SSTI Digest

Nearly 60 percent of the new jobs in the knowledge-based economy of the early 21st century will require skills that are held by just 20 percent of the present workforce, states a new report released by the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM). The Case for Enhancing American Workforce Skills examines a growing skills gap in the nation's manufacturing sector and the problems employers have in finding skilled workers able to deal with technological changes in the workplace.

The skills gap is deepening at a time when manufacturing workers are increasingly being laid off — since 1999, more than two million have lost their jobs. Industry and government need to join forces to make substantial improvements in workforce education and training programs and to incentivize American workers to keep pace with technological change by continually improving their skills, NACFAM concludes.

Until now, the opportunities have been fairly limited for tech-based economic developers to learn from the lessons of fellow practitioners running successful entrepreneurship programs. Through a unique partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, SSTI is excited to offer at its annual conference this fall a track of six breakout sessions dedicated to sharing and documenting the specific policies, strategies and practices that foster technology entrepreneurship.

The link between tech entrepreneurship and sustained growth is increasingly recognized by economic developers. As a result, myriad exciting approaches to encourage tech entrepreneurship have sprung up across the country.

Small businesses in the U.S. should consider a wide and complex range of factors before investing in foreign patents, recommends a new report prepared by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO).

Experts’ Advice for Small Businesses Seeking Foreign Patents identifies factors small businesses should consider when deciding whether to obtain patent protection abroad and the steps they should take to improve their patent efforts. The Congressional request spawning GAO's inquiry grew out of the apprehension that small businesses were not acquiring patent protection abroad, but were losing prospective sales in foreign markets.

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Joint Venture: Silicon Valley has named Russell Hancock as its new president and CEO.

Dr. Lee Eiden, SBIR Program Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Education for nearly seven years, is shifting positions within the agency to work for the Office of Management/Chief Information Office. Dr. Eiden's contributions toward improving the state-federal partnership for SBIR outreach and technical assistance will be greatly missed by the state and local tech-based economic development community.

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Joint Venture: Silicon Valley has named Russell Hancock as its new president and CEO.

Dr. Lee Eiden, SBIR Program Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Education for nearly seven years, is shifting positions within the agency to work for the Office of Management/Chief Information Office. Dr. Eiden's contributions toward improving the state-federal partnership for SBIR outreach and technical assistance will be greatly missed by the state and local tech-based economic development community.

The director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development has announced his retirement. Jim Pickens will remain in the position until his replacement is named, according to local news reports.

Pari Sabety, director of Ohio State University's Technology Policy Group, is leaving to become Director of the Neighborhood Markets Initiative, a new program of the Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy in the Brookings Institution.

The director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Al Wenstrand, is leaving to become executive director of the Florida's Great Northwest, an economic development agency serving the Florida Panhandle.

We recognize that SSTI's annual conference quickly has become the premier professional development event annually for the tech-based economic development field. It's quite an honor, but it is also quite an obligation. Our conference participants have come to expect a level of unsurpassed quality. At least, that's what they tell us in the evaluations.

It presents a challenge, but SSTI staff seem to like challenges. We always strive to exceed expectations, so for the 7th annual conference we...

The backdrop for this year's annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) was painted in budget cuts, tax increases and nearly three years of gloomy economic news. Only adding salt to the wounds, the meeting was held in California, a state whose FY 2003 deficit – now carried over into FY 2004 because of partisan squabbling – could swallow the entire budget approved in more than half of the states in attendance.

Nevertheless, the states' elected representatives believe FY 2004 will be better and revenues will rebound, according to the latest NCSL fiscal report, State Budget and Tax Actions 2003. Of the 49 states required to balance their budgets, 43 have done so for FY 2003 by turning first to their reserves, specific fee increases and cost cutting measures, the report observes.