SSTI Digest

A bill designed to keep new Maine graduates living and working in the state after college became law last week with Gov. John Baldacci’s signature. The Opportunity Maine bill, LD 1856, creates a tax credit to assist graduates with their student loan payments and enables employers of graduates to pay off the student loans.   Under the bill, tax credits of up to $2,100 per year or $8,400 total are provided for graduates who spend all four years in the University of Maine System or Maine Community College System. The credits can only be claimed while the person resides and works in the state. The legislation also allows for employers of Maine graduates to assume the student loan debt and collect the tax credits.   Program goals are to ensure access to training and higher education, bring higher paying jobs to the state, offer educational opportunity and retraining, and retain a workforce of young, educated individuals.   The fiscal impact to the state will rise substantially over time and require a commitment by future legislatures. Unused credits may be carried over for up to 10 years and…

Gov. Mike Rounds recently announced that South Dakota will join a national partnership, led by many of the country's leading information and communication technology (ICT) companies, to improve science and technology education and the skill set of the state's high-tech workforce. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, an ICT advocacy organization, will advise the state on designing curriculum that meets the needs of software, electronics, networking, telecommunications and Internet-based companies. South Dakota is the fifth state to partner with the organization, which will begin a full assessment of the state's K-12 and higher education system later this year.   Gov. Rounds has created the P21 Advisory Council, a new advisory body, as part of plans for the organization. The 20-member council includes leaders from South Dakota businesses, universities, the governor's office and the state legislature. Council members will help translate the partnership's framework for 21st century education into policies that will address the specific needs of the South Dakota ICT economy.   The partnership will augment the governor's…

A new initiative to target and promote Indiana's manufacturing and logistics sector will do so in a similar manner to the 2002 BioCrossroads initiative that aided in transforming the region’s life sciences industry, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) recently announced.   Conexus Indiana, the new initiative launched by CICP, will address three key priorities: developing a highly-skilled manufacturing workforce; creating industry collaborations to explore new business opportunities; and aggressively marketing Indiana’s manufacturing and logistics strengths to the business community, potential workers and the general public.    CICP anticipates a total budget of $6.5 million through 2009 with a $3 million grant by the Lilly Endowment and additional pledges by leading companies and institutions. The funds will be used to support the following planned and ongoing efforts: Working with higher education and training providers, tailoring programs to create educational opportunities aligned with manufacturing and logistics; Launching an educational career awareness program modeled on the “Dream it…

For an industry that takes in more than $10 billion per year, video games receive relatively little dedicated support for economic development initiatives. When video game creators do attract the attention of federal and state politicians, it is often because of allegations of violent content and for encouraging sedentary lifestyles amongst consumers. A handful of states, however, have launched programs and credits that actively encourage the growth of the industry.   Texas joined these states last week when Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill approving up to $22 million in incentives for the entertainment sector, including video game companies. The money will be used to offer grants that will cover up to 5 percent of the total in-state spending on any video game project. The awards may range up to $250,000. Similar grants will be available for film, advertisement and television production through the program. The state hopes the grants will help it capture some of the prominence in game development that it enjoyed in the 1980s and 1990s. Austin, in particular, was a hub for the industry and hosted headquarters and branches of…

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) within the Georgia Institute of Technology announced its affiliated companies have received more than $1 billion in venture capital funding since 1999. Amassed from 160 separate deals, the amount represents 15 percent of the total venture capital in Georgia, about one out of its every five deals in the state.   Taking a closer look at the numbers over the past eight years, 75 companies at the ATDC received funding from 139 separate venture capital investors. Ten of these companies raised more than $25 million, and 56 percent of the deals came from outside of Georgia.   Considered one of the nation’s most successful technology incubators, the ATDC is a component of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, which is the school’s primary organization for economic development and technology commercialization. Since its creation in 1980, the incubator has developed 112 companies, with locations in the cities of Atlanta, Savannah, and Warner Robins.   The center's website is http://www.atdc.org/.

Vermont, Connecticut and California lead the nation in the race to adopt energy efficiency policies, programs and technologies, according to the 2006 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.   The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its findings last month, in concert with federal energy legislation being considered by Congress. States spend about three times as much on energy efficiency programs as the federal government and are leading the way on policies that drive energy efficiency investment, according to the authors. The scorecard ranks each state and the District of Columbia within the following eight categories: Spending on utility and public benefits energy efficiency programs; Energy efficiency resource standards; Combined heat and power; Building energy codes; Transportation policies; Appliance and equipment; Tax incentives; and, State “lead by example” programs and R&D. Overall, Vermont, Connecticut and California tied for first place, followed by Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, and New York. The top 10 states earned between 20-30 points out of a possible 44, while the…

With the deadline less than two weeks away, we hope you are putting the finishing touches on your Excellence in TBED Award application.   International Recognition, External Validation, and Education and Outreach are just a few of the reasons why you should apply. SSTI’s awards program is designed to celebrate the exceptional achievement in technology-based economic development occurring around us everyday. Nonprofit organizations, local and state governments, economic development councils, and other organizations that promote innovation are encouraged to apply.   Please help us make the inaugural Excellence in TBED Awards program a success. The application and complete instructions are available at: http://www.ssti.org/awards.htm.   Update: The application form on page 4 of the program PDF has been updated to allow you to type within the required fields and to save a copy of the form with your information.   Please contact Rhiannon Mehring at 614-901-1690 with any questions. The deadline to apply is July 20, 2007.

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute is seeking someone for the position of SBIR Development Manager. For the SBIR Assistance Program, which provides development guidance for Georgia small businesses/companies, the SBIR Development Manager will aid small Georgia technology-based companies in developing commercialization plans and helping with understanding the commercial market for their product. Four to six years of job-related experience in accounting/business, engineering, supervisory/management is preferred. A master's degree also is desired. The University of Missouri is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Vice President for Research and Economic Development. As the university’s senior executive for economic development and research-related initiatives, the vice president for research and economic development will be responsible for promoting the commercialization of patented intelligence and products of faculty discovery, innovation and development. He or she also will work closely…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced this week it will invest up to $375 million over five years in three new Bioenergy Research Centers to be located in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Madison, Wisc., and near Berkeley, Calif. The winning sites were selected through a competitive, peer-review process that began last year and included more than a dozen applicants from across the country.   Using multidisciplinary teams from several institutions, the centers' research will emphasize understanding how to reengineer biological processes to develop new, more efficient methods for converting the cellulose in plant material into ethanol or other biofuels that serve as a substitute for gasoline. DOE believes this research is critical because future biofuels production will require the use of feedstocks more diverse than corn, including cellulosic material such as agricultural residues, grasses, poplar trees, inedible plants, and nonedible portions of crops. The centers will bring together diverse teams of researchers from 18 of the nation's leading universities, seven DOE national laboratories, at least one nonprofit organization, and a…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently named 13 more regions to receive grants through the third round of the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program. As with the previous round of awards (see the Jan. 22, 2007 issue of the Digest), the recipients will each receive $5 million over the course of three years to integrate workforce training initiatives into a regional technology-based economic development strategy. The winners include: Central New Jersey (five counties including the city of New Brunswick) – for the Bio-1 Regional Partnership Southeastern Virginia (25 cities and counties including the city of Norfolk) – for the SEVA-PORT WIRED partners Central Kentucky (15 counties including the city of Louisville) – for workforce development in the I-65 Corridor Southeastern Mississippi (18 counties including the city of Biloxi) – for Momentum Mississippi South Central and Southwest Wisconsin (12 counties including the city of Madison) – for the South Central/Southwest GROW Region partnership South Central and Western Minnesota (36 counties including the city of Montevideo) – for the Ag-Innovation Triangle Southeast…

With less than two weeks to go before the new fiscal year, Arizona and New Jersey lawmakers approved funding for cutting-edge research at the close of their 2007 legislative sessions last week. Following is a synopsis of the TBED initiatives slated to receive funding under the respective budget agreements.   Arizona Following several months of debate, Arizona lawmakers reached a budget agreement last week that is on target with many of Gov. Janet Napolitano’s priorities, including investments in innovation and education (see the Jan. 22, 2007 issue of the Digest).   The fiscal year 2008 budget, signed earlier this week by Gov. Napolitano, includes $25 million per year over the next four years for the 21st Century Fund "to promote bioscience programs and research." The fund was created by the legislature in 2006 as a public-private partnership to invest in medical, scientific and engineering research programs (see the June 26, 2006 issue of the Digest).   The Arizona Department of Commerce budget includes $1.8 million to foster business initiatives that include growth in high-tech…

Last week, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed off on the state’s budget, but not before making substantial use of his line-item veto. Overall, the approved $151 billion FY 2008-2009 budget increases general revenue spending by $7.7 billion (11.8 percent) over the current biennium. Much of that new spending will support education in the state; however, a number of programs, particularly those connected to higher education, failed to receive the governor’s approval.   In all, Gov. Perry vetoed nearly $200 million in higher education spending. The largest of the cuts resulted from the governor’s decision to end group health insurance for faculty at the state’s community colleges. The veto is the result of a long-standing argument over whether or not the state should bear the financial responsibility for these benefits, according to a recent Austin-American Statesman article. The governor charged that many community colleges had inappropriately inflated their budget requests to receive funding for costs that should be covered by local taxes and tuition.   Gov. Perry characterized about $36 million in additional cuts as necessary…