SSTI Digest

Earlier this month, Gov. Jim Douglas announced a plan to use $8.7 million in federal stimulus funds for job creation programs, including broadband infrastructure, low-interest loans and workforce training. Many of the proposals mirror last year’s SmartVermont plan, a proposal rejected by lawmakers that would have leveraged federal funds to provide $17.2 million for statewide economic development. (see the June 3, 2009 issue of the Digest).

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states:

In a special session on Tuesday, the Vermont Legislature enacted the state's FY10 budget, overriding last week's veto by Governor Jim Douglas. The budget eliminates or reduces funding for many programs related to economic development and TBED, cutbacks which were cited as concerns by Gov. Douglas in his veto announcement.

The $4.5 billion budget includes $4 million in economic development incentives to be administered through the Vermont Economic Development Authority (VEDA), significantly less than the $11 million proposed by the governor. The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) will receive only $500,000, which the governor says will effectively shut down the organization by September. VTA has played an integral role in the state's unfinished plan to provide border-to-border cell phone and wireless data access.

Vermont Governor James Douglas has released a plan to spend some of the state's share of funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on building a stronger base for technology-based growth. The $17.1 million SmartVermont suite of proposals includes funding for technology company loans, lending to small businesses, seed capital for entrepreneurs and support for regional economic development projects. Governor Douglas' office estimates that the investment would attract another $140 million in private capital to support the state's economic development goals.

As governors across the nation seek to fill record deficits, many new and longstanding TBED initiatives are facing challenging cuts or elimination. At the same time, governors are shoring up support for critical, targeted investments in the economy that they say are needed now more than ever. Using the platform of the state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses, several governors have announced new or increased investments in workforce innovation, bioscience, and alternative energy (see the Jan. 7, 14, and 21 issues of the Digest). Summarized below are executive recommendations from budget proposals in Georgia, Idaho and Vermont outlining new plans and proposed cuts to ongoing TBED efforts.

The second installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses delivered by the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. 

Gov. Jim Douglas recently announced Vermont will roll out a suite of grants and incentives to strengthen the state's software industry. The initiative includes state-funded low-interest loans to software businesses, employment growth incentives and a tax credit for software research. In his unveiling of the software initiative at Champlain College's new Emergent Media Center, Gov. Douglas explained that state agencies will use these new measures in conjunction with the Center to help build a local software development cluster.

Armed with professional advice from mentors in scientific fields and free access to sophisticated design and engineering software, teachers and students from Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia will participate in a national competition to solve a real-world engineering challenge defined by the aviation industry.
 
The idea behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Real World Design Challenge is to create a pipeline of highly qualified workers by preparing high school students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields based on issues facing high-tech and defense industries.
 
Ralph Coppola, director of Worldwide Education for Parametric Technology Corporation, said many aerospace and defense companies that work as contractors to national security agencies are concerned the U.S. is not producing enough qualified workers who must be able to work on both the defense and commercial side. A survey conducted with these companies in the Northeast found 54 percent of the workforce is 45 years or older and one-third are eligible for retirement today. At the same time, engineering degrees make up only 5 percent of the total baccalaureate population in the U.S., Coppola said.
 
U.S. Continues to Trail Behind in STEM Graduates
A coalition of 16 leading business organizations echoed this concern with the release of a report last month assessing three years’ progress in working toward a goal of doubling the number of students earning bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields by 2015. The report by Tapping America’s Potential indicates growing support for the group’s agenda to advance U.S. competitiveness in STEM, but shows little progress toward the goal. In fact, the number of degrees in STEM fields awarded to undergraduate students has only grown by 24,000 since 2005 – a small increase that is not on track to reach the goal of 400,000 over the next seven years, the report finds.
 
The Real World Design Challenge hopes to reverse this trend by providing high school students with the background and framework for competing more effectively in the global economy. In designing the program, aerospace and defense companies voiced a need for employees having seven to 10 years of experience and the necessary education and skills. Recognizing that this requirement would add another decade to the pipeline, program administrators suggested integrating the real-world experience at the K-12 and undergraduate level. 
 
Engaging Youth in Real-world Situations
Ten states with significant aerospace industry presence were invited to participate in the challenge during the pilot year. So far, six states have confirmed their participation, beginning with an announcement last month from Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas. Next year, the challenge will be open to all U.S. states and territories. Once a school has signed on, the teachers are trained to use software and other tools to apply in teaching design and global engineering. Teachers will then lead teams of 3-7 students who will work on the same design challenge defined by Cessna engineers – an issue currently being addressed in the aviation industry.
 
Each participating teacher will receive nearly $1 million in engineering software to be used in the challenge. Teachers and students are given access to DOE energy laboratories and may consult with industry experts from the Federal Aviation Administration. Teams will submit their solutions to a review board consisting of experts in government, K-12 education, higher education and industry. The governors of each participating state will announce a winning team within their state in early spring who will then go on to compete in a national challenge in Washington, D.C., which consists of a written submission and oral presentation on a newly defined challenge.
 
A major goal of the challenge is to teach students to become better innovators, Coppola said. The student teams are built around real industry roles, including a project manager, scientist, engineer, and community relations and marketing specialist. The national presentation will be much like submitting and defending a proposal for a contract or a thesis in which students are challenged and must defend their position, Coppola said.
 
More information on the Real World Design Challenge, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, Parametric Technology Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Corporation and Flometrics Inc., is available at: http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/RWDC/index.html

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.

State universities and research programs depend on public support to develop and commercialize new technologies, but the actual science involved in these discoveries can seem intimidating and arcane to the layman. How then should a state go about engaging the public in scientific research?

 

To address the issue, Vermont Public Television and Vermont EPSCoR have joined forces to launch a new television series that will introduce Vermont residents to the research and innovations being developed in the state's universities and labs. The program, Emerging Science, will explore the work of Vermonters engaged in scientific exploration and highlight the successes of the state's scientific community. Each episode will feature a developing scientific field, including nanotechnology, global climate change and remote sensing.

 

Vermont Public Television plans to issue eight short weekly podcasts on its website leading up to the April launch of Emerging Science. One can subscribe to these podcasts through iTunes or watch previews of the episodes at: http://www.vpt.org/programs/emergingscience.html

 

Vermont is not the first state to use the media to increase citizen engagement in science and technology. The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology has been broadcasting Oklahoma Innovations, a weekly radio show, for 12 years. Oklahoma Innovations features hour-long discussions including conversations with university researchers, interviews with Oklahoma entrepreneurs, profiles of the state's high-tech business service providers and insights into the state's TBED economy. The March 9, 2008 episode, for example, featured the Oklahoma Creativity Project, a statewide effort to build a creative workforce and to leverage the state's creative resources to strengthen its entrepreneurial economy.

 

The program's schedule and a downloadable archive are available at: http://www.ocast.state.ok.us/News/Radio/tabid/71/Default.aspx

In an era in which many companies maintain a web presence before their first technology hits the market, broadband access has become an essential ingredient for high-tech business and growth. In many states, however, the need for broadband access has widened the high-tech achievement gap between urban and rural areas. Without high-speed connections, many students in rural areas are unable to gain the skills needed by technology-based companies, and many rural businesses find it difficult to compete without access to advanced web-based resources.

 

Universal access to high-speed broadband access has become something of a holy grail, not yet attained by any state. In order to spread the benefits of high-speed connections, several states have recently launched initiatives to ensure that even businesses in the most remote regions have access to online resources.

 

Vermont

Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas believes that universal wireless broadband access could revolutionize telecommunications, education and business in his state. In his inaugural address earlier this year, the governor announced a plan to make Vermont the country’s first “e-state”, in which wireless data transfer and cellular voice coverage are available anywhere in the state (see the Jan. 8, 2007 issue of the Digest).

 

The state legislature recently approved the first step in the governor’s plan by establishing a Vermont Telecommunications Authority to direct the state’s wireless efforts. The Authority will issue $40 million in grants to municipalities and service providers for projects to extend voice and data coverage to currently underserved areas. The grants will allow the state to provide “border-to-border” access, even in the rural areas not served by conventional broadband.

 

Several other states also are engaged in the race to become the first state with border-to-border wireless access. Both South Carolina and Rhode Island have launched their own universal wireless strategies. Though the details of these strategies differ, each state hopes that by extending wireless coverage they will be able to offer unmatched opportunities in education and business while bypassing the cost of installing cable access points in underdeveloped areas.

 

West Virginia

Many states, however, still struggle to offer wired broadband services to a large portion of their citizens. West Virginia ranks 45th in broadband access, according to Kyle Schafer, the state’s chief technology officer. The state has faced a particularly challenging time extending services, due to its mountainous terrain and large rural population.

 

In April, the state legislature approved a bill that promised to offer broadband access to the entire state by 2010. The Electronic Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Act would have allowed the state to immediately begin work on a survey of current broadband availability, and then to begin extending access to the rest of the state.

 

That plan was halted late last month, however, when Gov. Joe Manchin vetoed the bill and introduced an alternative approach. The governor said the bill would have interfered with an emerging “strategic alliance” with networking company Cisco Systems. Cisco has begun offering the state free guidance in expanding its broadband network, according to an Associated Press article. Gov. Manchin believes that the alliance will still result in universal access by 2010.

In his inaugural address last week, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas announced a four-part plan to bolster research and high-tech economic development. The governor’s Vermont Way Forward strategy would promote high-tech business, particularly in the state’s emerging environmental engineering industry. In addition, the strategy includes a plan to make Vermont what the governor says would be the country’s first “e-state,” one in which universal access to broadband and wireless technology are available anywhere within the state’s borders.

 

To capitalize on the growing demand for environmentally-conscious technology solutions, the Vermont Way Forward plan calls for the creation of an Environmental Engineering Advisory Council to coordinate state efforts to support research and innovation in developing environmental technologies and services. The council would be composed of engineering, math, science and technology experts appointed by both the state legislature and the governor’s office. Its members would help guide the state toward becoming a world leader in environmental engineering research and business.

 

The plan also would support high-tech development in the state by providing universal wireless cellular and broadband access anywhere in the state. A new Vermont Telecommunication Authority would partner with private businesses to build a “next-generation” infrastructure for voice and Internet access. The strategy calls for $40 million in bond backing for the authority, which the governor estimates would leverage an additional $200 million in private investment. Universal telecommunications access would provide a significant boost to rural businesses, and a competitive advantage to the state when competing for new high-tech enterprises, according to the governor's office.

 

Universal broadband also would allow the state to provide broadband access to K-12 schools and students, bringing them additional exposure to web resources and technologies. To further encourage students’ high-tech education, the plan would create several regional schools for math, science and technology, which it is hoped would produce highly-skilled workers to assist in the sustained growth of state tech industries.

 

Finally, the governor’s strategy outlines several tax incentives to encourage the use of renewable fuels in Vermont. These incentives include: