SSTI Digest

SSTI's ninth annual Tech Talkin' Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses. The first installment of the series includes excerpts from New York and North Dakota. New York Gov. David Paterson, State-of-the-State Address, Jan. 7, 2009 "We should also understand that our current Empire Zone program does not work and we need to reform it. ....  That's why we set an aggressive target to have Empire Zone participants produce 20 dollars of benefits for every dollar of state money. With the savings generated by reforming Empire Zones, we will make strategic investments in the job-creating industries of tomorrow, such as biotechnology and manufacturing, and we will offer R&D tax credits to foster innovation. . ". To maximize the extraordinary academic and scientific resources available in the Western, Central, and Capital Regions, we will create an upstate research consortium on hybrid electric batteries and energy storage technologies. This will help reshape the upstate economy and create a clean corridor that includes cities in the Erie Canal corridor built…

Last month, Gov. Tim Kaine unveiled proposed amendments to the fiscal year 2008-10 biennial budget and announced a new initiative aimed at creating jobs by attracting renewable energy companies to Virginia. The governor will seek legislative support for both proposals in the coming months. The Renew Virginia Initiative is the governor's plan to boost job creation and position the state as a leader in alternative energy generation and R&D. Gov. Kaine created a new Interagency Task Force for Energy Project Recruitment that consists of state agencies, university research centers and federal labs. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership is charged with assembling a marketing plan for promoting the state. The FY09 executive budget includes new funding proposals, outlines the October reductions approved by Gov. Kaine, and recommends further reductions for the remainder of the biennium. Virginia is facing a projected budget deficit of $973.6 million in FY09 and $1.5 billion in FY10, according to estimates reported by the state to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Gov. Kaine recommends withdrawing $490 million from the Revenue Stabilization Fund…

Many of Washington's programs aimed at enhancing the skills of educators in science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) fields will continue to receive state support in the coming biennium under Gov. Christine Gregoire's budget proposal - while other TBED initiatives did not fare as well. The governor's fiscal year 2009-11 budget recommends a total of $17.5 million from the general fund and the Education Legacy Trust Fund to support the state's "foundational math and science effort," which includes school district math and science coaches, math and science standards and curriculum development, after-school math assistance and support for the LASER science program. Specific recommendations include: $7.5 million to provide grants for instructional coaches in math and science for middle and high schools; $3.1 million each fiscal year for the LASER program, a statewide program designed to implement an inquiry-based K-8 science education program; $1.85 million for specialized professional development for one math teacher and one science teacher in each middle and high school; $1.4 million for three additional professional development days for…

North Carolina is a nationally-recognized center for basic research due to its sustained investment in higher education and TBED-related projects. Many in the state believe, however, that North Carolina is not translating as much of that research throughout its innovation economy as it should be. Advancing Innovation in North Carolina, a new report from the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, argues that in order to have a truly prosperous high-tech economy, North Carolina will have to increase the adoption of new technologies throughout rural regions of the state and improve its performance in areas not related to its higher education system, including the availability of capital and percentage of R&D workers as a share of the workforce. North Carolina faces several challenges in creating a rich innovation ecosystem according to the report. The first is a relatively low overall investment in research and development. In 2004, North Carolina ranked 23rd in R&D investment as a share of gross state product. The state's innovation economy is also heavily dependent on just a few innovative geographic clusters for development. The rate of successful…

A recent assessment by the National Research Council (NRC) of  the National Nanotechnology Initiative's (NNI) Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental, Health, and Safety Research concluded the NNI's research plan does not provide a clear picture of the potential risks of nanotechnology, nor does the plan include adequate research goals and comprehensive research needs regarding nanotechnology-specific health and safety issues.The NRC's assessment finds the NNI's strategy for environmental, health, and safety research is lacking in accountability because no single organization or person has responsibility for health and safety results. The NNI is the coordination mechanism for the nanotechnology-related activities of various federal agencies, each with their own research and regulatory responsibilities. The NNI does not have the authority to make budgetary or funding decisions. According to the report, the aggregate R&D funding for FY 2007 through 12 reporting agencies was $1.43 billion. The NRC's assessment process compared the NNI research plan for environmental, health and safety to the nine elements the NRC deems as integral to any…

Tax cuts for economic development purposes are supposed to be revenue-neutral over the long term for the government, with job creation, corporate income growth, and increases in property value ultimately making up for lost revenue. Hawaii's beleaguered tech tax credit, the subject of much debate over the past decade, may have exhausted the patience and pocketbook of Hawaii leaders based on a recent study by the state's Department of Taxation.   Hawaii's tax credits for research and investment in high-tech companies have cost the state more than $747 million since it was instituted in 1999 through the end of 2007, according to the study. The Department found that the state's investment has yielded only one full-time job at the associated firms per $535,000 in credits. In response to the report and the state's tightening fiscal situation, Governor Linda Lingle announced that more restriction would be put on these credits under the upcoming biennial budget. Under the state's High Technology Business Investment Tax Credit, Hawaii residents who invested in qualifying business received more than $657 million in income tax credits between 1999 and 2007. Ninety-five…

Energy issues are anticipated to be a central focus of the Obama Administration. Its first budget request, expected in late February for FY 2010, will show if money for R&D will follow that focus. Which states stand to gain most from an increased emphasis on energy research? Looking at historical energy obligations is not a crystal ball for the future, particularly as newer, alternative energies take on increased importance. However, historical spending does show where some of the infrastructure is in place to support an initial surge in energy research spending.  Just as some states were better positioned to capture the early increases in biomedical research spending when the research budget doubled for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there will most likely be early winners in an Energy R&D blitz as well. SSTI has prepared a table displaying the amount of R&D obligations from the Department of Energy for each state from 2001 to 2005, the most recent years available. The table also tracks the percentage of each state's total federal R&D obligations that originated from the DOE. This statistic shows the critical importance of…

Aiming to close a $1.7 billion budget shortfall in the current fiscal year and address a projected $13.7 billion deficit in FY10, New York Gov. David Paterson yesterday unveiled a deficit reduction plan as part of his FY 2009-10 executive budget request. The combined executive budget and deficit reduction plan propose consolidating the state's three economic development agencies and redirecting funds to support a new grant and loan program for targeted investments in select industries. As part of the proposed restructuring plan, the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR) and the Department of Economic Development will be consolidated within the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). The executive budget includes $31.6 million to support the university-based matching grants and high technology and research development programs administered by NYSTAR. Programs slated for elimination include the Centers for Applied Research and Technology and Syracuse University's Sensing, Analyzing, Interpreting and Deciding Center. Reduction of funding is recommended for the Centers for Advanced Technology for a total savings of $10.4 million across…

Investment by angel groups declined at least ten percent this year, according to the Angel Capital Association's (ACA) annual survey of angel group leaders. In January and February, about 55 percent of these leaders predicted that both their number of deals and total invested dollars would increase in 2008. Half of them now admit that their predictions for the year were overly optimistic. Still, many investors reported healthy activity during the year and many expect better results next year. ACA estimates average angel group investment in 2008 to be $1.72 million, down from $1.94 million last year. The average number of closed deals shrunk 16 percent from 2007 to 6.1 per group. Meanwhile the average deal size grew to $280,936, up six percent. The change mimics the increasing preference for fewer and larger deals among venture capital firms. Among respondents who reported fewer deals this year, a slight majority (53 percent) cited uncertain market conditions as a reason for this decline. Forty-four percent noted that the current economic downturn had decreased their group's appetite for new deals. Other explanations for reduced activity…

It won't have smokestacks or be pushing automobiles or computer chips off an assembly line, but the $550 million plum that landed in East Lansing, MI last week is similar in size to many industrial recruitment/retention deals sought by conventional economic development efforts. This one, though, could have a longer lasting and higher quality economic impact compared to conventional recruitment/retention deals. The Department of Energy announced it has chosen Michigan State University (MSU) as the future home of the next big thing in nuclear physics, a $550 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).  FRIB research will involve experimentation with intense beams of rare isotopes-short-lived nuclei not normally found on earth. That research is expected to advance critical applications in the areas of materials science, medicine, and stockpile stewardship. The economic payoff to the Lansing region could be tremendous. The research opportunities alone are expected to draw an international community of approximately 1,000 university and laboratory scientists, postdoctoral associates, and graduate students. Most of those high paying, high-skilled jobs are…

The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved $15 million in funding for three programs that will support innovation and extraordinary effort among its faculty. Two of these programs will make awards for teaching excellence, one for faculty at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and the other for teaching at the system's other eight universities. The third program will support a Center for Technology Commercialization at UT Austin to accelerate technology transfer and new venture creation. Each of these programs will receive $1 million annually for the next five years for awards and operations. The two awards programs will recognize faculty for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education and will serve as an incentive compensation program to improve instruction. These one-time awards will range from $15,000 to $30,000. The Board plans to recognize at least 30 faculty members each year. The UT Austin Center for Technology Commercialization will help coordinate the activities of the existing Office of Technology Commercialization and the Austin Technology Incubator. Specialists will be available to advise faculty and…

The Scottish Government announced last month a funding plan for the university system that directs more than 10 percent of current funding into a new Horizon Fund created to make targeted investments in research, technology transfer, and entrepreneurial development. The funding proposal is part of an overall plan to expand the role of universities in helping the country recover from the current economic downturn. The plan was based on recommendations from a joint university taskforce established last year by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning.  The Future Thinking Taskforce set forth challenges for both the Scottish Government and Universities Scotland, which represents the country's 20 institutions of higher education. Specifically, universities must demonstrate the funds they receive from the government support activities that are aligned with the Scottish Government's goals for sustainable economic growth. In return, Universities Scotland challenges the government to move into the top quartile of OECD countries for percentage of GDP invested in universities for national investment in R&D and innovation by 2028. The…