SSTI Digest

Both the Bush Administration and incoming Congressional Democrat leadership plan to put higher education under the spotlight in 2007, stressing issues of accessibility and cost containment. While their approaches to the problems will be different, both sides agree universities will play even greater roles in maintaining U.S. economic leadership in the 21st century than they have in the past. Accessibility and affordability are only two of the issues before the nation's universities and colleges. Increasingly, institutions of higher education are called on to support economic vitality through research and technology commercialization. States, local governments, foundations and business organizations are among those pushing academia in this direction through various TBED programs and policies. Universities that have been most effective in launching and supporting knowledge economies perform world-class research with internationally prominent faculty, state-of-the art research infrastructures, and leadership who view universities as partners with industry and government. As a result, many states have adopted a variety of…

It is unfortunate the word entrepreneurship has become as overused a buzzword as innovation because developing vibrant climates to support tech entrepreneurs remains one of the most important elements of successful state and local TBED. Not all entrepreneurship is created equal, however. The country's standard of living will decline if it were based entirely on low-wage retail and service businesses – even if every single one of them was created by budding entrepreneurs. The most successful regional economies in the U.S., according to the Small Business Administration, are built on a foundation of technology firms. Its tech entrepreneurship, then, that matters most. This fact is not lost on nearly every state and local TBED program across the country. A wide variety of approaches have been implemented throughout the U.S. with equally varied degrees of success. A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development outlines the most effective strategies for facilitating entrepreneurship. These strategies, the guide points out, often are labor and capital intensive,…

The public role in increasing access to capital is, perhaps, the most controversial element of TBED – if any of the public's role in the 21st century to strengthen competitiveness in a global knowledge economy is controversial. As researchers such as Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner have shown us, the availability of equity capital runs in cycles. In fact, presently, at the macro level and in some specific markets, there is an excess of private capital available. That 'fact' does not hold, however, in most regions of the country and even in many regions or industrial sectors of those states enjoying a surplus of capital. Maximizing the impact of public involvement in either the 'have' or 'have not' regions of the country, then, becomes of upmost importance to ensure the free market system is not negatively affected by poorly executed public policy. The research and interviews for developing A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development revealed capital-related TBED efforts can be divided into two distinct camps: those programs and policies that encourage success for private…

A Resource Guide for Technology-based Economic Development is available from SSTI as a free, downloadable PDF at http://www.ssti.org/Publications/Onlinepubs/resource_guide.pdf or as an inexpensive 90-page bound book (a format still more likely to be perused by most legislators or gubernatorial staff than a pile of printouts). Single print copies are $15 plus shipping and handling. SSTI members receive a 10 percent discount on each order. The guide can be ordered by calling SSTI at 614.901.1690 or ordering it online at SSTI's bookstore: http://www.ssti.org/Bookstore/merchant.mvc

So far this year, SSTI's Funding Supplement has made its subscribers aware of more than 1,450 different opportunities to secure funding. Another 40-50 new opportunities will be included in this week's issue. If you aren't a subscriber, your client companies, academic researchers, and state and local TBED efforts are at a significant disadvantage. Finding alternate sources of cash to support the research and the commercialization goals of your client companies and academic researchers is a valuable service provided by the most successful state and regional TBED programs – those programs subscribing to the Funding Supplement. Competition for federal research funding is growing, particularly as program budgets have been relatively flat or declining in recent federal budget cycles. But your tech companies and faculty researchers are at the greatest disadvantage if they are not even aware of all the opportunities available to them. Don't remain in the dark for 2007. Sign up your organization as one of SSTI's affiliate members today to begin your subscription to the SSTI Funding Supplement. Membership has…

Complete descriptions of the position openings described below are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), a nonprofit corporation that serves to promote Connecticut as a prime business location, is seeking a president and chief executive officer. Reporting to and working with the board of directors, CERC’s president and CEO develops a focused strategy consistent with the mission to enhance Connecticut’s economic growth. This strategy encourages and facilitates quality national and international businesses to locate, remain and expand in the state. A master’s degree in political science, economics, marketing or another related field is preferred. New Economy Strategies LLC (NES), a national and ever-increasingly international technology-focused economic development consultancy, is looking for a professional to join its rapidly growing practice as chief project manager and senior consultant. This position reports directly to the CEO and works cooperatively with the chief operations officer. The position requires a master's degree in economics, business, urban affairs or a…

Momentum Mississippi, the state’s public-private economic development strategy first funded with $28 million last summer, could see an additional $4 million for new TBED initiatives if the state legislature passes Gov. Haley Barbour’s recommendation during its next session. Gov. Barbour announced his plans during the annual board meeting of Momentum Mississippi, which was attended by more than 75 industrial, academic and civic leaders.   TBED topics dominated the first half of the group’s board meeting, outlining the need for increased public support to seed three grant programs intended to support university-industry research, technology commercialization and innovation grant programs. The programs, collectively called the Mississippi Technology Commercialization Fund, include: The Research and Development Voucher Fund, which would target Mississippi-based companies that have partnered with accredited higher education institutions within the state and are in need of seed and early-stage capital. Maximum funding for a single firm would be $200,000 over two years, not to exceed $100,000 each year. The same funding structure would be offered to…

In late October, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order designed to stimulate the growth and utilization of broadband networks throughout the state of California. Some the major components of this initiative include: Create a broadband task force comprised of individuals from the public and private sectors, to provide reports on how California can take advantage of opportunities and eliminate barriers to broadband access and adoption; Produce a pricing policy so private broadband firms can efficiently purchase the “right of way” to place broadband along state roads; Designate a single agency to be the lead coordinator for implementing broadband policy, which will also have the responsibility of mapping the existing broadband system and then creating a database to link private broadband companies with state transportation agencies; and, Make wireless Internet access available within more state buildings to deliver public meetings, training materials and other state resources. The governor’s office cites a handful of studies to support its efforts. For example, the California “One Gigabyte or Bust” Broadband Initiative claims that…

$190 million? $200 million? $250 million? Each of these figures has been advanced in Maine to support three different approaches toward tech-based economic development. The bottom line for the 2007 legislative session is Maine’s elected leaders - from the governor and the state assembly - believe a sizable injection of public funding is required to accelerate research and technology commercialization in the Pine Tree State.   On Monday, Gov. John Baldacci established a new council to develop an action plan to invest in R&D and the state’s most promising industrial clusters. The new group, dubbed the council on Jobs, Innovation, and the Economy, will immediately begin work designing a strategy to implement the recommendations of a recent Brookings Institution report on the needs of the Maine economy. That report provides a comprehensive set of investments in state communities and research intended to generate sustainable prosperity in tourism and high-tech business. The governor has commissioned the council, whose membership is composed of “active, younger members of the business community,” to collaborate with state officials and prepare…

As Ohio's General Assembly is poised to vote this week on whether or not to join a multi-state/province compact to govern use of Great Lake waters, the Brookings Institution is recommending a similar regional approach for coping with the area's economic future. The states within the Great Lakes region need to leverage their aggregate strengths and implement a number of policy innovations in order to adapt to the changing nature of the economy, according to a report released by the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution. The Vital Center: A Federal-State Compact to Renew the Great Lakes Region defines this region as the parts of 12 states that share a common geography, history, access to natural resources and economy - an economy that is struggling to change its perception from a rust belt area to one based on knowledge production. Using a systems approach to identify policy recommendations for the region, the Brookings report provides solutions within educational, economic, social, and infrastructure contexts. Additionally, it advises that the region, with its 97 million inhabitants, leverage its political…

Anyone connected to state and local efforts to increase the performance and commercialization success of SBIR awardees will not be surprised to learn the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report critical of how well the participating federal agencies and the Small Business Administration (SBA) provide information regarding awardees. In compiling the results for Small Business Innovation Research: Agencies Need to Strengthen Efforts to Improve the Completeness, Consistency and Accuracy of Awards Data, the GAO found several structural issues in how the participating agencies approach the administration of the grant program. Some agencies stated they did not collect all of the information required. In addition, GAO found approximately one-fourth of the data agencies submitted to SBA in 2004 and 2005 did not comply with formatting requirements, rendering it difficult to use in program evaluations and reporting. On the subject of reporting, the SBA was found to be five years behind schedule in meeting a 2001 congressional mandate to create a database of SBIR awardees. That database, to be restricted to government-only use, was to provide the…

The U.S. may lose its edge in advanced military technology if it does not increase national investment in basic defense research, according to a new report issue by the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. The group, comprised of organizations from academia and industry supporting investment in basic research, notes that though military R&D spending is at a record-high, the share of Department of Defense (DoD) science and technology investment dedicated to basic research has declined from 20 percent to 12 percent over the past 25 years.   Measuring the Moment: Innovation, National Security and Economic Competitiveness depicts U.S. basic research in all areas as underfunded, and insufficient to the task of maintaining U.S. competitiveness. As emerging countries in Asia, especially China, rapidly increase their R&D investments, U.S. investment appears to be stagnant. Both Japan and Korea have already surpassed the U.S. in gross R&D expenditure as a proportion of gross domestic product. The U.S. faces an even more difficult challenge in competing against foreign universities. In 2002, only 17 percent of U.S. undergraduate…