Finding Solutions to Cracks in the Basement

If the innovation powerhouse that represents the U.S. economy for the past century were a cinder block foundation of a house, then China and India would present two of the more significant cracks. These two great nations may grab the headlines, but the improved innovation and research capacities of any country provide new challenges for continued U.S. domination of the world's economy. As this week's article on the Czech Republic and Singapore reveals, these are just two more blocks in the U.S. wall to show stress fractures.

"Now, hold on SSTI," you may be saying to yourself. "You want me to lose sleep over the smaller economies, too?" Worry and lose sleep? No. But we do want more people to wake up to what's going on in the basement.

As this week's article on the latest National Science Foundation Issue Brief points out, the continuing decline in foreign students pursing graduate science and engineering degrees may give cause for concern. The U.S. has always been dependent on immigrant talent for science and innovation, but that is likely to become a less reliable strategy as opportunities grow at home for foreign nationals to engage in R&D.

And opportunity is growing abroad, as the Digest has tried to present a few samples from around the world during the past year:

• U.S. Universities Partner with India for Satellite Engineering Education Program, Aug. 8, 2005
• France Doubles Funding for R&D and Industrial Innovation, July 11, 2005
• Ship Out to Shape Up: Pakistan Sending 15,000 Students Abroad, May 30, 2005
• China's Goal: Quadruple GDP by 2020, May 30, 2005
• European Commission Commits $5.4B (US) toward Innovation, May 2, 2005
• Australia takes on [Broadband access] issue nationally, Mar. 21, 2005
• New TBED Efforts to Make Ontario Leader In Innovation, Feb. 21, 2005
• From Armenia to Zambia, Most of World Embracing Innovation, Dec. 6, 2004
• Funding Scheme to Support R&D for Large Companies in Scotland, Sept. 27, 2004

In response to the growing recognition that more needs to be done on the federal level, many of the country's most respected CEOs and organizations have issued papers, plans, strategies and calls to action for an improved national innovation policy. The Digest also has covered many of these during the past nine months, including last week's article on Tapping America's Potential: The Education for Innovation Initiative. In our crumbling foundation analogy, these are the brick masons, concrete experts and foundation restoration specialists telling us what to do: We have to change.

Unfortunately, while most of the focus of these plans is national, the real work of implementing most of a better innovation strategy falls on states and communities across the country. We need to broaden participation in science and entrepreneurship to underrepresented demographic groups such as women and minorities. We need to integrate workforce programs and TBED strategies more closely to prepare a larger knowledge-based talent pool. We need to encourage university-based research and innovation. We need to facilitate private investment for commercializing promising technologies. We need to create a greater sense of regionalism and collaboration to reflect the win-win potential of tech-based economic development (TBED).

Fortunately, most of the Digest readership is up to the task -- or you wouldn't subscribe to this newsletter!

SSTI's conference, to be held Oct. 19-21 in Atlanta, provides the perfect opportunity to learn about what state and local TBED practitioners are doing to take advantage of the opportunities presented by globalization. A quick snapshot of the exciting breakout sessions offered this year is highlighted below. Session times, speaker names and backgrounds are available on SSTI's conference website: http://www.ssti.org/Conf05/schedule.htm

• Even Angels Get the Blues: Maintaining Momentum for Investor Groups. Creating an angel investor group is an important first step for increasing seed capital in your region. What do you do after the group forms and the initial wave of enthusiasm wanes? Most angels handle only a limited number of investments at once, so how do you maintain momentum to keep the group active and attract new investors? In what should be a lively discussion, we'll hear from individuals who have handled this challenge with great success. An Advanced Session.
• Fostering Cooperation for Regional Growth: A Roundtable Discussion. The realities facing America demand that traditional battle lines for economic development be erased and forgotten. To be competitive in a knowledge-based, global economy that is increasingly level at all stages of innovation and production will require a coming together of communities, institutions, organizations and people unseen since World War II. In this session, using work in Tennessee as a model, we'll discuss how to foster regional cooperation that will change mindsets and rejuvenate entire organizations to sustain economic growth.
• Moving Broadband Beyond the Muni v. Telco Debate. "Free Wireless for All" or "Unfair Competition"? While the battle for municipal broadband options may be decided in state legislatures and courts, information and communication technologies (ICT) will remain the structural backbone of the global economy. Access = Economic Survival. In this important session, we'll move beyond the public broadband discussion to explore ICT challenges and impacts for your region. We'll also examine a resourceful template for guiding effective community ICT decision-making.
• The Changing State-University Relationship: Trends and Implications. Universities will play a critical role in our continued ability to compete globally, both as an innovation source and a producer of talent. In recent years, though, there’s been a changing relationship in some states between universities and state government, including privatization of public universities and the addition of economic development as a fundamental mission. In this session, we'll examine what the trends are in these relationships and the implications not only to the universities, but also to the country's economic standing. An Advanced Session.
• Encouraging Women Entrepreneurship. Sustaining U.S. dominance in innovation and entrepreneurship will require greater involvement by a larger percentage of our population. The paucity of women in science, technology and entrepreneurship represents an enormous opportunity for improvement. In this session, we'll consider unique issues for encouraging entrepreneurship among women and examine promising approaches being taken.
• Keeping TBED Relevant: A Roundtable Discussion. To be effective, TBED programs must change with the times -­ and, have the times been changing! Venture capitalists are investing later and in larger amounts. Regions are emphasizing the life sciences, but those companies take longer to bring products to market and achieve success. And we haven't even mentioned China and India. In this roundtable discussion, we'll consider the changes TBED programs are making (or should be making) to stay relevant. An Advanced Session.
• Developing a Workforce Strategy that Works. Ensuring a supply of skilled workers is a crucial element in building a tech-based economy, and a shortage of capable workers is one of the most common complaints from tech companies. Having a rational workforce strategy is an important first step. In this session, we'll consider how to: analyze your economy to determine which occupations are most needed for the future; build a workforce strategy around that analysis; and, take advantage of the significant changes in workforce training programs at the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Higher Ed as the Basis for Economic Growth: The Georgia Story. Over the last 15 years, no state has been more focused on investing in higher education to encourage sustainable economic prosperity than Georgia, including creating one of the world's most widely emulated TBED models: the Georgia Research Alliance. In this session, we'll examine Georgia's full-spectrum strategy for encouraging university-oriented TBED through workforce preparedness, research funding, infrastructure development, technology commercialization, and regional branding.
• VC Isn't Everything: Raising Capital for the Balance of Your Portfolio. Venture capital is a widely sought resource by TBED practitioners, but in reality, relatively few companies ever receive VC investment. For most regions, particularly rural areas, focusing on tech firms that are solid performers but never likely to be VC targets can be a smart strategy for economic development. In this session, we'll examine the successful approach of one TBED organization and explore other financing options available to these companies.
• New Commercialization Strategies for University Research. The topic of commercializing university research is a perennial favorite at SSTI conferences for good reason: Each year we hear lessons learned from some of the nation's best programs. In recent years, several new approaches have been launched to address gaps in technology transfer systems at public and private universities. So, for 2005, we've asked the cream of this new crop – representing different strategies for different situations – to join us for an engaging session that will offer applications for any institution. An Advanced Session.
• Creating Successful Workforce/TBED Partnerships. Historically, there has been a wide disconnect between workforce programs and TBED. That's all changing, thanks to the increased importance of science & tech education and recent modifications to federal workforce programs. Key to successful integration, though, is understanding the workforce system, including the culture of the workforce boards, how they measure success, and the language that they use. We'll explore all of these in a session focused on creating successful partnerships with the workforce system.
• Rethinking Regional Innovation and Change. Our understanding of why innovation occurs where it does has been aided greatly by the policy analysis of academicians around the world. Translating that research into effective TBED policies and programs takes time and thought, though -- particularly when major changes are needed in how communities approach economic growth. In this session, two internationally-recognized researchers will discuss new ideas about TBED and reconsider current ones, with the aim of getting the latest research findings into practitioners' hands as quickly as possible. An Advanced Session.
• Embedding Entrepreneurship in Universities: New Approaches. Most thriving regions have universities that are actively engaged in their local economy, including assisting entrepreneurs and encouraging entrepreneurship among faculty and students. In recent years, some exciting initiatives have been started to integrate entrepreneurship into all aspects of a university and to create an entrepreneurial climate within academia. In this session, we'll examine two of the most promising approaches being undertaken.
• New Tools for Web-based TBED. Significant advances and economies in information technology led to great productivity growth, the dot-com phenomenon, and the flattening of the world, to borrow a phrase. It took awhile, but the field of TBED is finally seeing powerful web applications to expand regional innovation capacity. In this session, we'll explore how two organizations developed and deployed different web tools to foster success within their communities of researchers and entrepreneurs.
• Realizing Results from S&T Planning: The Lessons of Implementation. A fundamental rule of TBED is to start with a strategic plan. You probably can glance at your office bookcase to see one or more of your own plans gathering dust. Imagine how different things might be, though, if your community or state had actually implemented your plan. In this thought-provoking session, we'll take brave looks backward and forward, several years after two plans were developed and implemented to see what worked ­- and what didn't.
• Sound Strategies for Encouraging Regional Entrepreneurship. Delivering innovative and effective assistance to entrepreneurs is possible, whether your area has less than 100,000 residents or more than a million. The proof, though, is in the strength of the companies created, not the size of your program. We'll take an in-depth look at the approaches deployed in Grand Forks, N.D., and Rochester, N.Y. ­- considering initiatives they selected and why, the success they've had, and lessons they've learned that can be applied to practically any area of the country.
• Alternative Energy and TBED: A Powerful Opportunity. State biotech and nanotech investments may be grabbing all the headlines, but one of the most pressing issues for U.S. competitiveness is developing a 21st century energy system. Leadership for energy innovation is falling increasingly on the many states and regions making important investments toward the development of alternative and renewable energies. We'll take a look at exactly what alternative energy is, its market potential, and what two states are doing to build the industry in their economies.
• Globalizing Your TBED Strategy: Developing International Partnerships. We all know that we’re competing in a global economy. What exactly does that mean, though? Increasingly, smart TBED organizations see globalization as an opportunity rather than a threat. In this session, we'll examine the experience of two organizations in creating exciting partnerships with other countries, their motivations in doing so, the benefits accrued, and lessons learned. With relationships in countries as varied as China and France, the presenters have experience that spans the globe.
• Building Effective University-Industry Partnerships. A key to having a tech-based economy is developing effective partnerships between universities and companies. But that’s easier said than done and, if you've been in the field long, you know academia and industry often talk past each other and have different expectations of a relationship. Obviously though, based on the success of two of the nation's longest-running programs, these differences can be overcome. This session will consider exactly how they've done it. An Advanced Session

Join your colleagues from across the country as we gather in Atlanta to Invest in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-Based Economies. Early registration ends Sept 17. Online registration is available at: https://www.ssti.org/Conf05/registration.htm