SSTI Digest

For the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Administration has requested $7.2 billion for FY 2008, a 1 percent decrease from the FY07 request. Under the new budget, Science and Technology activities would receive $754.5 million (4.3 percent decrease). Within S&T, research activities would decrease 2.4 percent to $478.5 million. A few science and technology programs are expected to receive small budget increases this year, however, including Clean Air Research (3 percent increase), Environmental Enforcement Forensics (15 percent increase), and Climate Protection (4 percent increase).   Science and Technology programs include: Air Toxics and Quality - $93 million Climate Protection Program - $13 million Enforcement Forensics - $15 million Homeland Security - $67 million Indoor Air - $1 million IT, Data Management and Security - $3.5 million Pesticides Licensing - $6 million Drinking Water Programs - $3.5 million Research - $478.5 million Clean Air - $98 million Clean Water - $105 million Human Health and Ecosystems - $217.5 million Land Protection - $11 million…

The Administration’s FY 2008 budget request for NASA totals $17.309 billion (3.9 percent increase from the FY06 appropriation) and is distributed across six directorates and offices. Science - $5.516 billion (5.18 percent increase from FY06 appropriation) to conduct scientific exploration that is enabled by access to space or near-space in pursuit of a science plan with four broad goals or themes: earth science; planetary science; heliophysics; and, astrophysics. Exploration Systems - $3.924 billion (28.6 percent increase) to pursue the president’s goal of returning humans to the moon, landing on Mars and venturing beyond. Aeronautics Research - $554 million (38 percent reduction) to expand the boundaries of aeronautical knowledge. Cross-Agency Support - $489.2 million (8.3 percent reduction) to support education programs, advanced business systems, innovative partnerships and shared capability assets. Space Operations - $6.792 billion (1.7 percent reduction) to provide and support space exploration services through the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Inspector General - $34.6 million (8.1 percent increase) to prevent and detect crime,…

The Administration’s FY 2008 National Science Foundation (NSF) budget request of $6.43 billion represents an increase of nearly $409 million (6.8 percent) above the FY07 request. The large increase is distributed across many research and related activities: Mathematical and Physical Sciences  - $103 million increase Engineering - $55 million Geosciences - $47 million Computer and Information Science and Engineering - $47 million Education and Human Resources Directorate (increases to several programs) - $34 million Integrative Activities - $32 million Office of Polar Programs - $27 million Biological Sciences - $25 million Office of Cyberinfrastructure - $18 million Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences - $8 million Office of International Science and Engineering - $4 million Major research equipment and facilities construction - $4 million Agency Operations and Award Management - $4 million FY08 budget requests for selected initiatives crossing several NSF directorates include: Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) - $993.7 million would be spread throughout every NSF…

Four federally established regional commissions and authorities dedicated to improving the economic opportunities within specific geographic regions are included in the Administration’s FY 2008 budget request. No funding is requested for the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority, which was created in the 2002 Farm Bill. The Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority and Denali Commission are dependent on annual appropriations. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the oldest and largest of the five authorities, generates its budget primarily through power generation revenues. TVA still requires the government to approve or set its annual spending level. Appalachian Regional Commission - $65 million to assist the 13-state, 410-county Appalachian Region in achieving socioeconomic parity with the nation. The commission has increasingly focused its community investments toward TBED priorities. In 2008, for example, ARC will continue a challenge grant program to award communities that develop innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to economic development, or that implement regional or multi-jurisdictional strategies. Delta Regional…

The Administration's proposal sets overall spending for FY 2008 at $814 million for the Small Business Administration (SBA), including $464 million in new budget authority, $329 million in carryover funds for disaster loans, and $21 million in reimbursable revenues. Funding levels for selected technical assistance programs include: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) - $87 million to provide 50 percent or less of the operating funds of the 63 Lead SBDCs and their satellite organizations that make up a network of more than 1,100 service locations around the country. SBDCs provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. Women's Business Centers (WBC) - $12 million to support a national network of nearly 100 resource centers located throughout the U.S. to promote the growth of women-owned businesses. This is accomplished through programs that address business training and technical assistance and provide access to credit and capital, federal contracts, and international trade opportunities. Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) - $5 million to support 390 chapter offices to provide entrepreneurs with free…

Less than one week before President Bush releases the Administration's budget request for fiscal year 2008, congressional Democratic leadership released its solution to the FY 2007 fiasco. The need to remain within spending caps approved last year and the need to focus on FY08 spending meant the FY07 fix would be simple, but slightly painful for agencies used to above-inflation-rate increases each year. Sixty programs reportedly will see cuts from their FY06 funding levels.                 As expected, earmarks have been stripped from the Joint Resolution covering $463 billion in spending, which covers most of the federal government as 11 FY07 funding bills remained unfinished when Republicans handed over control of both chambers of Congress. Earmarks had become a common funding mechanism for many university research programs and economic development related activities, so the full impact of the move to restore some competitiveness to funding decisions remains to be seen on the TBED community.   On the positive side, the House Appropriations Committee says…

The provincial government of Québec committed to infusing $888 million (Canadian) into its science and technology community over the next three years, as a result of the innovation and research strategy released earlier this month. The new investment is in addition to $278 million committed this year alone for research infrastructure and the Québec Aeronautical Industry Development Strategy.   To help put the magnitude of the nearly $1.2 billion total Canadian three-year investment into perspective for most Digest readers (approximately $1.01 billion US), Québec’s 2006 population of nearly 7.7 million people would make it the 12th-largest state, between New Jersey and Virginia.    An Innovative and Prosperous Québec outlines the province’s mechanisms to increase the development of knowledge and technology transfer, with specific and aggressive goals by 2010 of increasing: the annual domestic expenditures on research and development to 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which would be up from 2.7 percent of GDP in 2004, and the private sector’s share of R&D financing to over 66 percent (…

Delaware Gov. Ruth Minner, State of the State Address, Jan. 18, 2007 "Over the coming year, our Economic Development Office will market a new initiative to promote the Technology-Based Seed Fund, the Emerging Technology Center, and the New Intellectual Property Program—all part of my New Economy Initiative. These programs fit together as a one-stop service for those wishing to start a business. "We can provide entrepreneurs with ideas for business by offering a patent for new products, we can help fund new start-ups through the Technology-Based Seed Funds; and we can help get new businesses off the ground by providing resources and guidance through the Emerging Technology Center." Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, State of the State/Budget Address, Jan. 8, 2007 "Higher education helps stimulate our economy through research. I am recommending a one-time increase of $15 million for the Higher Education Research Council for research projects that facilitate economic development. That includes research being conducted by our three universities at the Center for…

In Iowa Less than two weeks after his inauguration, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver called for the state legislature to lift the state ban on embryonic stem cell research. The ban was first instituted in 2002. Gov. Culver made the announcement at the University of Iowa's Medical Education and Research Facility. He also announced that when he presents his budget to the legislature, he will include $12.5 million for the construction of Iowa's Center for Regenerative Medicine to be built at the university. "Simply lifting the ban will not be enough," said Gov. Culver. "We must commit state resources now to finding a cure and ensuring a high quality of life for future generations. Right now, Iowa is at a competitive disadvantage with other states. While surrounding states like Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri are moving forward to build research facilities, lure away our researchers and pass new legislation allowing embryonic stem cell research, Iowa continues to tie the hands of our best health science professionals with an outdated ban on this lifesaving research." The original ban was passed by the…

The question of whether or not there is enough opportunity for economic development through public-private investment in biosciences has been answered with a pretty strong “yes,” based on a report released Jan. 29 by Battelle and BIO.   Growing The Nation's Biotech Sector: A Regional Perspective reveals that more than half of the nation's 361 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) have a specialization (employment concentration that is 20 percent greater than the national average) in at least one of four major bioscience subsectors: drugs and pharmaceuticals; medical devices and equipment; research, testing and medical laboratories; and agricultural feedstocks and chemicals.   Many metro areas, including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and St. Louis, have a broad employment base in three or even four of the bioscience subsectors. Other metro areas are highly specialized in one or two particular subsectors, such as Minneapolis (medical devices), Washington, D.C. (research, testing, and medical labs), and Pittsburgh (research, testing, and medical labs and medical devices). Only two metro areas, Lincoln, Neb., and Madison,…

Imagine you're going into business for yourself. You will become an entrepreneur. Do you think you would stop to consider if you should relocate to a state with lower or even higher taxes before embarking on this venture?  Probably not.   At least that is a way to read the conclusions of a recent research paper published by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. The major conclusion of State Tax Policy and Entrepreneurial Activity, prepared by Donald Bruce of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and John Deskins of Creighton University in Omaha, finds “state tax policy, including both tax rates and the type of taxes in a state’s portfolio, has only a modest effect on aggregate state entrepreneurship rates.”   And that effect, albeit modest, is not always what one would expect. For instance, the authors found states with higher sales tax rates tend to have higher entrepreneurship rates. Top marginal tax rates on individual and corporate income do not have statistically significant effects on state entrepreneurship rates, nor does the composition of state tax portfolios (defined as the type of…

A new study of the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) reveals MTI's award programs have been effective in contributing to the success of its awardees and in increasing high-tech employment in the state. The MTI evaluation, conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Southern Maine, also found that the success rate of MTI's funded projects improved over the five-year history of the organization. Although the available indicators suggest that MTI is a profitable investment for the state, the CBER report recommends that MTI pursue new methods of tracking its role in high-tech economic development.   MTI is a state-supported nonprofit that serves as Maine’s primary vehicle to provide financial support for private sector R&D. Since its first year of activity in 2001, MTI has funded 791 technology development projects throughout the state and committed $32 million through its award programs. These programs include seed grants for early stage companies, development awards for later-stage projects, Accelerated Commercial Fund awards for previous recipients, Phase 0 SBIR awards, and a Cluster Enhancement program…