SSTI Digest

Adding to a growing number of states seeking to increase their percentage of power from renewable sources, Gov. Jack Markell last week introduced the Delaware Clean Energy Jobs Act.  A key component of the legislation is increasing the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which governors often say generates job growth.

The overarching goal of the Delaware bill is to create a competitive climate for the clean energy market, which is addressed under four main goals, including:

North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell has announced credit services group Credit Suisse will serve as manager of the state's new $230 million innovation fund. The fund, drawn from public pension dollars, will invest in North Carolina-based technology businesses over the next five years. Though full investment guidelines have not yet been developed, investments will be aimed towards high-growth industries, including life sciences, clean energy and other high-tech industries. Read the announcement at: http://www.nctreasurer.com/News/Files/3152010_4123_TREASURER%20COWELL%20ANNOUNCES%20NC%20INNOVATION%20FUND%20FINAL.pdf.

Milwaukee's Public Policy Forum finds that the city has a stronger lean manufacturing/high-tech workforce than many of its peer cities, but still faces challenges in new high-tech business starts and patent generation. The study used benchmarks from six other metropolitan areas, including Austin, Kansas City, Portland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Minneapolis. The report recommends new efforts to improve patent activity, resident educational attainment and number of SBIR awards. Read the full report at: http://www.publicpolicyforum.org/pdfs/InnovationIndex.pdf

SSTI's interview with Peggy Shults of the James and Esther King Biomedical Research program, 2009 recipient of the Excellence in TBED Award in the category Expanding the Research Infrastructure, provides an honest, in-depth account of best practices and lessons learned that earned this program national recognition. Click here to listen to the interview and learn more about the program.

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.

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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

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:

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:

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.

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.

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.