The Center, on the basis of earlier work on technology in the region for the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology, undertook the development of a technology database for the National Capital region under contract to the Greater Washington Board of Trade in the summer of 1994. This project for the first time provides an objectively defined estimate of the scale of the technology sector in the Washington DC region. The study demonstrated that technology accounts for a major proportion of the region’s economy and is focused on advanced technology services such as systems integration, information technology, telecommunication and biotechnology.