SSTI Digest

Recognizing the potential economic impact of biotech, nearly every state, most colleges and dozens of communities are developing programs to build bio-based economies. Everyone wants a piece of what may be the guiding field for industrial transformation over the next several decades. Is there enough bio for everyone? What strategies work for building bio-based economies? What approaches are states and localities taking, and what's working?

A review of recent grant announcements from across the country reveals the growing importance the Economic Development Administration (EDA) places on supporting technology-based economic development projects. EDA's emphasis on technology-led economic development is expected to be the focus of  a keynote address delivered by Dr. David Sampson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and EDA head, at SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference this October 2-3.

With more than 30 sessions and keynote addresses by Michigan Governor John Engler and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development David Sampson, SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference promises to be the year's best and most comprehensive conference on tech-based economic development. Building Tech-Based Economies: From Policy to Practice will be held October 2-3, 2002 in Dearborn, Michigan, with pre-conference activities on October 1.

Earlier this week, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan Business Roundtable released a benchmarking study that used 140 indicators across seven areas to compare the state's competitiveness with 17 other states.

Bob Filka, vice president of strategic initiatives for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, is leaving to become chief operating officer of the Michigan Broadband Authority Board. William Rosenberg will become the new board's first director.

Michigan Governor John Engler on Thursday unveiled NextEnergy— a comprehensive economic development plan to make Michigan a leader in the research, development, commercialization and manufacture of alternative energy technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells.



Gov. Engler's energy blueprint proposes the creation of a 700-acre, tax-free NextEnergyZone in York Township near Ann Arbor, building the NextEnergy Center there and attracting alternative energy companies from around the world to the zone, making it a cluster of energy innovation.



Surrounded by fuel cell vehicles at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Gov. Engler announced his plan would help reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, improve the environment and strengthen the economy. He said he would work with the Michigan Legislature and Congress to fund the plan and would establish a Michigan NextEnergy Development Fund to leverage additional capital for industry expansion.



The market for fuel cell products alone is expected to grow to an estimated $95 billion by 2010, Gov. Engler added. He explained that not acting could put at risk nearly 200,000 Michigan jobs that are either directly or indirectly tied to the engineering and manufacture of engines and transmissions.



Highlights of the Governor's blueprint include:

Michigan Governor John Engler recently signed Senate Bills 880, 881 and 999 to help make high-speed Internet connections available and affordable to consumers across the state. Almost unanimously approved in the Michigan House and Senate, the Governor’s broadband initiative was supported by a coalition of more than 50 statewide associations, local groups and companies. The bills are as follows:

With one of the country's largest concentration of industrial and academic scientists and engineers, it is only fitting that Michigan hosts SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference, October 2-3, 2002.



Led by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC), Michigan has consistently been among the leading states for implementing innovative programs and policies to create tech-based economies: the life sciences corridor and billion biotech investment, automation alley, fuel cell commercialization, broadband deployment, university tech transfer, and the list goes on. MEDC, the host sponsor for SSTI's 2002 conference, is itself a product of innovative thinking in 1999 that privatized most of the state's economic development and worker training programs. More information about MEDC's tech initiatives can be learned by visiting its website: http://www.michigan.org

Lincoln, Nebraska

Mayor Don Wesely's Technology Council has proposed to end the competition between Lincoln and Omaha for educational and economic resources, favoring a collaboration geared toward economic development, the Associated Press recently reported. The collaboration is expected to create new technology industries and help lessen the struggle for development in territory in and among the cities. Lincoln's strength, the presence of the University of  Nebraska-Lincoln, traditionally has been pitted against that of Omaha — venture capital and telecommunication infrastructure.



Pontiac, Michigan

Mayor Willie Payne recently announced the sale of $33 million in Tax Increment Financing Authority bonds to finance development at the former site of a state hospital, according to the Associated Press. The bonds, which include $10.2 million to purchase the former Clinton Valley Center, will make way for the Pontiac Oakland Tech Center technology park. Expected to yield millions of tax dollars, new residents and jobs, the $350 million project includes a 670-home residential development.



Montgomery, West Virginia

Plans are underway for the Upper Kanawha Valley Technology Community, a proposed three-story, 36,000-square-foot technology park that backers hope will bring more than 300 jobs, according to the Charleston Gazette. Early in 2001, $2.35 million in federal funds was earmarked for the center; in September 2001, the Upper Kanawha Valley Economic Development Corp. received a $132,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The tech park, to be housed in the former G.C. Murphy building, is a result of collaboration among the City of Montgomery, UKVEDC and the West Virginia University Institute of Technology.



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A new report showing that Michigan is performing at the level of the national average in tech transfer recently was released by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

Many areas of the country are lamenting the workforce challenges presented by the out-migration of technically skilled college graduates, a “brain drain” for short. Two studies released during the past few days, however, provide positive data to the contrary for Michigan and the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metro region.



Michigan

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan released a study showing the large majority of technically educated Michigan university students remain in the state after graduation. Tracking the patterns of approximately 30,000 high-tech sector graduates from 1997 through 2000, the researchers found Michigan retained 79 percent of graduates in the life sciences, information technology and engineering sectors who entered the workforce in high-tech positions. Even more positive for the state’s technology companies, 55 percent of students who moved to Michigan to attend a public university in these fields stayed in the state after graduation.



The study also reveals that graduates who accept a job out-of-state do so primarily for better job opportunities and salaries, rather than any dislike of Michigan. About 21 percent of the graduates polled left Michigan; of these, 53 percent did so because of better job opportunities, 11 percent moved to be closer to family and friends, and seven percent cited Michigan’s four-season climate as their reason for moving elsewhere.



As a result of the study, the following recommendations were made to further strengthen Michigan’s retention of high-tech university graduates:

What are you doing to protect your state or local economy from technological advances that will completely overturn an industry 10, 20, 30 years from now? 



With the prospect of someday losing 27,000 high-paying tech jobs at 15 automotive engine and powertrain plants, Michigan has unveiled a plan to position the state as a leader when automotive applications of fuel cell technology make the internal combustion engine obsolete. 



Commissioned by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Automotive Partnership, the strategic plan and market study call for the state and automotive industry to jointly: