SSTI Digest

Lawmakers in Georgia and Maryland approved action earlier this month on several TBED-related measures for the upcoming fiscal year. Highlights of the approved budgets are outlined below.   Georgia Lawmakers committed $2.5 million, half of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recommendation, to create the Georgia Research Alliance venture capital initiative to speed commercialization of university derived technologies to the marketplace. Earlier this year, Gov. Perdue asked legislators to provide $5 million to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) in FY09 that would be matched with $5 million in existing funds and pooled with $30 million in private funds (see the Jan. 30, 2008 issue of the Digest).   Lawmakers reduced by half funding for the Georgia Youth Science and Technology program, which aims to increase interest and enthusiasm in science and technology among elementary and middle school teachers and students. The program is slated to receive $250,000 in FY09.  

John Austin is the newly appointed executive director of the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan.

Tom Cech announced he will return to the University of Colorado at Boulder next year to pursue laboratory research and teaching after eight years as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Sarah Djamshidi was selected as executive director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center.

John Hardin was named the acting executive director for the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology.

Wayne Hicks announced he is stepping down as the president and CEO of the Cincinnati Business Incubator to focus on other interests, including his work as executive director of the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation.

The Beaver County (Pa.) CO-OP announced it will change its name to StartingGate. The incubator will continue to assist entrepreneurs and new business start-ups and help expand existing businesses.

Joe Dedman was chosen as the first executive director of the Southeast Indiana WIRED.

Brian DuBoff was named the director of Maryland's southern region Small Business Development Center, which is hosted by the College of Southern Maryland.

Barbara Goodman has joined the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization as its executive director.

Mark Long has stepped down as the CEO of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp.

One of the continuing challenges for TBED organizations is successfully documenting how their investments and activities influence the economic landscape of their states and regions. SSTI has selected a few recent state reports as examples of impact assessment, each identifying and utilizing certain measurements to help them tell their story. Their approaches may be of interest to other TBED organizations looking to gauge and share their impact with others.

Funding for several TBED-focused initiatives aimed at increasing the state’s biotech portfolio is prominent in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal year 2009 budget proposal. Under the recommendation, stem cell research, biotechnology and nanotechnology are targeted for investments to grow the state’s economy, building on the actions of the 2007 legislative session (see the April 16, 2007 issue of the Digest).   Gov. O’Malley unveiled his FY09 budget last week, recommending $23 million for the Stem Cell Research Fund. The fund – in its second year of existence – supports stem cell R&D at Maryland research universities and private sector research institutions and is administered by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). TEDCO is slated to receive $27.8 million in FY09 total funds – a slight decrease from the FY08 appropriation.  

The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest hired Diane Durance as its new executive director, succeeding Art DeMonte, now a full-time business consultant. Durance formerly was president of the Ann Arbor IT Zone.

As part of SSTI's 11th Annual Conference, recipients of the first annual SSTI Excellence in TBED Awards were honored for their participation in a national competition showcasing best practices in approaches to building tech-based economies.   Designed to celebrate exceptional achievement in addressing the elements that have been found in successful technology-based economies, the awards program recognizes efforts to improve state and regional economies through science, technology and innovation.   “Successful tech-based economies have strong research infrastructure, ability to commercialize research, access to capital, a skilled workforce, and an entrepreneurial culture,” said SSTI President and CEO Dan Berglund. “They also encourage existing industries to become more competitive. These initiatives demonstrate the successful approaches that are being taken across the country.”   The 2007 Excellence in TBED Award winners include:

Thank you! Interest in SSTI's 11th annual conference has been extremely high since the agenda was released during the summer, and, as we expected and warned, SSTI will not be able to accommodate walk-in registrations on the day of the event. We apologize for the inconvenience and the missed opportunity this creates for a number of Digest readers. The 375 TBED practitioners that will be in attendance next week are in for a great professional development experience. More than 240 different TBED-related organizations from across the continent are represented among the lucky participants - not unlike the six golden ticket winners for the tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory (the nice Willy Wonka from the 1970s, not the darker one in the more recent Tim Burton remake). The conference has its own cast of stars with more than 60 presenters, panelists and discussion leaders to lead the 19 breakout workshops and plenary sessions.

Michael Dailey was elected president of the Maryland Business Incubation Association.

Only a dozen seats remain available for new registrations to attend SSTI's 11th Annual Conference, which will be held Oct. 18-19 in Baltimore's fun-packed Inner Harbor. That's 12 seats, not a baker's dozen of 13. Given the two-week lead time before the event, SSTI strongly anticipates we will not be able to accommodate walk-in registrations the day of the conference. We encourage those of you making arrangements or planning to attend to register as soon as possible. Registrations can be taken over the phone (614.901.1690) or on our secure webpage: https://www.ssti.org/Conf07/registration.htm

Socially-responsible entrepreneurs at the University of Maryland now have a new financial resource available to help them get new businesses off the ground. The university's Impact Pre-Seed Fund program will offer grants to students with business plans that could offer potential benefits to global society. Students participating in the university's Hinman CEOs program and the Hillman Entrepreneurs program will be eligible for two kinds of grants: Seed Fund grants of $2,000 to $5,000 will be awarded to students with complete, well researched business plans, and Opportunity Assessment grants of $500 to $1,000 will be available to fund promising ideas that require additional research. Each grantee will be assigned a mentor to help guide the new business and to monitor the use of the award.

Early registration is nearly over and the conference hotel is full, but you still have the opportunity to join representatives from 47 states and Canadian provinces at SSTI's 11th Annual Conference in Baltimore, Oct. 18-19, 2007 -- the nation's premier gathering for the tech-based economic development field. SSTI conference registrants can book rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel. This hotel is located just 1.5 blocks from the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, the site of this year's conference. Spacious rooms with large windows and 9-foot ceilings, complimented with rich Mahogany furniture, are available. To get the contract rate of $199 plus tax, please call the Hampton Inn & Suites at 410-539-7888 and mention you are part of the State Science and Tech Institute Block. The deadline is the end of day Thursday, Sept. 27.