SSTI Digest

One of the biggest challenges for green technologies and products is breaking into the market. Achieving the critical mass that allows production volume to drive down prices is difficult, particularly when the commodity being sold is, at least initially, more expensive to make because more of the actual cost of production is captured in the green company's business model. Successful state, university and local TBED strategies to grow green(er) companies help fund product demonstrations and early adoption strategies to help with market penetration.  In Toronto, a broad group of CEOs took matters into their own hands.  Greening Greater Toronto has announced the creation of a working group comprised of more than 25 senior executives who will encourage and lead other organizations to buy products and services that minimize environmental impact and create green jobs. The working group, called the Green Procurement Leadership Council, represents approximately $40 billion in annual buying power. In addition to creating the Green Procurement Leadership Council, Greening Greater Toronto plans to: Host the Green Procurements Marketplace event…

Seize the opportunity for recognition of outstanding achievement in tech-based economic development. SSTI is pleased to invite applications for the 2009 awards cycle, a program recognizing exceptional achievements in approaches to improving state and regional economies through science, technology and innovation. The purpose of the awards program is to showcase best practices across a broad spectrum of categories encompassing several elements that have been found in successful technology-based economies. The categories are: Expanding the Research Infrastructure; Commercializing Research; Building Entrepreneurial Capacity; Increasing Access to Capital; Enhancing the Science & Technology Workforce; and, Improving Competitiveness of Existing Industries. Recipients will be selected based on their ability to clearly define a need for the initiative, demonstrate results, and describe how the impact is communicated to key stakeholders. Award-winning initiatives will also stand out among others in its field. As an Excellence in TBED Award winner, you are provided with a forum to showcase your accomplishments during dedicated breakout…

The Ohio Department of Development invites bids for two Requests for Proposals (RFP) to provide evaluation services and other forms of technical assistance for the state's fiscal years 2010 and 2011.  Proposals for either opportunity are due by May 29. Specifically, Development is seeking contractors for the following: Evaluation of proposals submitted for funding under Ohio Third Frontier and other technology-based economic development programs supporting research and cluster development (i.e., targeted vertical industries) programs administered by Development, and to provide technical assistance to Development regarding research and cluster development programs and initiatives. More information is available at: http://www.ohiochannel.org/your_state/third_frontier_project/rfp.cfm?rfp_id=94466. Evaluation of proposals submitted for funding under Ohio Third Frontier and other technology-based economic development programs supporting entrepreneurial assistance and early stage capital initiatives administered by Development, and to provide technical assistance to Development regarding entrepreneurial assistance and early stage capital initiatives. More information is…

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) has posted a job opening for vice president, service development and delivery, to plan, organize and initiate activities aimed at achieving IMEC's objectives in service/product delivery to MEP small manufacturers, OEM/large manufacturing, and non-manufacturing markets.  Other duties include consulting services development and leadership, value stream management, service/product development and improvement, and corporate planning and coordination. The candidate must have 10 or more years of experience in the leadership of a business or organization comparable to IMEC. The College of Wooster is seeking a director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. The primary responsibilities of this position are to oversee, coordinate and direct activities across campus for students, faculty, alumni and representatives from the community to promote entrepreneurial thinking. Demonstrated commitment to entrepreneurial thinking and action within an educational environment are required. Qualifications include an advanced…

Legislators in New York rejected Gov. David Paterson's proposal to consolidate the state's primary organization for supporting and enhancing technology-based economic development into the state's traditional economic development organization (see the Dec. 17, 2008 issue of the Digest). Leaving NYSTAR as a stand-alone entity, the lead TBED agency for New York will continue to administer successful investment, business assistance, and research programs that have helped to create high-wage jobs for nearly a decade. Gov. Paterson signed the FY10 Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation Budget last week, providing $42.2 million of new appropriations for the New York Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). This is a $6.2 million decrease from FY09. The figure does not include reappropriation carryovers from previous years. The enacted budget also reforms the state's Empire Zone program, mandating increased performance measures from companies that receive the tax breaks. Under the agreement, businesses already participating in the program are required to produce a 1:1 return on investment - far less than the governor's…

Venture capitalists increasingly turn their attention to investment opportunities outside of the U.S., according to several recent industry reports. Though the U.S. continues to dominate the global venture industry, the current economic crisis has negatively affected national fundraising, investment and exits. At the same time, venture investment outside the U.S. reached a record $13.8 billion in 2008, a five percent increase over the previous year. China, India and Israel in particular have made strides in building thriving VC markets. Though the crisis has dampened some short-term figures in those countries as well, long-term expectations are high and many international venture firms expect their activities in those countries to grow in the coming years. A recent survey from the China Venture Capital Association (CVCA) indicates that foreign investors remain confident in the country's long-term prospects despite recent economic adjustments. Only 44 percent indicated that the economic downturn adversely affected their short-term confidence in China's venture capital/public equity market, while all of the respondents said that their long-term confidence was either the…

While there is no question that the economic recession has taken a toll on states' fiscal conditions, the degree by which states are affected can vary widely from one state to another, as evidenced most recently in Arkansas and Georgia. In Arkansas, legislators wrapped up their 2009 session with a plan to distribute a $300 million surplus, while the budget agreement made in Georgia would cut spending by $1.6 billion in the coming year. The following overview provides an outline of legislative actions affecting the two states' programs that support tech-based economic development efforts. Arkansas Operating with a nearly $300 million surplus, lawmakers passed a spending plan last week that authorizes funds for several economic development projects, including $50 million for Gov. Mike Beebe's Quick Action Closing Fund to attract new businesses to the state.  Act 1415, approved by the legislature, authorizes up to $9.7 million for the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority in FY10. Additional funds for Science and Technology Authority projects are included in the General Improvement Fund (GIF) bill, which allocates surplus funds that may be distributed…

Funding for the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, which administers the state's stem cell research program, would be cut nearly in half under Gov. Jon Corzine's FY10 budget recommendation. The commission is slated to receive $10.4 million, a decrease of $9.9 million from the FY09 adjusted appropriation, to administer grant programs focused on commercializing new technologies, develop early-stage growth companies and business incubators, and enhance New Jersey's stem cell research capability. News of the reduction comes on top of additional proposed cuts to the commission in the current fiscal year. In February, Gov. Corzine called for additional 2009 budget cuts totaling $1.3 billion that included a reduction of $12.7 million for Commission on Science and Technology grants, and in January, the governor proposed a $13.7 million reduction for the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Institute. The FY10 budget proposal would increase funding by $55.2 million for InvestNJ, an Economic Development Authority program created in 2008 to provide economic assistance to New Jersey's business community. This program is composed of two parts - one designed to spur job…

South Dakota shows a $3 million TBED investment in strategic research areas can yield impressive results for a state strengthening its position in an innovation-based economy.  Since 2004, South Dakota's five research centers have had a $111 million impact on the state economy, according to new data released by the South Dakota Tourism and State Development's Office of Commercialization. This impact represents a substantial return on investment for the state's initial $3 million investment five years ago. The impact numbers are being released as the state concludes its funding for the original five centers and prepares to launch several new centers, which will be supported by the state through 2014. The $111 million impact includes more than $77 million in research spending and the activities of the 12 companies that have expanded or launched as a result of the centers. The centers also have helped create 550 new jobs and eight patent applications. Governor Mike Rounds led the effort to launch the current set of centers as part of his 2010 Initiative. The initiative set several goals for the state, including becoming a recognized center in research…

The expansion of undergraduate science programs within foreign countries positively affects the number of students from these same countries seeking advanced degrees at U.S. academic institutions. However, as foreign countries experience the maturation and growth of their doctoral-level programs, combined with growing employment opportunities in their economies, the flow of students to the U.S. changes. These insights, among others on the determinants of the supply of PhD students and the demand for PhD degrees, are discussed in the recent working paper, "Internationalization of U.S. Doctorate Education" by John Bound, Sarah Turner, and Patrick Walsh. Asian countries grew to account for more than half of the total number of U.S. PhDs awarded to foreign students in 2003. Students from Germany, France, and Great Britain in that same year comprised less than 3 percent of the total PhDs awarded. Historically, students from China accounted for one percent of PhDs in engineering and the physical and life sciences from 1958-61 and 1969-71, but this cohort alone grew to 13 percent of the U.S. science PhDs awarded from 1994-96. Besides the growth of potential and…

Useful stats columns in recent issues of the Digest have characterized academic R&D expenditures from two different angles: those expenditures made from industrial sources of funding (April 1) and total academic R&D expenditures (Mar 25). The primary source for the data was the National Science Foundation's Academic R&D Expenditures series, the compilation of an annual survey NSF conducts of the 680 largest academic institutions in the country. NSF also surveys the 19 federal agencies that account for 99 percent of all federal R&D expenditures each year. The results are compiled in an annual statistical report on federal science and engineering obligations that presents tables characterizing the data a variety of ways: by agency, field of science and engineering, performer, geography, etc. NSF released the most recent online edition of the Federal S&E obligations series within the past two weeks. In the U.S., federal S&E obligations to universities and colleges were $28.5 billion in FY06, an increase of 17.4 percent from FY06. SSTI has prepared a table tracking for each state the amount of obligations from FY02 to FY06, the percent change…

The  complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Penn State seeks a director for the newly formed Economic Engagement Initiatives unit in the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. The director will work collaboratively with academic, outreach, research, and other centers and units to present a unified point of entry to resources in support of economic development. The director is expected to generate significant grant-funded initiatives to Penn State. Qualifications include a master's degree (PhD preferred) or equivalent, plus five years of work-related experience in economic and workforce development or related fields that include evidence of organizational leadership and supervisory roles.