SSTI Digest

Geography: Florida

People

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission has named Mike Bobroff as its chief operating officer. Bobroff is also the commission's executive vice president.

People & TBED Organizations

Enterprise North Florida Corp. is closing after 11 years of operation.

People

Nick Sacia is the new executive director of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce in St. Augustine, Fla.

Florida Investing $400M+ for VC, Research Centers and Tech Transfer

This year, the Florida Legislature focused a great deal of attention on TBED issues, approving and continuing its support for several tech-related programs. Though Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed $20 million investment in stem cell research did not survive the legislative session, initiatives designed to encourage other cutting-edge research, improve access to capital and attract promising companies garnered more than $400 million in the state budget.

 

Enterprise Florida will manage the state's new Opportunity Fund, which will provide seed and early-stage venture capital to high-tech companies through investments in private venture capital firms. The fund will launch with an initial, one-time appropriation of $29.5 million and will specifically target its investments toward companies in the advanced manufacturing, IT, life sciences, aviation and aerospace, and defense industries. Recipients must be Florida-based companies and have received twice as much as the state investment from other sources.

 

A new nonprofit Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research will coordinate the marketing and commercialization of intellectual property developed at the state's public universities. The institute will receive $1 million for initial setup expenses and operations. University technology commercialization also will get a boost from the State University Research Commercialization Assistance Grants program, which will offer early-, mid-, and late-stage grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. The Florida Technology, Research, and Scholarship Board will administer the program with an initial $4 million investment by the state.

 

The legislature also approved a $62 million plan to lessen the state's dependence on fossil fuels and encourage renewable energy research. The plan calls for a $20 million cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant, to be managed by the University of Florida. It also directs the Florida Energy Commission to begin work on designing a state renewable energy standard and a net-metering policy. A new task force on energy policy will determine further steps to nurture the emerging renewable energy industry and encourage the use of renewable energy technologies.

 

The Florida Innovation Incentive Fund will receive its second $250 million allocation. Since its creation last year, the state has used the fund to improve its R&D resources by investing in university and private research centers. This year's budget stipulates that $80 million of the allocation will fund the construction of a genomic research institute at the University of Miami. Projects that involve private businesses must create at least 1,000 jobs in the state and invest $500 million or more in new capital. These projects often involve partnerships with public universities. The investments complement the state's Centers of Excellence program, which focuses exclusively on university research centers. The Centers of Excellence program will receive $100 million under the new budget.

People

Enterprise Florida selected Louis Laubscher to replace Howard Haug as its new senior vice president and COO.

Knight Foundation Funds Creative Community Initiative

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Richard Florida Creativity Group (RFCG), recently announced the formation of the Knight Creative Communities Initiative in three metropolitan areas of the country: Charlotte; Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wisc.; and, Tallahassee. The goal of the initiative, utilizing Dr. Florida’s theories on the importance of creativity and innovation for economic growth, is to produce through community dialogue a vision to enhance each region’s environment for ingenuity.

 

With the assistance of local foundations and organizations, the initiative in each of the communities will be spearheaded by a local host committee of civic leaders who will then solicit the opinions of a diverse set of 30 emerging leaders and volunteers to identify the distinct assets of the community. These “territory assets,” along with a region’s capacity for talent, tolerance and technology form the “4T’s” - which Dr. Florida often refers to in his writings. After these 30 volunteers are provided with training, data and support, they will begin work on the creation of a community vision and set of initiatives to promote economic growth.

 

These pilot projects will enable the theories of Dr. Florida, under the direction of his consulting team, to be utilized in the future strategy of these three regions.

 

More information is available at: http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp?story=cpp/index.asp

Stem Cell Research Target of More State Dollars in Iowa, Md., Fla.

In Iowa

Less than two weeks after his inauguration, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver called for the state legislature to lift the state ban on embryonic stem cell research. The ban was first instituted in 2002.



Gov. Culver made the announcement at the University of Iowa's Medical Education and Research Facility. He also announced that when he presents his budget to the legislature, he will include $12.5 million for the construction of Iowa's Center for Regenerative Medicine to be built at the university.



"Simply lifting the ban will not be enough," said Gov. Culver. "We must commit state resources now to finding a cure and ensuring a high quality of life for future generations. Right now, Iowa is at a competitive disadvantage with other states. While surrounding states like Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri are moving forward to build research facilities, lure away our researchers and pass new legislation allowing embryonic stem cell research, Iowa continues to tie the hands of our best health science professionals with an outdated ban on this lifesaving research."



The original ban was passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature in 2002 and signed by former Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat who has since called for a repeal of the ban. After the 2006 fall elections, Democrats took control the Iowa state legislature as well as retaining the governorship. 



Gov. Culver's press announcement is available at: http://www.governor.iowa.gov/news/2007/01/12_1.php



In Maryland

To satisfy all proposals for funding received in response to the first two requests for applications for the $15 million Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, the program would need to be more than five times larger, the Maryland Stem Cell Commission reports. To help satisfy the pent-up demand, newly elected Gov. Martin O'Malley proposes providing the research fund an additional $10 million in his 2008 budget request.



The commission received 85 applications for grants ranging in size from $100,000 exploratory research grants to investigator-initiated research grants that could garner state support of $500,000 annually for up to three years.



More information is available at: http://www.marylandtedco.org/_media/pdf/MSCRFApplications1-17-07.pdf



In Florida

A change in leadership in Florida's governorship, but not party, may increase the likelihood that the state may invest $20 million in stem cell research if either version of recently introduced identical bills pass the legislature. Newly elected Republican Gov. Charlie Crist has made it a prominent piece of his first budget request. The concept also is supported by a fellow Republican, Senate President Ken Pruitt, according to The Ledger, a Lakeland, Fla., newspaper publication.



Despite his investing huge public financing for private biotech research during his term, former Gov. Jeb Bush opposed state funding for stem cell research.



The new bills, House Bill 555 and Senate Bill 750, were introduced by Democrats on Jan. 23 and would allow state funding for adult and embryonic stem cell research. Gov. Crist's support is critical for either measure to advance, analysts suspect, as both chambers of the Florida legislature are heavily controlled by Republicans. The Ledger reports House Speaker Marco Rubio is opposed to the idea.



HB 555 is available at http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/bills.aspx



The Ledger article from Jan. 23 is available at: http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/APN/701233486

OPPAGA Recommends Next Steps for Florida Biotech

A recent report by the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) recommends the state’s next steps to develop its biotechnology industry should include the creation of a privately managed early-stage capital fund for investing in start-up companies, to be financed by the Legislature. The report also contends that the state should consider the creation of an “early seed gap” fund to assist university researchers in the commercialization of their discoveries, and it should improve accountability for the performance of state-supported biotech initiatives.

 

These recommendations come when Florida has made substantial recent investments in the hopes of enhancing the state’s biotechnology industry. Some of the well publicized financial incentives provided by the state to influence laboratory recruitment include $310 million for the Scripps Florida Research Institute, $155 million for the Burnham Institute and $32 million for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies. Additionally, Florida has created two biotechnology Centers of Excellence, one in biomedical and marine biotechnology at Florida Atlantic University and the other in regenerative health biotechnology at the University of Florida. Other pieces of the biotech strategy included the completion of business incubators with laboratory space at three universities, the establishment of tax credits for certain capital investments, and the creation of biotechnology curriculum programs at educational institutions. After establishing these and other programs, the Florida Legislature then asked OPPAGA to identify the challenges facing the state for future biotech development and to provide suggestions on how to confront these challenges.

 

The two main problems identified in the report were the lack of capital for start-up biotechnology companies and the challenge of maintaining a long-term commitment to developing a strong biotechnology industry. If state-sponsored investment funds were to be established, OPPAGA recommends that the task should be carried out by an entity that will establish performance measures and provide the legislature with performance reports. In addition, the entity should be occasionally reviewed by an independent third party.

 

Finally, in order to improve accountability, the report recommends that every agency, educational or research institution, or other organization that receives state funding for biotechnology research and commercialization should provide annual reports on its progress, using a variety of innovation metrics for self-evaluation. All of these reports should then be directed to a single source, specifically Enterprise Florida Inc., to assist with the preparation for its annual strategic plan and long-term goals for the state.

 

This report, which provides a detailed overview of all of the components of Florida’s biotech strategy and possible future initiatives, can be found at: http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/pdf/0671rpt.pd

SSTI Welcomes Our Newest State Members

Recently, Enterprise Florida Inc. and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development joined SSTI as state sponsors. We are pleased to have 38 state science and technology (S&T) organizations show their commitment to technology-based economic development as state sponsors. Our members see value in the educational opportunities, technical assistance and quality research information SSTI provides.



"We share SSTI's commitment to economic improvement through science and technology, which is evidenced by our focus on building Florida's economy through life sciences and other technology sectors," said Enterprise Florida President and CEO John Adams Jr. "The collaboration with SSTI and its members will benefit us in developing Florida as a hub for top level research and technology commercialization."



Membership in SSTI allows access to the most extensive network of current and past practitioners, academics and policymakers who are attempting to speed commercialization and encourage innovation. SSTI has active members in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.



Visit www.ssti.org/sponsors.htm to see if your state S&T organization is a member. And, if not, contact them to let them know what they are missing! Don't forget you can always lead the way by joining as an affiliate or supporter. Additional information can be found at www.ssti.org/sponsors.htm or by contacting Noelle Sheets, director of membership services, at 614.901.1690.

Florida State Using "Cluster Hiring" to Improve Research Standing

FSU hopes new hires will enhance reputation

The competition for the superstars of the research world is heating up, as more and more universities create programs to attract research faculty to their campuses. One of the most ambitious in the country is Florida State University's Pathways to Excellence program. FSU intends to hire 200 tenured or tenured-track professors within a five-year period, with the intention of transforming the quality of its Ph.D. programs.

 

Under the faculty development arm of this program, the university will hire 6-8 star professors built around each of six academic themes. In its first round of hires to create these interdisciplinary clusters, between $4 million to $5 million was spent to attract 38 faculty members. Twelve of these hires have been at the senior, Full Professor level. Additional goals of the program include enhancing the number and amount of federal grants, scholarly productivity, and increasing graduate program and faculty recognition, and the number of Ph.D. graduates. Besides encouraging the development of its academic reputation, the university hopes these efforts will be a step toward membership in the Association of American Universities.

 

While programs to attract research faculty such as the Pathways to Excellence increase in size and frequency across the country, universities may feel the pressure of losing their existing faculty to other institutions. Are there enough top-notch researchers to go around, or will the drive to attract the best and the brightest spark an academic arms race for talent?

 

The website for the Pathways to Excellence at FSU is http://pathways.fsu.edu/faculty/.

New Milken Index Keeps Florida Cities Among Top Metros

For the second year in a row, Florida cities dominate the Milken Institute's top 200 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in the ability to create and sustain jobs. The top performer, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, moved up 31 places from last year and is followed by last year's top scorer, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, and Naples-Marco Island, respectively.

People

BioFlorida President Diana Robinson is leaving to join a private venture capital company once her replacement is selected.

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