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Technology-focused incubators are an important component to fostering entrepreneurial development in a region by nurturing businesses in the earliest stages of development and helping them grow into larger companies that employ high-wage workers and bring new technologies to the market. The following select announcements provide an overview of new incubators from across the nation, illustrating the vital role of entrepreneurial development in growing high-tech regional economies.

Coming together for a special one-day session last week, the South Carolina Legislature voted to override a line-item veto issued by Gov. Mark Sanford concerning the funding of the state’s Endowed Chairs program, now called the S.C. Centers for Economic Excellence. The override raises the budget allocation for the program from $20 million to $30 million, which surpasses the original multi-year cap of $200 million set for the Endowed Chairs/Centers of Economic Excellence program, when enacted in 2002. The program uses lottery proceeds to fund strategic faculty positions at the state’s three public research universities: Clemson University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of South Carolina.
 
In a message to the General Assembly dated June 11, Gov. Sanford outlined the following reasons for his office’s concern with the legislation:

It's no wonder SSTI's Annual Conference presents such a broad range of perspectives and approaches to TBED each year, when our organization draws in active membership from organizations from all across the continent! For example, with the involvement of the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership, SSTI now has active members in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

Lori Broyles was appointed coordinator of the Women's Business Center in Oklahoma City.

A number of regional economic development organizations in Tennessee have formed a partnership called Innovation Valley Inc. Partners in Innovation Valley Inc. include the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Loudon County Economic Development Agency, Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, The Roane Alliance and Tellico Reservoir Development Agency.

A complete description of this opportunities and others is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.



The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a director to lead the Industrial and Economic Development efforts for ORNL’s Partnerships Directorate. The incumbent will develop and execute a new Industrial Partnerships strategy, interface with the region’s economic development professionals to maximize ORNL’s contributions to regional economic growth, lead ORNL’s entrepreneurial efforts, and perform other responsibilities. A bachelor’s degree in general business, planning, marketing or a related field and at least 10 years of senior experience involving a combination of community, technology and economic development marketing and recruitment are required. A master’s degree is preferred.

New Carolina, South Carolina's Council on Competitiveness, has formed the South Carolina Engineering Cluster. Lee Stogner will lead the cluster and its steering committee, which represents government, economic develoment, academia, engineering companies and professional societies aiming to promote engineering in South Carolina.

Eric Cromwell is the new president of Tennessee Technology Development Corp., an organization designed to leverage state, federal and private sector investments in science and technology infrastructure for economic value.

Edward Bowman Jr. was selected as chairman of Connecticut Innovations. Bowman replaces Elaine Pullen, who resigned to focus on her consulting business.

Alex Fischer, formerly Oak Ridge National Laboratory's director of technology and economic development, has been tapped as the new vice president for commercialization for Battelle.

In keeping with the July 1 fiscal year deadlines, several states passed their budgets last month. The following states passed budgets that include funding for alternative energy, R&D tax credits, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives. 

 

Connecticut

The FY 2008-09 biennial budget includes funding for initiatives aimed at developing a fuel cell cluster in the state. The budget for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development appropriates up to $375,000 to assist the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) in establishing a hydrogen fuel cell coalition and industry cluster, championed by Gov. Jodi Rell in her Budget Address (see the Feb. 19, 2007 issue of the Digest). In addition, the budget provides up to $450,000 to CCAT for the purpose of drafting a fuel cell economic development plan.

 

New Hampshire

Lawmakers passed SB 134, establishing an R&D tax credit aimed at encouraging innovative companies to create jobs. The measure, proposed by Gov. John Lynch in his Inaugural Address (see the Jan. 8, 2007 issue of the Digest), offers a tax credit of up to 5 percent of the business enterprise tax due for qualified manufacturing R&D expenditures.

 

Ohio

Gov. Ted Strickland last month signed into law the state’s two-year operating budget, which includes funding for new STEM education initiatives. The Ohio Innovation Partnership includes two new programs: the Choose Ohio First Scholarship and the Ohio Research Scholars.

 

The Choose Ohio First Scholarship, a $100 million program, will be leveraged with at least $100 million in private support to encourage Ohio students to study STEM fields or become teachers in those fields. Scholarship levels range from $1,500 to $4,600 per year. Under the Ohio Research Scholars program, $50 million per fiscal year is directed to recruit world-class scholars tied to job creation in Ohio’s regional economies.

 

In addition, the Ohio Department of Education budget includes $6.3 million to create five new STEM-related high schools for grades 6-12 and to fund two grant programs to foster STEM programs of excellence in grades K-8.

Capturing an overwhelming majority of the votes needed to override Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto, the South Carolina Legislature prevailed last week in its efforts to position the state as a leader in hydrogen technology.
 
The Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Act, S. 243, authorizes the state to offer up to $15 million over the next four years in grants for research related to hydrogen production, storage, distribution and dispensing infrastructure. The bill also offers $300 tax rebates for in-state purchases of flex- and hydrogen-fuel vehicles and up to $500 for conversion equipment purchases. The veto was overridden with a 40-2 vote in the Senate and a 99-1 vote in the House.
                       
In his veto message to the legislature, Gov. Sanford expresses concern regarding an overemphasis on hydrogen technology at the expense of excluding other types of research. The governor provides several examples of the state's previous and ongoing support in hydrogen research, including a commitment of $3.6 million in recurring state funds for hydrogen-related projects in this year’s budget and $1 million for fuel cell research at the University of South Carolina.
 
Gov. Sanford maintains it is not the role of the government to lead the private sector or pick the “winning” industry of tomorrow. In addition, he explains that his administration has significant reservations about this level of public investment without more quantifiable returns to taxpayers.
 
The governor’s skepticism on hydrogen research was not the only reason the bill met his veto pen. According to the veto message, several items unrelated to hydrogen research were attached to the bill, including a sales tax exemption for amusement parks and an economic impact zone credit – both of which are found in S. 91, also vetoed by Gov. Sanford and consequently overridden by the legislature.
 
S. 91, the Research and Development Tax Credit Reform Act, creates an Economic Impact Zone tax Credit to companies that employ 5,000 or more full-time workers and have a total capital investment of at least $2 billion. According to the governor, the legislation does not target actual job creation but, instead, requires companies to invest money and employ workers.
 
The bill also includes tax credits for retail facilities, small businesses and installation of solar energy heating or cooling systems. Gov. Sanford referred to the bill as another example of a fragmented approach to economic development that does not serve the taxpayer well or fit with the coordination essential to competing effectively in today’s economy. The veto was overridden with a 42-0 vote in the Senate and 102-0 vote in the House.
 
The legislature also approved the fiscal year 2007-08 budget last week, excluding the governor’s $2 million proposal for a Rural Broadband Fund (see the Jan. 8, 2007 issue of the Digest). However, lawmakers did adopt a resolution to set up a 17-member Broadband Technology and Communications Study Committee to evaluate the state’s broadband communications infrastructure and assess the ability of the need for broadband services in rural areas.