SSTI Digest

Coming a little late in the year to be included among our Tech Talkin’ Govs series (see Digest issues for Jan. 8, 15 and 29 and Feb. 19), Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland delivered his first State of the State Address on Mar. 14. Below are excerpts from his address calling for a $1 billion investment in alternative and renewable energy technologies over four years.   “Ohio has everything it takes to become a center of advanced energy technology. ... Next-generation energies biofuels, fuel cells, clean coal, and renewable sources such as wind offer us the opportunity to create jobs, support our farmers, reduce our dependence on foreign oil producers, and be responsible stewards of our environment.   “That's why my administration will coordinate an almost $1 billion investment in energy programs, to ensure energy will be an economic development leader in Ohio.  

SSTI serves as the TBED community’s go-to resource and strategic partner when dealing with TBED issues. SSTI’s unique ability to address the information needs of its members comes from the fact that SSTI’s staff and board have been “in the trenches” of technology-based economic development. SSTI’s president, vice president and board members, including former Governors John Engler of Michigan and Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, have more than two decades’ of direct policy development and service delivery experience. "SSTI is my security blanket, assuring me that I am never more than a few clicks or a phone call from the latest news, information, and data in technology-based economic development issues," said Angie Godwin, president of the Area Development Partnership. "SSTI has earned its place as THE 'top of mind' clearinghouse for TBED professionals."

The following recently became SSTI affiliates or supporters:

Membership in SSTI allows access to the most extensive network of current and past practitioners, academics and policymakers who are attempting to speed commercialization and encourage innovation.

Joining SSTI places your organization with today’s TBED leaders. SSTI connects you to active members in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, enabling you to share experiences and best practices with your peers from across the continent.

It is the nation’s first Entrepreneurship Week, with many events, workshops and contests taking place across the country to encourage more people to consider becoming entrepreneurs. A complete list of activities is available at www.entrepreneurshipweekusa.com. With this issue, SSTI honors America’s tech entrepreneurs – and the state and local TBED efforts designed to ensure more of these firms succeed!

This week's issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest exposes just the tip of the iceberg of information available on entrepreneurship. That's where the TBED Resource Center comes in handy. The TBED Resource Center, developed by SSTI in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy, is an interactive website providing a wealth of information for practitioners, policymakers, university faculty, and researchers alike. With links to more than 4,500 reports, the website features information in a variety of TBED-critical topics in the U.S. and abroad. More than 290 reports can be found on the TBED Resource Center when the topic entrepreneurship is selected.   SSTI staff selections include:

Looking for that perfect professional development opportunity for you or your staff. If so, the SSTI Web calendar of events should prove useful in your search. By visiting www.ssti.org/calendar.htm, you can view more than 170 technology-based economic development events. Events include:

When one looks beyond the first few pages of many sections of the agencies’ fiscal year 2008 budget request summaries, the mental concept of a television rerun appears. As SSTI staff pored through the budget this week, several found ourselves saying, “Didn’t we read the same thing last year?”

In many cases, we did. And why not? Congress failed to consider most of the president’s budget proposals for FY 2007 when the same political party ruled the executive and legislative branches, so why not float the ideas again when power is split? Could they fare any worse than FY07 when so few budget priorities have emerged?

Now some will say hold on. That could be a little too harsh an assessment of what’s going on in FY07. There are a few highlights this budget go-around:

In just under 50 days, more than 4,000 people have gone to SSTI's website to read A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development. The guide provides insights into three of the most important elements of transforming regional economies:

Looking for information on individual states or on key statistical indicators? If so, the SSTI Weekly Digest archives are a resource that should prove helpful in your search. By visiting www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm, one can browse headlines or view Digest articles dating back to 1996 or use any of these tools:

SSTI's most recent publication, A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development, provides valuable insights into three of the most important elements of transforming regional economies:

Bruce Johnson, formerly Ohio's lieutenant governor and development director, was named president and CEO of the Inter-University Council of Ohio.