SSTI Digest

Calling for shared sacrifice among all state agencies, Gov. Haley Barbour outlined his FY11 budget recommendations reducing most agencies by 12 percent below the FY10 appropriation, excluding the Mississippi Development Authority, which would be cut only 5 percent because of its role in job creation. Tech-based economic development programs funded by the Authority are zeroed out in the governor’s proposal, however. Gov. Barbour recommends $22.6 million in state funds for the Mississippi Development Authority in FY11, $1.2 million less than the FY10 appropriation, which included federal recovery funds. No funding is recommended for the Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA) or the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions, which received a combined $1.4 million last year. MTA is a nonprofit organization that assists emerging companies across the state through access to capital and entrepreneurial support, and the Enterprise for Geospatial Solutions works with industry and university research programs to support geospatial business development and research. Gov. Barbour also announced a merger plan that would cut the state’s publicly funded universities…

The newly-created Clean Energy Leadership Council, convened by the Washington governor's office and a state-wide public-private clean energy alliance, held its first meeting. The council will deliver a clean energy strategy and recommendations by December 1, 2010. Vicki Gaddy has been appointed director of workforce development for BioNJ. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear shuffled two top positions in his administration. Larry Hayes will be secretary of the state Economic Development Cabinet and budget director Mary Lassiter will replace Hayes as Executive Cabinet secretary. Hayes has been interim Economic Development Cabinet secretary since last September. Lassiter will keep her position as budget director. Cecil Burge is retiring as the University of Southern Mississippi , vice president for research and economic development after leading the university's research enterprise for the past five-and-one-half years. His retirement is effective Dec. 31. A national search for a successor will begin later this fall. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research and the University of California, Santa Barbara have named biomedical researcher Jamey Marth director…

The second installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses delivered by the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont.  Arizona  Gov. Janet Napolitano, State of the State Address, Jan. 9, 2009 "Arizona must stay on the path toward a greener future..We also must work to limit our greenhouse gas emissions through the Western Climate Initiative, and move forward in building a strong renewable energy sector, particularly with respect to solar energy. The entire nation is going in this direction - and Arizona has much to gain by being a leader." Colorado  Gov. Bill Ritter, State of the State Address, Jan. 8, 2009  "By reviving the Colorado Credit Reserve Program, we can give thousands of small businesses vital access to credit and capital. .. ". By enacting House Bill 1001, the job-creation tax credit I announced last month, we can level the playing field with other states when it comes to attracting new companies and new jobs. ... …

In the "TBED People and Organizations" column of the Dec. 10 Digest, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry was incorrectly identified as the new chairman for the Southern Growth Policies Board.  Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour serves as chairman for the organization and will host the 2009 annual meeting June 7-9 in Biloxi, MS. More information is available at: http://southern.org/conference/conf.shtml. SSTI apologizes for the error.

The University of Missouri System is seeking applicants for the position of intellectual property attorney. This position assists the General Council in many areas, including managing the legal aspects associated with licensing activities, working with General Counsel to manage the enforcement of the University’s intellectual property and contract rights, providing guidance and advice regarding technology investment activities; serving as liaison for intellectual property matters between the University and industry, advising administration on matters of potential scientific misconduct and compliance with federal and state regulations, providing guidance with respect to the procurement, development, negotiation and licensing of the intellectual property portfolio and assisting in the development of intellectual property educational programs. A law degree and five to seven years experience in corporate and intellectual property law is required. A bachelor’s degree in science or engineering and intellectual property and patent law, technology transfer and/or licensing experience is preferred. 

The Trent Lott National Center of Excellence for Economic Development & Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce its inaugural Excellence in Technology Based Economic Development Research award will be made to Dr. Edward Feser on Oct. 19, 2007, at the SSTI 11th Annual Conference in Baltimore.   The Lott Center award recognizes outstanding research contributions to Technology Based Economic Development (TBED) which help economic development practitioners and policymakers grow their regions economies through the recruitment, expansion and start-up of high tech enterprises.   Dr. Feser’s research has reshaped the way in which TBED practitioners and policymakers take action and offers new pathways for future action. Areas of specialization include industry clustering, industry cluster analysis methods, agglomeration economies and industrial productivity, migration and regional economic distress, regional influences on process technology adoption in manufacturing, and the improvement of data and spatial-analytical techniques for local development practice. Currently, he is studying economic development policymaking…

One of the most vexing problems facing states, outside of a few well known success stories, is a persistent lack of attention from the venture capital industry. In 2006, almost 60 percent of venture capital investment was concentrated in California and Massachusetts. The other 48 states have had to devise their own strategies to compete with Silicon Valley, Route 128 and each other to gain the attention of potential investors. Mississippi, for example, attracted only two venture investment deals and only $8 million in VC investment last year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ annual MoneyTree Survey. The lack of access to capital was stifling the state’s economy, especially its high-tech industries, Momentum Mississippi concluded in a study last year. To help remedy Mississippi's situation, the state legislature recently approved a package authorizing five new state funds to support early-stage high-tech companies and to build an in-state market for private equity investment. The funds will be administered by the Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA), a nonprofit organization that works closely with the state to provide services to investors…

Momentum Mississippi, the state’s public-private economic development strategy first funded with $28 million last summer, could see an additional $4 million for new TBED initiatives if the state legislature passes Gov. Haley Barbour’s recommendation during its next session. Gov. Barbour announced his plans during the annual board meeting of Momentum Mississippi, which was attended by more than 75 industrial, academic and civic leaders.   TBED topics dominated the first half of the group’s board meeting, outlining the need for increased public support to seed three grant programs intended to support university-industry research, technology commercialization and innovation grant programs. The programs, collectively called the Mississippi Technology Commercialization Fund, include: The Research and Development Voucher Fund, which would target Mississippi-based companies that have partnered with accredited higher education institutions within the state and are in need of seed and early-stage capital. Maximum funding for a single firm would be $200,000 over two years, not to exceed $100,000 each year. The same funding structure would be offered to…

Gov. Haley Barbour has named Gray Swoope as the new executive director of the Mississippi Development Authority. Swoope replaces outgoing executive director Leland Speed, who will serve through the end of December.

Randy Goldsmith, is the new president and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance. Goldsmith formerly was Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer and Economic Development at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

The Department of Economic and Workforce Development at the University of Southern Mississippi is seeking someone to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position. Specialization in regional workforce development is preferred; however, other areas of specialization, such as disaster recovery, entrepreneurship, rural development, technology transfer, or low-income communities, will be strongly considered. The candidate will teach and mentor students in the department’s on-campus and executive format masters and doctoral programs and take a leading part in the growth and development of these programs. A doctorate degree is required. A full job description is available through the SSTI Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Information, telecommunications and electricity provide the basic building blocks for all tech-based economic development - regardless of industry sector, research field or location. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the technology infrastructure for many of the state's emerging tech-firms has been dismantled. How do you restore efforts to build a tech-based economy when the fundamentals are destroyed overnight? Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA), the leading tech-based economic development organization for the state, quickly responded to the Hurricane's wrath by launching a TechFix Mississippi Program to help small Mississippi companies rebuild. “Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the thousands of people devastated by this storm. We realize rebuilding our economy will be a costly and lengthy process. MTA is organizing a network of technical support providers to help storm-stricken small companies get the technology resources they need in order to resume operations as quickly and affordably as possible,” said MTA President & CEO, Andy Taggart. “These companies are…