SSTI Digest

Make 2009 your organization's year to be recognized as a national leader in the TBED community!

Legislative leaders and key stakeholders need to know the valuable impact of TBED on local, state and regional economies. SSTI's Excellence in TBED Awards showcase these accomplishments and tell the story of how successful TBED initiatives have responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region.

As an award winner, you:

Today's Digest marks SSTI's 600th issue. The Digest's growth in circulation and coverage over the past 13 years parallels the explosive expansion of activities to strengthen regional economies through technology-based economic development. From its humble beginnings as a two-page fax sent out to 50 people on Friday March 1, 1996, to its current world-crossing circulation now in the thousands, the Digest remains committed to delivering timely information that will help state, local and university TBED practitioners succeed. For the history buffs among our readership, nearly every past issue of the Digest is archived on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm.

More than 50 research funding opportunities totaling more than $100 million were sent to SSTI Members this week in SSTI's Funding Supplement. This members-only electronic publication provides readers with application information, eligibility criteria and submission deadlines for hundreds of research and economic development funding opportunities offered by the federal government and others. Additional information about SSTI Membership is available at:  http://www.ssti.org/benefits.htm

Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation has named Jim Carroll as director of its Center for Entrepreneurial Growth.

Catapult Bio, a nonprofit organization designed to help transform emerging research discoveries into business opportunities, accelerating the commercialization of life sciences in Arizona, announced its official launch with a grant of up to $14 million from Abraxis Bioscience.

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Not all of the news coming out of governors' offices is bad for TBED strategies. For example, just in the past week, governors in Missouri, Ohio and Texas proposed increases in state investments for job creation in emerging fields, higher education scholarships, and technology commercialization and research programs. The following overview provides highlights of their recommendations for TBED proposals in the upcoming fiscal year or biennium.

The fifth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses from governors in Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, State of the State Address, Feb. 3, 2009 "And let's make Alabama more competitive with other states for higher paying jobs. Our current incentives focus almost entirely on manufacturing, and Alabama will continue to be aggressive in the pursuit of those jobs. But in today's economy we need a more balanced approach. One that makes more industries eligible for our economic incentives: knowledge-based industries that typically pay higher wages like research and development facilities, corporate headquarters and other entrepreneurial ventures. .

Pennsylvania Gov.

Since the SSTI Funding Supplement became a members-only publication in 2006 more than 4,250 funding opportunities have been distributed. In 2008 only, there were more than 1,400 different opportunities for your client companies and university research faculties to secure funding -- if you were an SSTI member. Competition for federal research funding is growing, particularly as program budgets have been relatively flat or declining in recent federal budget cycles. But your tech companies and faculty researchers are at the greatest disadvantage if they aren't even aware of all the opportunities available to them! Don't remain in the dark for 2009. Sign up your organization as one of SSTI's members today to begin your subscription to the Funding Supplement.

A few of the more than 100 opportunities provided in December include:

Due to overwhelming interest, SSTI's first poster session, held at SSTI's 12th Annual Conference in Cleveland mid October, is now available online 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. You can view more than 35 posters celebrating why states, regions, universities and related organizations engage in technology-based economic development (TBED).

Each poster profiles a success story providing hard evidence of how TBED investments are sustaining the nation's position as a global leader for innovation and competitiveness -- one local or regional project at a time. The impacts shown are a direct result of the assistance provided by SSTI member organizations.

For several years governors across the country have announced life science and biotech initiatives that are as broad as they are large. The devil is in the details, and in most cases related to bio-based economic development, so are the opportunities. Participants in SSTI's 12th annual conference last week were reminded targeted investments in specialized areas related to merging existing life science and other technological strengths in a region are likely to have the greatest economic impact.

Over the past few weeks, two new initiatives were announced - one in Northeast Ohio and one in Wisconsin - highlighting more focused approaches to building research and commercialization capabilities within multiple industries through advances in the life sciences.