SSTI Digest

If the fifth biennial assessment of U.S. higher education prepared by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education had to fit on an early elementary school report card, it might very well read "Shows effort, but not keeping pace with the rest of the students." Measuring Up 2008 first looks at national higher education performance compared against other countries and finds the traditional leadership role of the U.S. eroding in many categories: percent of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college; college completion rates (never a U.S. strength, the report points out); and percent of 25- to 34-year-olds with associate degrees or higher. Troubling signs for the future, Measuring Up reveals that national high school on-time graduation rates for all racial and ethnic groups are decreasing, with dramatic differences among demographic groups.  Sharp gaps in college enrollment and graduation rates present themselves when looking at family incomes and race, raising issues of college accessibility and affordability. The burden of improving higher education, the center contends, falls on the states, though. As a result each state is…

North Carolina's $1.2 billion dollar investment in bioscience over the past decade has helped to build a $45 billion dollar a year industry in the state, according to a new study released by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. The report finds that North Carolina's bioscience employment numbers have grown 18.5 percent since 2001, the fastest in the nation. Much of this growth has been fueled by increased activity in research, testing and medical labs and in the agricultural feedstock and chemicals subsector.  North Carolina is now home to more than 500 bioscience companies employing over 54,000 people. The report estimates that this sector generates an additional 127,000 jobs outside the industry, and more than $9.4 billion in wages and salaries. Biotechnology companies also are responsible for $1.44 billion in state and local taxes each year. Between 1999 and 2008, North Carolina funded a multitude of biotechnology initiatives to help stimulate the growth of the sector. This funding includes: $857 million in research and facilities including the NC Research Campus in Kannapolis and UNC Cancer Research; $135 million in workforce training…

Incubators may take on magnified importance in regional innovation strategies for the coming years given the continued decline in seed and venture capital available to early-stage companies, the need for startups to reduce costs, and the increased opportunities presented for innovation through collaboration and sharing of knowledge. So it isn't too surprising to see the wave of incubator launches increase during this financial slowdown. A new incubator can take several tacks toward filling its walls. Often the strategy toward defining target tenants depends on the assets of the community. A generalized incubator could be well suited to an area short on affordable space for start-ups in need of shared general business services. Unfortunately, those facilities, and even many incubators tailored to tech start-ups, are not well suited for the specialized technical needs or energy-intensity of some industry sectors, like aerospace, energy, nanotech and biotech. If the university and industrial research base in a region is strong enough, in addition to generalized tech incubators, there may exist an opportunity to develop a critical mass of these hard-to-…

On December 9, two NIST programs will be hosting a meeting to explain how businesses can better take advantage of them. Officials from the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) will provide an overview and discuss future directions for the programs. SSTI is co-hosting the meeting because we see it as an excellent opportunity for TBED organizations and their clients to learn more about and provide input on programs that could see dramatic increases in funding in an Obama administration. The meeting will explore important topics, including: funding opportunities for businesses and joint ventures through TIP, explaining what "areas of critical national need" are and how companies and TBED groups can contribute, and exploring the Next Generation MEP including growth services, technology acceleration, supplier development, and sustainability. The meeting is being held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel. There is no fee to attend, but participants are asked to register at: http://www.ssti.org/tipreg/tipreg.htm A limited number of rooms are available at $141/night plus tax and can be reserved by calling 1-800…

Gov. Bill Ritter announced his administration's plan to inject $12 million into initiatives that promote job training, provide small businesses with access to capital, and invest in the state's New Energy Economy and bioscience sectors. The proposals were outlined as part of the governor's fiscal year 2009-10 budget recommendations earlier this month, which includes nearly $5 million for economic development initiatives in the upcoming fiscal year and another $7 million contingent upon budget reserves in 2010. >From the 2009-10 General Fund, the governor recommends $4.9 million for economic development incentives divided among three priorities: Helping small businesses gain access to capital and creating education and outreach programs to improve the availability of credit to small businesses; Establishing job training programs at community colleges in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency. This proposal would use the existing structure of Colorado FIRST, a workforce development program that focuses on science and technology; and Renewable energy economic activities within the Governor's Energy Office. The remaining $7 million…

While which states top the list in the 2008 edition of the State New Economy Index will capture the attention of the media and therefore the majority of decision makers, the most important contribution of the 2008 Index in the current fiscal environment is its overview and final chapter. The Index, released Nov. 18 by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation, goes beneath and well beyond the results of the 29 indicators to explain the need for fundamental change to how states and regions approach economic development. The final chapter goes a step farther and identifies key strategic shifts required to address the challenges of the New Economy. As state budgets reel from the fallout of the financial crisis, the authors warn:  "If states are going to meet the economic challenges of the future, they will need to make the promotion of innovation a larger part of their economic development policy framework."   Based on the report, state legislators would seem well advised to avoid deep budgets cuts affecting those areas required to support and encourage innovation - the fundamental elements of tech-based…

To attract and grow high technology businesses and streamline its economic development efforts, a task force created in 2007 to study economic competitiveness in Arkansas recommends the state remove its constitutional prohibition on state equity investments in private companies and co-locate its three economic development agencies. The final report of the Task Force for the 21st Century released its recommendations to Gov. Mike Beebe and the legislature last month, which complement the 2008 Accelerate Arkansas strategic plan. Pointing to neighboring state Oklahoma, which recently elected to use equity investment as a tool to provide seed capital for tech-based firms, the report cites examples of how removing the state's constitutional restraints can provide the state a more active role in economic development and generate significant economic returns, specifically in attracting and retaining high-wage jobs.     The task force also responded to the organizational structure necessary for an efficient and effective 21st century state economic development system. While they do not recommend consolidating economic development functions at this…

This week an estimated five million people will celebrate the first annual Global Entrepreneurship Week by taking part in one of the 13,000 events planned worldwide. Founded by the United Kingdom's Mark Your Mark campaign and the U.S.-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Global Entrepreneurship Week is designed to foster innovation and ambition in people under 30 to encourage them to participate in the innovation economy and start new businesses. The initiative has found support from several high-profile world leaders like U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Singaporean President S.R. Nation, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. Organizations in 77 countries and all 50 states will participate in entrepreneurship-related activities this week including entrepreneurship challenges, student business innovation tournaments, and special networking opportunities. In the U.S., more than 880 different events are taking place. One of the most active U.S. partners, the Launch Pad at University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL will feature activities all week. Session include…

Earlier this year, the Council on Competitiveness released a report on the nature and extent of high-performance computing in the private sector. This investigation, conducted by the council's High Performance Computing (HPC) initiative, found that while international best-in-class firms often make use of high-performance systems to solve complex problems, leading U.S. firms and their suppliers underuse these resources. It would greatly benefit the U.S. innovation economy to expand cooperation between private sector firms and supercomputing centers, according to the report. Several supercomputing centers have recently taken steps to expand access to their computing power. University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute recently received a contract to inform defense manufacturers about the opportunities provided by modern supercomputing resources. The $3.6 million contract will help expand training and outreach programs, as well as fund specific pilot programs to design computing solutions for the specific needs of defense manufacturers. USC will collaborate with the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) on the project through OSC's Blue Collar…

Oregon Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has unveiled a suite of policies to address global climate change and support the state's renewable energy and clean technology industries. His proposals include instituting a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, improving the energy efficiency of commercial and residential construction, and tax credits for energy-conscious investments. The governor hopes to see the climate plan passed by the legislature in the coming year. The governor's recommendations include: Participating in a regional cap and trade program that would go into effect in 2012; Giving local governments bonding authority for energy efficiency projects; Expanding the Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) and creating a BETC Energy Fund to support renewable energy projects; and Creating an incentive pilot program for solar energy that would pay for the electricity produced by solar projects, instead of a traditional program offering capital investments. Governor Kulongoski says the plan will cost an estimated $10 million, and will be possible despite the current economic crisis. The governor maintains that by investing in new energy…

Venture capitalists invested $7.1 billion in companies during the third quarter of 2008, according to the latest Moneytree survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Though this figure represents a nine percent decline from the same period last year, investment levels still show little evidence of the current drought in venture-backed exits. Many expect investment to decline in the fourth quarter and next year, particularly for seed and early stage companies, as investors become more cautious and begin shifting their focus to the later-stage companies in their portfolio. For the time being, seed and early stage investment is up slightly over the previous quarter and the same period last year.  These deals now represent 39 percent of total deal volume, up 2 percentage points from Q2 2008. The number of expansion stage deals, on the other hand, fell from 321 in the previous quarter to 263. Expansion deals now account for only 29 percent of deals, the lowest level since the Moneytree survey began in 1995. Later-stage deals have been holding steady at about 32 percent of overall venture investments. Biotechnology has…

The University of Utah (U of U) announced last month two significant investments in TBED supported by USTAR, the state-funded initiative to grow Utah's knowledge economy. Following a recent $15 million donation from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, U of U officials said they would begin construction next year on the 193,000-square-foot anchor facility for the new Interdisciplinary Quadrangle, which encompasses 11 acres bridging the upper and lower campuses. The Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building will be the first of four multidisciplinary facilities and will house advanced imaging and nanotechnology laboratories.  USTAR is investing $100 million in the facility, which is slated for completion in 2012. The goal of the Interdisciplinary Quad is to bridge the university's health professions, engineering, science, business and law sections of the campus. Also announced last month was the establishment of the Nano Institute of Utah located on the U of U campus. The institute will help attract industry-sponsored research and other collaborative efforts with life science businesses, said USTAR nanotechnology consultant Darwin Cheney in a U of U press…