Simmons replied. "As am I."

The board might decide to have a special meeting on the bill after its contents are made public.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com