SSTI Digest

Complementing California’s support for New Valley Connexion, described above, is the state’s $2 million Rural E-Commerce program. Administered by the Division of Science, Technology and Innovation within the California Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency, Rural E-Commerce provides grants to non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and local governments for innovative, community-driven solutions to the telecommunications challenges faced by rural residents. Examples of projects eligible for Rural E-Commerce support include rural telecommunications planning, rural network infrastructure, innovative applications, education and training, and related community planning efforts. According to the request for proposals, Rural E-Commerce grants also can be used as matching funds for rural communities competing for federal and foundation grants in areas relevant to rural e-commerce, such as the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. More information on the California Rural E-commerce Program is…

Does patenting encourage or speed the transfer of technology from universities? Does the prospect of receiving royalties and licensing fees increase motivation among university researchers to work with businesses to commercialize technology? A recent paper suggests the answers to both questions is "no," but that more empirical and statistical research is needed to determine whether or not increased emphasis on intellectual property rights is achieving the desired results. How Do University Inventions Get Into Practice?, prepared by a team of researchers from across the country, is the first report on a study that attempts to understand: the nature of projects that led to inventions, the motivations for undertaking the research, and  the processes employed to connect with industry for technology transfer. Based on case studies of several different inventions from Columbia University and Stanford University, the authors conjecture that “the role of patents, and the role of university technology transfer offices varies significantly from case…

President Bush has nominated Los Angeles resident Hector Barretto to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Even tech hot spots like San Diego are finding they are not immune from the Digital Divide. In fact, a new report from the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (SDRTA) finds that the region suffers a wider Internet access divide between Caucasians and Hispanics than the nation as a whole. With Hispanics representing 25 percent of the area’s population, the issue will have future economic repercussions in tech-based entrepreneurship and increasing shortages of workers with tech skills. Mapping a Future for Digital Connections: A Study of the Digital Divide in San Diego County, released earlier this month by SDRTA, is the first in-depth examination of the extent of the Divide within the community. In some respects, the area is in much better shape than the rest of the country. Seventy-three percent of all San Diego households have computers compared to the national average of only 51 percent. And while computer ownership was 20-30 percentage points higher than the national average for every San Diego ethnic group, African-Americans and Hispanics remained twice as likely not…

Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area will spend more than $20 million this year to bridge the digital divide, according to Who's Funding the Digital Connect?, a report released this month by the San Francisco Foundation. More than 54 organizations will provide computer access and/or training to more than 75,000 low income and underserved individuals in one of the most technology-savvy regions in the country, according to the study. The study provides a base inventory of the digital divide programs and services provided in the area, the sources and stability of funding, and critical gaps in both service delivery and funding. The San Francisco Foundation will use the information as a component of Digital Connect, a larger strategy to eliminate barriers to technology for low income, under-represented, and underserved communities. Key findings include: Fifty percent of the funding came from government sources and 35 percent from foundations.  Foundations provided twice as many grants as government sources, but the average grant amount was only one-third the size of…

The majority of an anonymous gift of $26.5 million to the University of Southern California (USC) will be used to increase the representation of women in the hard sciences and engineering faculty and encourage middle school girls to choose a science pathway in education. Money also will be used to create new faculty positions in the sciences, upgrade laboratories, increase scholarship aid for undergraduates, create new fellowships for graduates and fund child care. The USC program favors a long-term approach to redressing the gender imbalance in the sciences and engineering faculty. USC will use most of the $20 million of the gift apportioned to the issue as an endowment, applying its investment income toward hiring women faculty and providing enduring support for faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students. A networking group composed of USC’s female scientists has advised the university on the establishment of the program, called WISE, for Women in Science and Engineering. USC expects the program to initiate more competition among elite institutions of higher education to train,…

With the goal of developing a common technology agenda among the region’s leaders, the Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance (larta) has compiled its first regional innovation index benchmarking the area’s strengths and weaknesses in S&T. The Southern California Technology Innovation Index compares the five-county Los Angeles consolidated metropolitan statistical area with the California Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose), Austin, Texas, and Massachusetts. The San Diego and Santa Barbara metro areas are not included in the definition of Southern California. The Index presents aggregated and standardized data for 20 indicators across three categories — economic vitality, innovation, and resources. Several areas of strength and others in need of improvement are identified in the process. For example: Southern California edges out Austin in total technology employment and greatly surpasses the other three regions in total number of technology firms. Per capita venture capital investments are only $147 in Southern California. The highest per capita investments were…

As mentioned in the last week's SSTI Weekly Digest, access to capital is a challenge for women-owned businesses. Springboard 2000, one nationwide initiative to overcome that obstacle, in less than one year, has assisted women entrepreneurs in science and technology businesses to raise more than $235 million in venture funding. The investments have been raised directly as a result of two forums held this year in Redwood City, California and Dulles, Virginia. The forums are co-hosted by the National Women’s Business Council, and other groups such as the Women’s Growth Capital Fund, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, American Online, the Morino Institute, and the Oracle Corporation. Another forum will be held at Harvard Business School in New England this November. Approximately one month prior to the forum, selected entrepreneurs will participate in a boot camp which will help to prepare them for their upcoming presentations to venture capitalists. Springboard 2000 will continue its series of forums into 2001 with events to be held in Silicon Valley in February, New York City in March, and Chicago…

State science and technology initiatives have been given higher profile in California as the state's lead economic development department changes its name to the Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency. The new Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, led by Deputy Secretary Joe Raguso, will oversee the state's tech-based economic development efforts. In addition to assuming the responsibilities of the Office of Strategic Technology, the new division will also be responsible for science and technology-based strategic planning, developing funding programs to address the state's digital divide issues, and managing the state's Small Business Development Center program. Two new advisory councils, the California Research and Development Council and the Small Business Competitiveness Council will be created to advise and assist the new division. More information can be found at: http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_1101-1150/sb_1136_bill_20000930_chaptered.pdf and http://dsti.tech4ca.com/

During the past two weeks, the Milken Institute has issued two similar reports documenting the difficulties and successes minority- and women-owned business have accessing capital. The Minority Business Challenge: Democratizing Capital for Emerging Domestic Markets presents new findings and several specific recommendations to sustain minority businesses growth. The findings include: Three growth gaps exist in the United States: “the gap between the current growth rate and the rate necessary to sustain future long term economic growth; the gap between the labor force growth and labor force participation; and, the gap between the growth of emerging domestic markets and current investment rates in those markets.” Without increased capital infusions into the minority and immigrant business communities, economic growth in the U.S. cannot be sustained. Minority-owned firms are growing at a rate six times faster than the average growth rate for all firms – annual sales growth reported by minority firms of 34 percent is more than twice the rate of all firms. Minority firms…

In a move designed to significantly improve access to higher education, California Governor Gray Davis signed legislation this week that will significantly expand the state's scholarship programs. Under the new legislation nearly one-third of high school graduates will receive scholarship assistance through the state's Cal Grant program, according to the bill's sponsors. The expansion means that students that maintain a high grade point average and come from middle to low-income families will have their tuition covered by the state of California for all four years of college. Additionally, a new scholarship program was created directed at the state's highest achievers in math and science. Through the legislation, Cal Grant A scholarships will be awarded to financially eligible students with a B (3.0) grade point average (GPA) to be used at public or private four-year institutions. The awards will cover full tuition at California Community Colleges, State Universities, and the University of California or they can be used for up to $9,700 for tuition support at private universities in California. The…

Through its Digital Village Program, Hewlett-Packard is providing up to $15 million in products and resources over a three-year period to three communities who need assistance to participate fully in the New Economy. East Palo Alto, CA already has been designated as a Digital Village; the remaining two will be selected through a competitive process. To be considered, an applicant must meet the following criteria: 1) be an underserved community - facing geographic, technological and/or economic barriers to achieving the desired community vision, 2) have a population of no more than 50,000 residents, and 3) the applying community partnership must include: local school district(s); a local or nearby community college or four-year institution; and a public agency, community college, four-year college or university, or private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The program was established to make information broadly accessible in communities facing barriers to communication and also to provide assistance in the development of high-tech skills to the people living there. The components of the HP…