SSTI Digest

London's Mayor Boris Johnson has announced an initiative to transform Olympic Park into a creative and digital business hub for the city. According to an article from startups.uk, the proposed redevelopment promises to boost the United Kingdom's (UK) GDP by $450 million ($692.5 million US) and create more than 6,500 new jobs. In partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation, the city will make major investments in the areas surrounding the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, including the construction of three feature buildings:

Threats to America's cybersecurity continue to make headlines, underscoring the growing importance of protecting our country's digital infrastructure. As national security experts continue to grapple with how to address the challenge, the federal government is stepping up to coordinate state cybersecurity efforts. In an effort to promote our country's economic security and boost innovation and competitiveness, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working with states and the private sector to develop a framework for national cybersecurity standards. States are capitalizing on the increased coordination to build public-private partnerships that seed industry growth.

Maryland often has been at the forefront of innovation with a longstanding reputation for investing in science and technology to capture new opportunities for economic growth. This year's legislative session was no different. Lawmakers backed Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposals to support the state's bioscience sector, expand the R&D tax credit, enhance workforce training, and promote measures to establish the state as a leader in cybersecurity.

Measuring impact is critical to the success and sustainability of any economic development initiative, and as the national debate over fiscal austerity and taxpayer spending continues, TBED organizations can expect increased scrutiny and accountability for their investments.

Amid growing skepticism from the public, lawmakers increasingly struggle with finding a balance for funding new efforts that may take awhile to pay off with more pressing state needs. This year, measures to encourage the creation or expansion of high-growth companies through the use of tax incentives have been unveiled in several states. At the same time, lawmakers in some states are pushing for greater disclosure requirements through transparency measures. SSTI has compiled pending and recently approved legislation below.

The University of Maryland announced the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, an initiative to infuse a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across its campus through a series of classes, workshops and outside-the-classroom experiences. By providing the necessary encouragement and resources, the university administration hopes to empower students and faculty to translate their passions and creative ideas into real-world solutions to economic, societal, technological and cultural problems. Launching in fall 2013, the academy will be led by Dr. Dean Chang, associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship for the University of Maryland. Read the release...

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Texas. Our first three installments were in the Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 issues of the Digest.

MarylandGov. Martin O'Malley, State of the State Address, Jan. 30, 2013“Creating jobs through innovation is not just the responsibility of the private sector. There are things we can do together ”“ through the common platform of our government ”“ to accelerate innovation and improve the business climate ... expanding our successful job creation tax credits for biotech, and research and development. And, by creating a new cyber security tax credit. ...

Governors in several states recently unveiled spending proposals for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium. While fiscal conditions in most states remain fragile, new or continuing investments focused on science, technology and innovation were introduced as pro-growth measures to aid in states' recovery efforts. With the exception of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ambitious economic development plan (see the Jan. 9 issue of the Digest), most of the proposals were on the modest side. They include funding for a life sciences partnership in Indiana, more money for tax credits in Maryland, and additional funds in Nevada and South Dakota for research and commercialization.

Former Oklahoma Treasurer Scott Meacham has been named president and CEO of i2E.

LaunchTN announced Charlie Brock as the organization's new president and chief executive officer and Stuart McWhorter as the organization's new vice-chair.

BioCrossroads President and CEO David Johnson was named President and CEO of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, while continuing to lead BioCrossroads, CICP's life sciences initiative, along with his new duties at CICP. David Johnson succeeds Mark Miles.

Dan Sharp has been named director of UT Austin's Office of Technology Commercialization. Sharp, who holds both law and engineering degrees from UT, formerly was associate director of intellectual property and licensing at the office.

SSTI is pleased to welcome Reese Neader to our team as a research associate. Reese is the former policy director for the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network and is a political science graduate from Denison University.

Renée Winsky has been appointed the executive director of the Chesapeake Innovation Center.

Mark Kvamme has resigned from JobsOhio effective Nov. 1. He is succeeded as president and CIO by John Minor, formerly the managing director at JobsOhio.

Reed Hall has been named the interim CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Hall will fill the position until a permanent CEO is selected to replace Paul Jadin, who announced in September he would be leaving the post.

Maryland's Innovation Initiative (MII), launched earlier this year, unveiled two inaugural programs on Monday aimed at commercializing technologies at the state's universities. The new Innovation Discovery Program will help universities identify promising technologies and potential collaborations by reimbursing them for the costs of employing on-site, part-time "site miners." The Innovation Commercialization Program will provide cash awards to support research, commercialization planning and product development. The programs are part of an ongoing effort in the state to coordinate commercialization activities at the five qualifying universities.

Caren Franzini, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, stepped down after leading the agency for 21 years. Michele Brown, Gov. Chris Christie's appointments counsel, will take over as CEO.

Karen Merrick has joined the Iowa Innovation Corporation as CEO. Merrick previously had been with the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Thomas Dann, the founder and managing director at CastleHaven Advisors, a Washington, D.C., private-equity firm, was named managing director of the Maryland Venture Fund.

Baiju Shah, the president and CEO of BioEnteprise, is leaving to become the CEO of BioMotiv, a drug development company that spun out of University Hospitals.

Richard Bendis has been named the first president and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, Inc. a regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early stage funding in Central Maryland.

RI Gov. Chafee on May 17 accepted the resignation of Keith Stokes, executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. The RIEDC's deputy director, William Parsons, currently is serving in Stokes' place. Although a successor for Stokes has not been named yet, the governor has nominated six people to the board that oversees RIEDC after the vice chair and other members resigned. The nominations are subject to Senate confirmation.

In Pittsburgh, PA, The Technology Collaborative is dissolving. Innovation Works will take over some of TTC's programs.

Michael Pazzani, vice president for research and economic development at Rutgers, has accepted the position of vice chancellor for research and economic development at the University of California, Riverside, effective July 1.