SSTI Digest

The Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. has named Larry Penley, president of Colorado State University, the recipient of its first Regional Economic Development Excellence Award.

Colorado State University and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. together have hired Martin Shields as a new regional economist.

Mark Wdowik was named vice president of technology transfer for the Colorado State University Research Foundation.

The fourth installment to Walkin' the Tech Talkin' Gov Walk (see the April 17 , May 8 and June 5 issues of the Digest) covers the outcomes of the 2006 legislative sessions within Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota and Vermont. Following is a synopsis of bills passed and budget appropriations relevant to tech-based economic development and the priorities outlined in respective gubernatorial addresses at the beginning of 2006.



Colorado

Gov. Bill Owens signed into law a $26.5 million economic development package, which includes investments in bioscience and job creation. While the bulk of the funds are slated for increasing tourism ($19 million), two of the bills include funds aimed at increasing science and technology research and creating better jobs in the state.



HB 06-1360 provides $2 million in one-time funding for the advancement of new bioscience discoveries at Colorado research institutions. The legislation creates the Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program within the Colorado Office of Economic Development to improve and expand the evaluation of new bioscience discoveries with the intent to commercialize new products and services. Grants are to be distributed to technology transfer offices in amounts of up to $150,000 per bioscience research project.



Under HB 06-1017, the Economic Development Commission has the authority to offer financial incentives to any business that creates a minimum of five new jobs in rural areas and 10 in urban areas. Jobs must be created and maintained for at least one year before the company can receive the incentives. The legislation allocates $3 million annually to the program, of which 15 percent is earmarked for job creation within Enterprize Zones outside the Metro Denver area.



Gov. Owens also signed a bill that provides funding to a new Colorado renewable energy collaboration. HB 1322 creates the Colorado Renewable Energy Authority and allocates up to $2 million per year for three years, beginning in fiscal year 2007. Under the legislation, the Authority must use the allocation of state matching funds to support one or more proposals of a consortium consisting of the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, University of Colorado, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for federal energy research funding and energy-related research funding from federal agencies and other public and private entities.



Iowa

The General Assembly approved Gov. Tom Vilsack's request of $50 million for the Iowa Values Fund within the Department of Economic Development (refer to HF 2459). Established in 2003, the Iowa Values Fund supports economic development opportunities in the specific areas of life sciences, software and information technology, advanced manufacturing, and value added agriculture (see the June 6, 2003 issue of the Digest). The governor signed the budget bills on June 1. They do not include his recommendation of $2.3 million for the Bioscience Alliance and $250,000 for the creation of a Lean Manufacturing Institute to provide training for manufacturing firms.



The budget includes, however, investments from various funds for FY 07 to the State Board of Regents to implement infrastructure-related recommendations (refer to HF 2782) proposed by the governor in his Condition-of-the-State Address (see the Jan. 16 issue of the Digest).



Another bill that passed during the session is SF 2272, which requires high school students to take three years of math and science and takes effect with the graduating class of 2010-11.



Minnesota

The Legislature passed and Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed HF 2959, authorizing nearly $1 billion in general obligation bonds to finance more than 100 capital projects. The final bonding bill includes $307 million for renovation and construction of buildings at the University of Minnesota (UM) and Minnesota State College and University campuses. According to the Minnesota High Tech Association, funding for four UM building projects include:

$10M Donation Funds Johns Hopkins Biomed Facility, Research Park

The Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University received a commitment of $10 million from the John G. Rangos Sr. Family Charitable Foundation. The institute - intended to provide space for interdisciplinary biological and medical research - will be housed in the first building constructed in the new life sciences park in East Baltimore, an $800 million urban redevelopment project. Groundbreaking for the building was held April 17 in the 80-acre park managed by East Baltimore Development Inc.

At the same time civic and corporate leaders around the country are calling for more high school students to pursue a college education, and specifically science, technology and math degrees, the student's share of the cost for higher education is climbing to record highs. Despite an appropriations increase of 3.5 percent in fiscal year 2005, constant dollar per student state and local funding for public colleges and universities was at the lowest point in 25 years, according to State Higher Education Finance FY 2005, the annual study conducted by the association of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). State and local support per full-time-equivalent student in public institutions was $5,833 in FY 05; the high point since 1980 was in fiscal 2001, when per student support was $7,121 in constant 2005 dollars.

An increasing number of states are realizing the potential role renewable energy can play in their tech-based economic development strategies (TBED) and future growth. While nearly all provide some financial support to encourage the use of renewable sources of energy (see, for example, the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy), several are looking at the R&D side of the equation for future technological breakthroughs. Funding and attention for the next wave is often driven toward universities, utility companies and large players in the energy market.

Hunt Lambert was selected as the new associate vice president for economic development in the Colorado State University system.

Colorado The Rocky Mountain Technology Alliance (RMTA) is a recently formed regional development organization for applied research and technology development whose membership includes universities, government organizations and private businesses. The goal of RMTA is to assist its member organizations by pursuing collaborative programs that will produce intellectual property for new products and businesses. Its mission also includes creating manufacturing solutions to support successful commercial growth and national security. The alliance will cater to a cluster of high tech companies, educational institutions, and government facilities located in the Rocky Mountain Technology Corridor, which stretches from Northern Colorado to Southern New Mexico.

Mike Kazmierski is the new president of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp.

One starts up. Another bites the dust. The Certified Capital Company (CAPCO) Program, a complicated and controversial tool used by some states to encourage venture capital investments, finds its beginnings in one region while seeing its demise in yet another.

Glenwood Springs, Colo., is the nation’s most entrepreneurial region, according to a study recently released by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy and the Edward Lowe Foundation. The region's ranking is based on the Regional Entrepreneurship Index, a measure intended to standardize assessment of entrepreneurship within and across regions.