SSTI Digest

After months of negotiations, the House and Senate have approved the most significant bill in years to bolster U.S. research. The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act authorizes over $43 billion in new federal spending over the next three years, which will support U.S. math and science education and federal research agencies. In fact, the legislation would double the budget authorizations of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratory activities.   Past issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest have covered the progress of the COMPETES Act (see the April 23, 2007 and June 20, 2007 issues). Earlier this year, both houses of Congress passed legislation that incorporated many of the recommendations provided by the influential National Academies report Rising Above the Gathering Storm. The current, reconciled bill, passed by the House and Senate last Thursday, contains many provisions that directly result from the report. These include a requirement that all research…

While many parts of the country are looking for innovative means to increase the number of citizens and businesses connected to high-speed Internet in both urban and rural areas, two governors recently announced initiatives targeting the further extension of broadband services throughout their states. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared the commonwealth would invest $25 million into a new “broadband incentive fund” to be managed by a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), named the Broadband Institute. Under the plan, private companies will compete for funds to install equipment such as network fiber and wireless towers in rural areas that currently do not have broadband. According to the MTC, 32 towns in Massachusetts lack broadband access and 63 municipalities only have broadband in a limited area. The program’s goal is to make broadband available to all communities by 2010. Ohio’s recent moves have targeted the expansion of broadband delivery to multiple stakeholders, including state and local government. Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order that extends and strengthens the state’s broadband…

The India Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises announced last week a plan to provide funding to 50 universities and training institutions for the creation of up to 100 enterprise incubators within innovative fields.   While the details have yet to be released, the Ministry plans to provide funding to 50 universities to create up to 100 incubators that will host approximately 1,000 micro and small enterprises over five years. The government will provide grants of Rs. 5 lakh per incubator - about $62,000 USD - to help support and promote emerging industries, including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.   Last year, the Parliament enacted The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act of 2006, calling for the “promotion and development and enhancing the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises.”   More information about the Act is available at: http://ssi.nic.in/MSME%20Development%20Gazette.htm

Policymakers and researchers in the U.S. continue to debate the effectiveness and value of providing R&D subsidies to firms in the hope of spurring technological developments and wealth generation. At the national level, several organizations have called to make the federal R&D tax credit, also known as the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (RETC), a permanent incentive program. Researchers centered in countries outside of the U.S. are looking at the effectiveness of R&D subsidies in their nations, as well.   Three recent papers, which separately review Canadian, Catalonian (a region of Spain), and Norwegian efforts to support industrial R&D, find subsidies do influence company performance, mostly positively. In the Norwegian paper, however, not all impacts at the firm level are the desired ones. All three papers are highlighted below.   Charles Bérubé and Pierre Mohnen explore data from manufacturing firms responding to the 2005 Canadian Innovation Survey in order to distinguish if firms that received R&D grants and R&D tax credits produced more innovative outputs than firms that received…

An expected explosion of health-related expenditures combined with no new policy changes will likely result in fiscal challenges for state and local governments within the next decade, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The result could put downward pressure on public funding available to support TBED initiatives.   The expected continued rise in health care costs poses a fiscal challenge not just to government budgets, but to American business and society as a whole, according to the report. Using data from the National Income and Product Accounts, GAO ran long-term simulations extending until 2050 that indicate the combined effects of demographic changes and growing health care costs drive increasing federal deficits and debt levels. GAO’s fiscal model of the state and local sector projects the level of recipients and expenditures in future years based on historical spending and revenue patterns.   Findings of the simulation indicate that two types of state and local expenditures will rise quickly because of escalating medical costs: Medicaid expenditures and health insurance for state…

In today’s world, a trip to the doctor may entail your test results to be analyzed in India, your specialist to be called in Canada, and your billing information to be processed in South Africa. Given the prevalence and speed of modern forms of communication, information can be sent around the globe at a moment’s notice, hastening the speed of business.   With this in mind, from an economic development standpoint, is it still important to organize ourselves, our businesses and our economic development strategies within the confines of cities?   The answer is a resounding “yes”, according to a recent working paper by Glenn Athey, Max Nathan, and Chris Webber titled What Role Do Cities Play in Innovation, and to What Extent Do We Need City-Based Innovation Policies and Approaches? The authors make the compelling case that cities are extremely important in the context of innovation production and economic development. They contend attraction to cities is dependent on three basic advantages: proximity, density and variety.   In their review of existing literature, the authors present reasons why…

Every year, the National Science Foundation releases its Academic R&D Expenditures report, filled with statistics related to the characteristics of R&D at U.S. colleges and universities. Using these reports, SSTI has prepared two tables detailing the funds provided by industry in fiscal year 2005 for the 100 institutions with the highest amount of industry-financed R&D. The first table displays FY 2005 data by the amount of R&D funding from industry and by total R&D expenditures for the institutions, with rankings for each measure. Topping the list for the amount of its industry-financed R&D was Duke University with $135 million. This was followed by all campuses of Pennsylvania State University and Ohio State University at $88 million and $81 million, respectively. MIT and the University of Maryland Baltimore rounded out the top five. When considering total 2005 R&D funding, Johns Hopkins University had the top spot at $1.44 billion. All campuses of the University of Michigan followed at $809 million, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked third at $798 million. The University of…

SSTI is wrapping up the conference brochure for our 11th annual conference, Transforming Regional Economies, a mailing that goes to more than 12,000 TBED practitioners. Your organization could be included if you become a conference partner by August 17. Contact Noelle Sheets, director of membership services, to discuss which partnership opportunity best fits your marketing strategy. SSTI’s annual conference provides the opportunity to place your organization at the center of the most dynamic and influential community of tech-based economic development professionals, reinforce your brand, and build relationships in 2007 and beyond. Your organization will enjoy outstanding exposure. In all the right company. As an SSTI conference partner, you have the chance to showcase your organization with the decision makers responsible for crafting and implementing local and state-level policies and programs that directly contribute to the nation's competitiveness. No other event brings together the nation’s top players in the TBED community. Take advantage of our annual conference’s…

North Canton, Ohio, has been chosen as the site for the nation's newest Department of Defense (DoD) Center of Excellence. Centers of Excellence deal with specific military technology needs that are deemed critical to the nation's defense and security. The Defense Metals Technology Center (DMTC), to be located at Stark State College, will become the principal repository of data and coordination of the various academic, government and industrial entities involved with highly specialized and strategic metals, including titanium. The result of the vision and creative effort led by Congressman Ralph Regula (R-OH), the DMTC is being funded by the 2006 National Defense Appropriation Bill and the State of Ohio Department of Development. The center's executive director will be Charlie Clark, who previously served as director of government relations for the University of Akron. The center is expected to link academia, national labs, industry, and DoD, with a goal of maintaining a globally competitive industrial base to support the cost-effective manufacture of military hardware. …

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF), a Washington State agency that functions like a foundation, is seeking a grants administrator to help shape the organization during its start-up phase. The LSDF supports innovative research in Washington State to promote life sciences competitiveness, enhance economic vitality, and improve health and health care. The grants administrator will manage aspects of a grants portfolio of approximately $35 million per year and will be responsible for information management regarding LSDF’s grant administration processes. He or she also will report to the LSDF Director of Programs. A bachelor’s degree and five years of experience in grant-making or grants administration, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, are required. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA), an independent, self-supporting state entity dedicated to broadening New Jersey's economic base, has a position opening entitled Edison Innovation Fund Officer. EDA is seeking someone for this…

David Boncosky will become the director of Indiana Economic Development Corporation's life sciences initiative Aug. 6. Arizona Technology Enterprises, the organization responsible for overseeing licensing and commercialization activities at Arizona State University, has selected Augustine Cheng as its new managing director. Tom Clarkson is the new chief executive officer of Wake Forest University's Babcock Demon incubator. Clarkson replaces Paul Briggs, who retired. The Four-County Economic Development Corp. in Portland, Ore., has changed its name to Greenlight Greater Portland. Graham Evans has joined Washington Technology Center as director of research and program operations. The Georgia Department of Economic Development has promoted Carol Henderson to director of its Innovation and Technology Office. Sen. Patrick Hogan announced he would step down from the Maryland State Senate to become vice chancellor for government relations for the University System of Maryland. Steve…

David Boncosky will become the director of Indiana Economic Development Corporation's life sciences initiative Aug. 6.