SSTI Digest

Pennsylvania’s $187 million investment in the Ben Franklin Partnership boosted the state’s economy by $2.9 billion between 1989 and 1996, according to a new economic impact study. A Record of Achievement: The Economic Impact of the Ben Franklin Partnership concludes that between 1989 and 1996 the Ben Franklin Partnership achieved the following: Boosted the Pennsylvania economy by $2.9 billion; Yielded a return on the state investment of 14 to 1; Generated $168 million in additional state tax revenue; Generated on average at the client level the employment of five more people per company in each year following funding than would have occurred in the absence of the investment; Generated 21,800 additional job-years in client firms. The jobs are in industries that pay annual salaries roughly 45% higher than the average salary in Pennsylvania; and, Generated a total of 46,300 additional job-years through client impacts that spread throughout the economy, giving rise to higher employment throughout the state…

Douglas Goodall has been appointed CEO of Innovation Works, the successor to the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Western Pennsylvania.

Calling it one of the most important economic development activities of his administration, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge recently announced the creation of the "Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse" -- a public/private partnership intended to provide support, infrastructure, and the expertise needed to accelerate the development and re-use of system-on-a-chip (SOC) technology. The Greenhouse — a partnership of three Pittsburgh universities, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the Commonwealth, and three international corporations — is intended to make southwestern Pennsylvania a worldwide leader in the development of SOC technology. Sony Corporation, Oki Electric Industry, and Cadence Design Systems will work with the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse to help develop next-generation digital video and digital networking. IBM will help to design and operate an e-business network for Greenhouse. The Greenhouse will work to attract the involvement of other companies. Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Pennsylvania State University will provide undergraduate and…

In the state that created the Ben Franklin Centers in the early 1980s - models for several states’ first forays into S&T - Governor Tom Ridge has proposed a wide range of new initiatives to promote R&D investment, technology development, and commercialization within Pennsylvania. Governor Ridge’s budget request for 1999-2000 identifies $35.5 million for tax cuts expected to benefit start-up technology firms, a new $18.2 million program for high-tech investments, $6.7 million of state funding to leverage private venture capital investments, a SciTech Scholars Program, and $37 million for the state’s "traditional" technology and manufacturing programs: the Ben Franklin Partnership, Industrial Resource Centers, PENNTAP, and incubators. The tax cut is a doubling of the current annual cap on net operating loss deductions to $2 million. The cut is expected to be especially attractive or beneficial to high tech start-ups with long product-development times that often see income losses for the first few years of business. Governor Ridge also proposes creating the Pennsylvania Technology…

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge recently announced the release of The Technology 21 Report — The Keystone Spirit: Putting Technology to Work. Commissioned by Ridge and the Ben Franklin/IRC Partnership Board, the Technology 21 initiative is an industry-led project that will implement a comprehensive technology policy for Pennsylvania. The Tech 21 report calls for: A public/private fund to provide companies with a Pennsylvania source of capital; Aggressive marketing to develop a common theme of Pennsylvania as a high-tech state; Attraction of anchor firms to create a spawning ground where local high-tech firms can excel. Firms that would serve as anchors for a cluster of high-tech companies should be targeted for expansion and location in Pennsylvania; Tech communities to seek opportunities that will make Pennsylvania a living laboratory for the next generation of technology, primarily information technology, products and services; A technology-ready workforce to ensure that a supply of technically skilled workers can meet the demand of technology-related jobs; The tax…

Pittsburg State University in Kansas is seeking a person to serve as the executive director of its Business & Technology Institute (BTI) and as Director of the Center for Design, Development, and Production. BTI is the primary economic development unit of the university. Its mission is to serve as interface between education, technology, business and industry by providing management, finance, and technological services. Review of applications will begin on April 28. A full description of the position can be obtained from SSTI's home page (http://www.ssti.org) or by calling SSTI at 614/421-7784.