By thrusting itself into a makeover as a U.S. technology center, Greater Cincinnati is joining a long list of cities yearning for New Economy industries and high-paying jobs.

        A document released Thursday, prepared by a consortium of local corporations and business leaders, calls for Cincinnati to develop the backbone for technology industries of every category and scale, including startups. The Cincinnati USA Technology Inititaive effort, by more than 200 volunteers, began in November with a speech by Procter & Gamble chief executive A.G. Lafley calling for a regional technology initiative. Teams were put together to prepare the report.

        “Technology jobs pay 50 to 75 percent more than manufacturing jobs, and technology has grown four or five times faster than any sector of the economy,” said Jack Cassidy, the Cincinnati Bell president spearheading the tech movement.

        Cincinnati has high-speed data networks and a broad industrial base heavily infused with technology but isn't considered a technology center. By establishing a venture capital fund, urging the expansion of technology programs at universities and creating a technology “accelerator,” group leaders hope to give the city a stronger base to build on.

        Technology companies often grow around or relocate to cities with colleges offering advanced course work in areas such as electronic engineering. The study group saluted the University of Cincinnati's excellence in medical and biotech fields, but said it should develop “critical masses” in information technology, photonics and nanotechnology.

        “They have in place what we need to meet our demands,” Mr. Cassidy said. “Our aim is to take our demands higher.”

        In its summary, the group acknowledged that the city won't become Silicon Valley, Boston's Route 128 or North Carolina's Research Triangle overnight. With nothing in the hopper, it said its participants “have not been seduced by ethereal, unrealistic visions.”

        Numerous U.S. cities and even neighboring Northern Kentucky and Butler County are courting high-tech industries. In many instances, communities offer large financial incentives such as tax abatements or cash for creation of high-salaried jobs.

        “Cincinnati is in the same position as Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and maybe Richmond,” said Jeffrey Finkle, president of the International Economic Development Council in Washington, D.C.

        “Everybody is trying to determine ... which advanced industrial sectors they're going to capture for their communities,” he said.

        Hamid Beladi, an economics professor at the University of Dayton, said: “I'd be cautiously optimistic because any initiative of this nature is bound to attract a lot of positives that will help the community infrastructure and surrounding communities.”

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