SSTI Digest

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed by President Obama last week boosts the spending demands for several federal departments and agencies by a significant amount. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be receiving $10.4 billion to spend on research activities, scientific instrumentation, and facility improvements. This compares to a FY2008 budget of almost $30 billion for NIH. Similarly, the National Science Foundation is set to distribute $3 billion from the stimulus, while the NSF's budget was just over $6 billion in FY08. A few federal entities have provided insight into how they will procedurally target and expedite their stimulus spending. Last week, Energy Secretary Steven Chu released guidelines to improve his department's ability to issue direct loans, loan guarantees, and other forms of funding. As a recipient of $39 billion in stimulus funds (compared to a FY08 budget of $24 billion), the DOE has a goal to disperse 70 percent of its stimulus funds by the end of next year. Some of Secretary Chu's reform items include: Institute rolling appraisals of applications, reviewing them soon after submission; Offer…

Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled last week several proposals to boost university-based research and commercialization efforts in emerging fields and encourage private industry R&D and job growth through the creation of several new tax credits. The governor's 2009-11 biennial budget dedicates $8.2 million in FY11 to the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery for research in biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology. First proposed by Gov. Doyle in 2004 as part of the Grow Wisconsin plan, the Institute was established to strengthen the state's position in science and technology (see the Nov. 22, 2004 issue of the Digest). A private donation of $50 million in 2006 launched the project, which was followed by a $50 million donation from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and matched by $50 million from the state. Construction is estimated to be completed in 2010. The budget also includes $8 million over the biennium to establish University of Wisconsin (UW) Bioenergy Initiatives at the Madison, Stevens Point and River Falls campuses. These initiatives will explore the potential of bioenergy through biomass process, converting biomass into energy products,…

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's FY10 budget includes increased funding to support programs aimed at job creation in emerging fields and maintains level funding for year three of an initiative to train displaced workers for in-demand careers. The executive budget unveiled last week provides $1.4 billion in total funds for the newly reorganized Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, with nearly half dedicated for workforce training. Gov. Granholm signed Executive Order 2008-20 in October, consolidating all activities related to the energy sector into the Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Energy programs and regulation are funded at $123 million in the FY10 budget proposal, which includes funding for an initiative to train workers for green jobs. The governor recommends level funding ($15 million) for the No Worker Left Behind Initiative, a program that provides financial assistance for training programs or up to two years' tuition at any Michigan community college or university for training in high-demand occupations. When established in 2007, the governor outlined the program's ambitious goal to train 100,000 workers in three years. In August, the…

The sixth installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state addresses from governors in Tennessee and West Virginia. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, State of the State Address, Feb. 9, 2009 "While we are interested in a broad range of business, there is one area where we have a great toehold and prospects, and that is the area of clean energy technology. . ". We are extraordinarily well-positioned here and in the next couple of years, I want to wrap this up even tighter. Here's an idea about how we might go about that: develop a Solar Institute in Tennessee that is the basic research leader in making solar power practical. ". I ask each of you: the General Assembly, the private sector, our university system, and Oak Ridge to work with me in the months ahead to invent a way to become a national leader in basic solar research - to invent a solar institute. If we can, it will pay huge dividends to our state and our citizens for decades to come." West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, State of the State Address, Feb. 11, 2009 "Tonight, I am introducing a bill, called the…

On Feb. 23, the Honorable Gary Goodyear, Canada's Minister for State (Science & Technology), announced the Government of Canada was distributing $120.4 million (all figures are Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated) to 37 universities to support 134 new and renewed Canadian Research Chairs. The awards, the first for 2009 in the program started in 2000, include $6.6 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for research infrastructure to facilitate the work of 42 of the chairholders. The Canadian Research Chairs program supports the recruitment and retention of up to 2,000 star faculty in a broad range of scientific and technological disciplines, all with significant importance to the nation's economy. Since 2000, the Canada Research Chairs Program has invested between $200 million and $300 million annually to attract and retain some of the world's most accomplished and promising minds. With the new announcement more than 1,900 chairs are currently supported by the program's awards. More than 30 percent of the Research Chairs have been recruited from outside of Canada, including 366 from the U.S. (some expatriates are included in this figure…

Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation has named Jim Carroll as director of its Center for Entrepreneurial Growth. Catapult Bio, a nonprofit organization designed to help transform emerging research discoveries into business opportunities, accelerating the commercialization of life sciences in Arizona, announced its official launch with a grant of up to $14 million from Abraxis Bioscience. Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher resigned as the state's development director to run for the U.S. Senate. Gov. Ted Strickland has named Mark Barbash, who had been the state's chief economic development officer and was the former Columbus development director, as interim state director. Fisher will continue in the position of lieutenant governor. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced, pending formal approval by the board of directors on Feb. 26, D. Gregory Main will replace James Epolito as president and CEO of the economic development organization effective April 1. Troy Runge has been named director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, a public-private partnership in bioenergy research, outreach, training and economic development based in the…

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. TechColumbus, Central Ohio's advocate for tech-based economic development, has partnered with the Ray and Barney Group to conduct an executive search for a vice president for finance and administration. The position reports to the president & CEO and is responsible for leading and executing the finance and administration functions of TechColumbus. The ideal candidate should have five to ten years of experience in leadership roles, strong leadership skills, and be a flexible and collaborative team player with a hands-on management style.

Department of Energy ARRA includes $39 billion in stimulus funding for the Department of Energy (DoE) as part of the package's support for upgrading the country's infrastructure and power grid. DoE allocations include funding for the department's science office, research grants, and energy efficiency programs. The stimulus bill provides $16.8 billion for DoE energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including $2.5 billion to support applied research, development, demonstration and deployment of advanced energy technologies. Almost half of this R&D funding will be dedicated to biomass- and geothermal-related projects, which will receive $800 million and $400 million respectively. Other energy efficiency and renewable energy investments include: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants - $3.2 billion, including $400 million in competitive grants; the program provides federal grants to units of local government, Indian tribes, and states to reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and for improvements in energy efficiency; Weatherization Assistance Program - $5 billion; State Energy Program - $3.1 billion; Advanced Battery…

ARRA will provide $7.2 billion to upgrade the country's broadband infrastructure through the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). NTIA will receive $4.7 billion, in partnership with the FCC, to establish a broadband service development and expansion program. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program will support broadband improvements by awarding competitive grants to accelerate deployment and improve service at strategic institutions that are likely to create jobs or produce other public benefits. Of this funding, $350 million will support the State Broadband Data and Development Grant program, which will help develop and maintain a national broadband inventory map.  Another $200 million of the NTIA funding will be used for competitive grants to expand the capacity of public computing centers and $250 million will fund competitive grants for innovative programs to encourage sustainable broadband adoption. The Department of Agriculture is slated to receive $2.5 billion for its distance learning, telemedicine and broadband…

ARRA includes $19 billion in funding to promote the development and implementation of interoperable Health Information Technology (HIT). The $2 billion in discretionary funds and $17 billion in investments and incentives through Medicare and Medicaid will be used to improve the quality of medical care in the U.S. and create jobs in the information technology sector. The effort will be overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT). To promote interoperable Electronic Health Records (EHR), the bill requires federal agencies that use HIT systems to meet federal standards. Any health care payers or providers that contract with the federal government will also have to meet these standards. DHHS will be required to report within two years and then annually on the status of EHR adoption. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) will work with ONCHIT to design the standards that must be met by HIT systems. NIST will award competitive grants to universities to establish multidisciplinary Centers for Health Care Enterprise Integration to generate…

The major federal R&D funding agencies all received significant funding through ARRA, including: Department of Health and Human Services A total of $10 billion will be provided to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will be distributed among the following entities: The Office of the Director of the NIH will receive $8.2 billion. Of that amount, $7.4 billion will go to support general scientific research at the various institutes and centers within the NIH, and the remaining $800 million will be chosen at the discretion of the NIH Director for short-term grants that can be completed within two years. These allocations to the NIH are not subject to SBIR/STTR set-aside requirements. The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) will receive $1.3 billion. Competitive awards to build or renovate non-federal research facilities will receive $1 billion while the remaining $300 million will be used to purchase share instrumentation and other capital research equipment. $500 million will be directed for construction and improvement projects at federal NIH buildings and facilities. An allocation of $1.1 billion…

In addition to providing Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) to both firms and workers, the stimulus extends the TAA concept for the first time to include funding for communities. A community can receive funding if designated by the secretary of Commerce as "affected by trade." In all, $517.5 million is authorized in the bill for the components of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities provision, which distributes $230 million in FY09, $230 million in FY10, and $57.5 million in the three-month period from October 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. For each of the three fiscal periods, the funds for communities are distributed into three distinct programs. For FY09, the money is allocated in the following manner: $150 million for the secretary of Commerce to use for discretionary grants. Of these funds, $25 million is targeted to assist designated communities with the development of strategic plans. In conjunction with their strategic plan, eligible communities may receive a grant up to $5 million to implement a project. The federal share of the project may not exceed 95 percent of the project's total cost and priority will be given to…