SSTI Digest

2010 could be your organization's year to capture national recognition for excellence in technology-based economic development. SSTI will solicit nominations for the 2010 Excellence in TBED Awards beginning April 6 with an open call for applications. Awards are presented to organizations demonstrating successful local, state and regional efforts across six categories. For more information and a list of previous winners, please visit: http://www.ssti.org/Awards/index.shtml

Arizona Center for Innovation is currently seeking an experienced candidate to fill the position of director. The director is responsible for the daily operations of the incubator that include: administration, budgeting, financial management, fundraising, client recruitment and services, marketing and outreach activities. Read more job postings

Each year, SSTI recognizes initiatives that greatly impact state and regional economies through a national competition showcasing effective and innovative approaches to building tech-based economies. The Excellence in TBED Awards are presented to organizations demonstrating successful local, state and regional efforts across six categories: 2010 Timeline Call for Applications April 6 Deadline for Applications June 1 Winners Recognized September 15-16 Expanding the Research Infrastructure Commercializing Research Building Entrepreneurial Capacity Increasing Access to Capital Enhancing the Science & Technology Workforce Improving Competitiveness of Existing Industries Why Apply? As a recipient of the Excellence in TBED Award, your initiative represents a standard of excellence that has been recognized by your peers through a competitive selection process. External validation through an Excellence in TBED Award certifies the superior quality of your initiative, lending independent credentials to your program as your stakeholders consider future investments. The Excellence in TBED Award identifies your…

Capturing national attention for initiating successful programs to sustain the nation’s position as a global leader for innovation and competitiveness, six organizations were named recipients of SSTI’s 2009 Excellence in TBED Award. The third annual awards follow a nationwide competition recognizing outstanding achievements in tech-based economic development (TBED) emphasizing impact, strategic value and replicability. “The impressive stories behind each of these six initiatives illustrate how strategic TBED investments work to promote regional growth through science and innovation,” said Dan Berglund, SSTI President and CEO. “These organizations serve as best practice models in the field for their demonstrated leadership and meaningful impact to state and regional economies.” Recipients were honored Thursday Oct. 22, 2009 during a ceremony at SSTI’s 13th Annual Conference in Overland Park, KS, attended by top economic development professionals from across the nation. The following initiatives were selected to receive the Excellence in TBED Award for 2009: James & Esther King Biomedical Research Program…

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies. Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region. You can now subscribe to the SSTI Excellence in TBED Awards podcast in iTunes, your RSS reader or any podcast client. To subscribe in iTunes: Copy this link: http://www.ssti.org/Awards/feed.xml Open iTunes and select "Advanced" from the top menu". Choose "Subscribe to podcast" and paste in the above URL.   For other podcast clients or RSS readers, use the above link and consult your application's instructions. Recent interviews include: Peggy Shults of the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program – 2009 Winner of the Expanding the Research Infrastructure Category Wayne Sumple and Bob Torrani of the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) – 2008 Winner of the Improving…

With the America COMPETES Act up for reauthorization, there is an opportunity for Congress to inject some innovation into the nation's innovation policies, writes Rob Atkinson, in a recent paper from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. Atkinson outlines eight specific recommendations to improve the Act — many closely tied to the goals and current investment strategies of state and regional tech-based economic development organizations — including direct funding support for TBED. The proposals include: Create a $110 million SCNR program (Spurring Commercialization of Our Nation's Research) under NIST to support university, state and federal laboratory technology commercialization initiatives. Fund joint government-industry STEM Ph.D. fellowships. Allow foreign students receiving STEM Ph.D.s from U.S. universities to automatically qualify for green cards. Create a university-industry collaborative R&D tax credit. Fund industry-university-government manufacturing research and deployment centers. Establish an Office of Innovation Policy in OMB (i.e., an Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for Innovation). Institute a National…

A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate would allow immigrant entrepreneurs to obtain a two-year visa if they have secured the support of a qualified U.S. investor. Supporters, including bill sponsors Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, argue that the measure would help ensure American competitiveness by drawing on global entrepreneurial talent. The bill would also help create new investment opportunities for U.S. venture capitalists. The current version of the StartUp Visa Act of 2010 would enable an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two-year visa if a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a minimum of $250,000 to the new venture. A new category of visa, EB-6, would be created alongside the current EB-5 category. EB-5 visas allow foreign nationals to obtain a green card if they invest $1 million in the U.S. and are able to create ten jobs. The EB-6 visas would be drawn from the current EB-5 pool. If after two years the EB-6 recipient can prove that they secured the original $250,000 in capital and were able to create five full-time jobs, attract an additional $1 million in investment or generate $1 million in revenue, they would receive permanent legal…

Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty last week presented a budget plan for the upcoming year that includes $19 billion in new federal stimulus funds as part of Canada's two-year, $62 billion Economic Action Plan. The 2010 budget directs $1.9 billion, or 10 percent of the stimulus funds, for post-secondary education infrastructure, research, technology innovation and environmental protection.  A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education points to conflicting reactions to the proposed investments, however. Although the 2010 budget would increase funding for the nation's three research granting councils by $32 million per year, the councils were cut nearly $150 million last year, which was never restored, the article states. When inflation is taken into account, this leaves the councils in worse shape than they were previously, said James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, in the article. Meanwhile, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, representing 95 Canadian public and private universities, commended the proposed investments citing efforts such as the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, which they…

In a meeting of the Government Commission on High Technology and Innovation last week, Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin made several announcements in support of new technology and innovation investments. Putin said $37.3 billion, or more than 10 percent of the federal budget, is appropriated for fundamental and applied science, higher education, high-tech medicine, space exploration, aviation, and the nuclear industry in 2010. The Finance Ministry and Economic Development Industry also will consider introducing tax incentives for innovation and providing innovative companies priority access to government purchases. Putin also announced the establishment of the Department of Science, High Technology and Education within the Government Executive Office to identify ways of removing administrative barriers for innovative businesses and to craft policies to attract capital for research and high-tech projects. Read the transcript: http://www.government.gov.ru/eng/gov/priorities/docs/9605/

Lawmakers approved last week the 2010-11 biennial budget, dedicating more than $76 million for energy research projects funded by the state's share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources will receive $45 million for development of a subcommerical scale CO2 sequestration research demonstration project, $14 million for clean coal technology research, and $17.4 million for operation of the school. Three bills regulating the wind energy industry also were signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal last week. The wind industry bills signed by the governor mandate a $1 per-megawatt-hour tax on wind energy generated in the state beginning in 2012 (HB 101), set minimum state standards for wind projects (HB 72), and suspend the power of wind companies to use eminent domain for one year (HB 79). The approved budget also appropriates $87 million in total funds to the Wyoming Business Council, which includes $27.7 million for the Wyoming Business Council Division, a slight decrease from the appropriation for the current biennium. The 2010-11 enrolled budget bill is available at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Enroll…

The Obama administration recently released a national plan to secure public and private sector networks. The Comprehensive National Cybersecuirty Initiative consists of 12 priority areas, including improved coordination of cybersecurity research, commercialization assistance for strategic technologies and expanded cyber education. Read the complete strategic plan at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/cybersecurity/comprehensive-national-cybersecurity-initiative

MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning is researching how economic development organizations are working with small businesses to address market opportunities or needs related to global climate change and the "green economy." The department currently is looking for economic development organizations to complete a brief, voluntary survey (10 minutes) relating to "green" programs and activities. Results will be shared with the economic development community and be made publicly available. To take the survey, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Q7QRDT. Questions regarding this survey may be sent to Karl Seidman at seidman@mit.edu or (617) 253-3964 or Rebecca Economos at economos@mit.edu