Plan for Silicon Valley Puts Business First : Economy: Regional group recommends steps to stimulate growth. Broader issues are not addressed.

The ambitious government-industry partnership known as Joint Venture: Silicon Valley marked its anniversary Wednesday by releasing a broad blueprint for improving the economy and quality of life in the high-tech homeland.

The plan offers several initiatives, from a “smart valley” project (to speed development of an advanced communications infrastructure) to establishment of organizations to streamline regulatory requirements and stimulate growth in critical industries.

Joint Venture was created last year in response to widening concern about businesses leaving the region. It is now one of a number of efforts around the state to improve cooperation between business and government in order to foster economic recovery.

Joint Venture co-chairman Jim Morgan, who is chairman of chip equipment maker Applied Materials, said the group has been remarkably successful at attracting broad support and creating a process by which hundreds of people could participate in shaping the proposals.

Still, Joint Venture has largely abandoned any pretense of addressing the broad social and economic problems of the Silicon Valley in favor of a relatively narrow development agenda. Labor and community groups in the area say the organization is dominated by corporate interests and has ignored the concerns of minorities and other working people.

Moreover, it remains unclear whether the business community is prepared to invest significant sums in Joint Venture projects. While some of the initiatives would tap federal and state funds, others appear to require substantial private resources.

In addition to the “smart valley” project, the major initiatives include:

* An education and training program to experiment with methods of using the region’s technical talent to help build a skilled work force.

* Establishment of working groups to find ways to streamline environmental regulations, reduce the tax burden and cut medical insurance costs for local businesses.

* Forming several nonprofit corporations to facilitate conversion of defense industries to civilian production, foster development of critical technology sectors such as software and build technology “incubators” for new businesses.

Morgan said each of the new ventures would be responsible for raising its own funds.

Many of the participants in Joint Venture’s committees and working groups say the organization has opened a dialogue between the public and private sectors. And it has helped build an agenda for the region as a whole, which is a hodgepodge of cities, towns, counties and regional public authorities.

But many fear that Joint Venture is evolving into a kind of extension of the Chamber of Commerce, pushing a business agenda and ignoring broader problems such as education and the need for affordable housing.

“They create this face of being concerned about infrastructure and community and being inclusionary,” said Jon Barton of the Services Employees International Union, which is organizing maintenance workers in Silicon Valley. “But it’s mostly geared toward increasing corporate profits, with regulatory streamlining, tax breaks and massive federal subsidies. What will this really mean to our communities?”