SSTI Digest

Digest readers may have noticed in our headlines over the past few months that state efforts to improve their economic standing through science and technology are undergoing a tremendous period of growth and expansion. While state S&T programs have been in existence since the 1950s, most activity occurred in the early 1980s and early 1990s during severe economic downturns. The activity of the last 15 months rivals that of the early 1980s and will in all likelihood ultimately surpass it.

New Developments in State Science and Technology Policy compiles the key state S&T initiatives covered in the SSTI Weekly Digest since late 1998. The 20-page publication serves as a convenient snapshot of current directions in state S&T policy and is an accessible way for state program officials, legislators, and others to learn easily about the most recent developments in the states.

SSTI has added two new features to our web site to make your visits easier. Both are free services from Mind-It.com. First, a site search engine has been added to our home page http://www.ssti.org allowing quicker browsing and researching.

The second new feature is a free notification service http://www.ssti.org/whatsnew.htm  which sends subscribers email messages whenever our site is updated. Recipients are then able to click on the link to SSTI's home page to see the modifications we've made to the site (follow "What's New"). Mind-It.com allows individual users to monitor several unrelated web pages with this valuable service http://mindit.netmind.com/

SSTI bids a warm farewell to Deb Tharp, who has accepted a full-time position with Battelle Memorial Institute in the Technology Partnership Practice group.

The SSTI Weekly Digest has typically focused on state and federal activities in technology-based economic development. This special issue of the Digest, however, focuses on the important role that foundations can play in technology-based economic development by:

Examining opportunities presented by foundations’ use of “program-related investments,” Suggesting resources for identifying foundations that may be effective S&T partners, Providing an example of foundations’ activities in one sector – the environment, and Announcing a funding opportunity currently available from one foundation.

Beginning January 7, the SSTI Weekly Digest will be distributed only by electronic mail. Fax delivery service will end with the December 31 edition.

Because the Digest is available to its readers through subscription revenues, we ask that redistribution be limited to your immediate, internal staff. Forwarding or redistributing of the Digest outside the offices of our subscribers is considered a breach of our copyright.

We retain the right to cancel any subscription when this request is violated. We are open to negotiating rights for greater redistribution.

In addition, a couple of new faces have been added to the SSTI team. We warmly welcome Shannon Burnett as our newest Policy Analyst and Ruth Carr as our Executive Assistant.

Pat Valente has been named the Deputy Director of the Technology Division of the Ohio Department of Development.

Taratec Corporation of Columbus, Ohio has been awarded a $44,500 contract from the Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP) to prepare a report of science & technology indicators for all 50 states. The indicators are intended to assist Commerce in evaluating the impact and outcome of projects funded by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) as well as other OTP programmatic improvements.

The solicitation, released in early July says the report will be completed for Commerce in 18 weeks (refer to the 7/2/99 SSTI Weekly Digest Addendum for more details). Commerce will be responsible for any further publication and distribution.

For more information, contact Anita Balachandra with the EPSCoT program at 202/482-8004 or by email at Anita_Balachandra@ta.doc.gov

Preparation of S&T indicators on a local or regional level continues to increase. The Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Sciences, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, has released Cincinnati's Technology Benchmarking Study. The report compares the technology assets and performance of 24 urban areas across the U.S. using 17 indicators, then makes recommendations for strengthening Cincinnati's technology base. The report is on the Internet at www.iams.org

In last week's issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest, several of the state rankings for the number of awards received under the DOD SBIR 99.1 selections were incorrect. Following is a list of the states and their correct ranks: Florida was tied for 7th with New Jersey; New Hampshire was tied for 17th with Washington; Hawaii, North Carolina, District of Columbia and Utah were all tied for 23rd.

Ohio's investment in technology-based economic development will top $50 million in FY 2000 as a result of the biennial budget passed by the Ohio General Assembly this week. Spending for the programs will grow nearly 35 percent from $40.4 million in FY 1999 to $54.4 million in FY 2000.

Most of the increase is as a result of the Ohio Technology Actions Grants (TAGs) Program, growing from $1.9 million in FY 1999 to $14.75 million each year for FY 2000 and 2001.

The Technology Action Grants (TAGs ) provide funding to companies, universities and collaborative partnerships for projects which:

The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) is seeking a Policy Analyst. The Institute serves as a resource center for initiatives in all 50 states that encourage technology-based economic development.

The Analyst's responsibilities include: conducting research on policy issues; interacting with state and federal practitioners and policy makers; writing and producing issue papers and project reports; contributing to a weekly newsletter; responding to requests for information; and working with staff, board members, and sponsors on a variety of projects.

Candidates should have excellent written and verbal skills; strong research and organization capability; the ability to work independently and as part of a team; and, a dedication to creating a quality product.