SSTI Digest

Declaring September “Nonprofits & Technology Month,” the Foundation Center has launched a website presenting myriad financial and technical assistance resources to support the acquisition and use of information technology in nonprofit organizations. Included in the site are several categories including: Community Development Resources; Corporate Funders; Digital Divide Resources; Disability Resources; Federal Government Resources; Foundations; E-Philanthropy Resources; Other Funding Sources; Software/Hardware Resources; Technology Assistance and Training Resources; Technology News, Newsletters, and Online Forums; Telecommunications Resources; and Web Development Resources. The site is http://fdncenter.org/pnd/npotech/ 

With so much attention given to increasing private seed and venture capital activity as a means of growing tech-based economies, one might expect that encouraging and attracting community development venture capital (CDVC) – that is, equity investments and entrepreneurial assistance to meet both profit targets and community development goals – would be a common element of a state or local community’s portfolio of economic development tools. Increasingly it is, according to the first in-depth research on the state of the CDVC industry, released recently by the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA). In fact, the study, prepared by Harvard Ph.D candidate Julia Sass Rubin, found more than 50 CDVC providers actively investing or in formation at the beginning of 2000 – up from a mere handful only five years ago. The combined capitalization of these providers at the end of 1999 was $300 million. Community development venture capital providers make equity investments in businesses in distressed rural and urban areas. CDVC…

With the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act sunsetting this year and the increasing importance of developing a skilled workforce for a tech-based economy, many are asking if the initiatives launched or expanded by the Act have been successful. According to School-to-Work: Making A Difference in Education, a new report from the Institute on Education and the Economy at Columbia University, early results are encouraging, but there are areas for improvement given the opportunity presented by reauthorization.  To prepare their findings the Institute reviewed the findings and conclusions of more than 130 local, state, regional, and national studies completed on School-to-Work programs. A complete bibliography is included at the end of the document.  Accomplishments  According to the report, employer engagement in school-to-work is at record levels. By 1997, “three years after passage of the Act and before all states had received funding, more than one-quarter of all firms employing 20 or more people were members of…

In what could be the largest private sector commitment yet to a single industry/university research center, Corning, Kodak ,and Xerox have combined to pledge a staggering $45 million toward establishing a Center of Excellence in Photonics and Optoelectronics in Rochester, N.Y. The three corporate giants also committed to help raise another $30 million from other private sector companies for the new partnership involving New York State, higher education, and private enterprise. University partners include the University of Rochester, the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University at Albany, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Alfred University, and Cornell University. The public, academic, and industry partners hope that the new center can position New York as a national leader in optoelectronics-related R&D and job growth, emulating Silicon Valley’s emergence as a hub for the semiconductor industry. More than 91,000 New York residents already are employed in the optoelectronics and imaging industry fields, about 13 percent of the national total. …

Whether it is proposal A, proposal B, or some combination of A and B, university research and development efforts in New York stand to gain an additional $40-50 million per year for the next five years. The new funding would be in addition to the $135 million injection of state funding directed toward university research excellence through the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR). While both proposals focus heavily on university research, the initiatives vary substantially. Generating Employment through New York Science (GEN-NY-SIS, for short), targets biotechnology and was unveiled by Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno in the middle of December. The five-year plan calls for $225 million in new public programs and $45 million in tax credits directed toward biotechnology and life science research and commercialization. Industry and federal funding is expected to match the state's investment, which would be allocated as follows: $147 million for basic research matching grants to assist universities and institutions in attracting and retaining…

With significant emphasis on academic research and commercialization, the New York Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) has provided Governor George Pataki its first strategic plan. The $130 million NYSTAR, which absorbed the functions of the NY State Science and Technology Foundation, was formed in 1999 as a result of the state’s Jobs 2000 legislation (see the 12/3/99 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest).  The plan calls for several new academic initiatives:  the establishment of several “world-class” Strategically Targeted Academic Research (STAR) Centers by the “dynamic combination of state-of-the-art facilities, cutting edge technology, and the world’s most sought after academic and scientific talent;”  two grant programs to support new facilities and intellectual infrastructure development within the STAR centers;  a competitive program to expand the collaborative research activities of some of the state’s 14 existing Centers of Advanced Technology (CATs);  a technology transfer incentives program to…

New York Governor Pataki has nominated Dr. Russell Bessette to serve as the Executive Director of the New York Office of Science and Technology (NYSTAR). His appointment is subject to confirmation of the New York State Senate. Dr. Russell Bessette is a clinical professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine's Department of Surgery, the Executive Director of Research at the Buffalo Technology Transfer Center at Sisters Hospital in Buffalo and a reconstructive plastic surgeon at the Head and Neck Center at Sisters Hospital.

Governor Pataki appointed Dr. Roland Schmitt, president emeritus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as chairman of the NYSTAR advisory board.

The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. The Foundation Center's extensive online library of the country’s largest 10,000 philanthropic organizations is available by monthly subscription. A CD Rom directory of 50,000 philanthropies, as well as several other directory and guides, are also offered. The Center provides several additional publications, grant writing workshops, and research tools for prospective grant recipients. Philanthropy News Digest, a free electronic newsletter published by the Foundation Center, includes current funding announcements, job announcements, press releases and news information. Last week's edition included several links to additional sources of information on foundations and funding opportunities. Archive editions…

The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) currently has three positions available: Investment Officer, Consulting Coordinator, and Director of Research & Training.  CDVCA is an association of community development venture capital funds that provide equity financing to businesses in inner-cities and economically distressed rural areas throughout the United States and around the world. They promote use of the tools of venture capital to create jobs, entrepreneurial capacity, and wealth to advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of distressed communities. Descriptions of all three positions may be viewed on the CDVCA website (http://www.cdvca.org) or the SSTI Jobs Corner webpage.

Most of New York’s science and technology initiatives have been consolidated into the New York Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR), which has received an annual budget of $130.6 million as a result of the Jobs 2000 Plan or “J2K” signed by Governor George Pataki in mid-November. The new office incorporates the programs, functions, and staff of the NY State Science & Technology Foundation. The foundation, established in 1961, was one of the oldest continuously running state S&T programs. The Foundation had been part of Empire State Development Corp. since 1995; NYSTAR will be a separate entity. With a total price tag of $522 million, J2K provides funding for projects ranging from NYSTAR and public venture capital to local water development projects. As part of J2K, the 1999-2000 state budget includes a $156.5 million investment in high-tech academic research; $280 million in venture capital funds to invest in emerging businesses in New York State; $34 million to retrain employees to operate new high-tech equipment; and $51.5 million for infrastructure…

The Markle Foundation has announced plans to give away $100 million -- more than half of the Foundation's current endowment -- over the next five years for projects and programs to improve public benefit from the Internet. Recipients will include non-profit organizations as well as for-profit companies. Awards are concentrated in four areas: Public Engagement through Interactive Technology -- "supports research, applications, and experimentation that encourage the use of communications technology for active engagement in the pursuit of knowledge and for effective participation in democratic society." Policy for a Networked Society -- "works to enhance the public voice in the consideration and resolution of domestic and international policies that are surfacing in this new communications environment." Interactive Media for Children -- "is a comprehensive research effort into the cognitive, emotional, physical and developmental needs of children and the potential of interactive technologies to meet them." Information Technologies…