SSTI Digest

A newly established policy academy providing guidance and technical assistance will help seven states improve their environment for innovation and align state R&D investments, workforce development and education systems with current and future needs of advanced manufacturing industries. The policy academy will help each state develop a plan or overcome barriers for putting a plan into action through a highly interactive team-based process that includes input from NGA, MEP, EDA, SSTI, private sector consultants, and research organizations. Participating states include Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. Ideas and strategies resulting from the academy's work will serve as models for all states. NIST, MEP and EDA are providing funding, leadership and technical assistance to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Learn more...

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently released details about Advantage Illinois, an initiative that will provide financing and assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses. Initial funding for the initiative will be provided by the federal government through the U.S. Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will administer the program, will use the $78 million in federal funding to spur private lending to small- and medium-sized businesses.

Advantage Illinois will incorporate four individual programs, including:

From undertaking a joint regional initiative to improve two cities' competitiveness in advanced manufacturing to launching an effort for engaging venture capital companies and bringing in top university students to showcase area opportunities, mayors in Lexington and Louisville, Boston and Chicago recognize the value in promoting their cities as top destinations for growing tech-based economies. While each of the three recent announcements detailed below target different sectors of the innovation economy, they share the same mission of making their region more desirable for startups.

Boston

Gov. Pat Quinn this week signed into law two bills in support of tech-based companies and student entrepreneurs. SB 107 builds on the state's Technology Development Account, which allows the state to invest up to 1 percent of its investment portfolio in venture capital firms that in turn invest in technology-based businesses. The new law increases the amount to 2 percent. Companies may use the funding for R&D, marketing new products and workforce expansion. Another bill signed by Gov. Quinn creates the Higher Education Technology Entrepreneur Center Act. This allows the board of trustees at the state's public universities and community colleges to establish a technology entrepreneur center. The centers will offer mentors, workshops, a structured course of work study to bring an innovation from concept to market, and provide contacts with potential private-sector investors.

Pamela Goldberg has been appointed as the executive director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Currently, Goldberg serves as director of entrepreneurial leadership at Tufts University.

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley announced the appointment of Greg Canfield as the new director of the Alabama Development Office. Current ADO director Seth Hammett is returning to his position with PowerSouth Energy. Canfield is expected to begin his duties on or before Aug. 1.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced that Jim Leftwich is resigning as director of the Development Department. Leftwich, former CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition, stepped in as former director Mark Kvamme moved to a different position within the administration.

Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Innovation Council launched a new initiative to facilitate business and research collaboration and to provide services to the state's high-tech entrepreneurs. The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) will be connected to Startup Illinois, the first Startup Region to be introduced by the national Startup America Partnership. Read the announcement...

Karel Schubert has been appointed executive director of the Bioscience Association of West Virginia. Schubert most recently founded and is the chief executive officer of BioSynectics, a St. Louis-based bioscience firm.

J. Michael Saul, deputy director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, who served as interim director for a year, is stepping down. Saul had overseen the agency's capital programs such as the Small Business Loan Fund.

Chelsea Burket has joined the team at Fourth Economy as a research assistant.

TechNet and the Illinois Technology Association announced a new strategic partnership to collaborate on a dual state-federal policy and political program for Illinois' fast-growing and emerging technology companies. s

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, a semi-autonomous Hawaii State agency that developed and manages a globally unique and innovative technology incubation and commercial park in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, currently is seeking an Executive Director. The Executive Director will lead and execute NELHA's mission to develop new and diversified drivers for the Hawaii economy by providing resources, facilities and services for energy technology and ocean science research, education and commercialization activities.

The Illinois Science and Technology Coalition is seeking aProgram Director, Innovation and Special Initiatives.

Key traits of the ideal candidate include:

The ability to analyze technical information. Experience with / knowledge of federal and state government. Experience with competitive funding proposals and grant writing. The ability to review public budgets, administrative rules and legislation.

 

The sixth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Carolina. The first five installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan. 26 and Feb. 9 issues of the Digest.

Connecticut

Gov. Dan Malloy, Budget Address, Feb. 16, 2011

“We are combining our economic development efforts under one agency so we can have a single powerful voice when it comes to attracting, retaining, and growing jobs in Connecticut...like our new First Five initiative that will offer powerful incentives to the first five companies that bring hundreds of new jobs to Connecticut.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina. Read the full release

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed legislation approving a new tax credit to encourage angel investment and extending the state's R&D tax credit one more year. The Innovation Development and Economy Act (SB 2093) allows eligible angel and early-stage institutional investors to take a 25 percent tax credit on investments in small, technology firms. Up to $2 million may be claimed on an individual investment for a $500,000 tax credit. The program is capped at $10 million and will be effective on Jan 1, 2011.

Passed unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly, SB 3655 extends the state's R&D tax credit for one more year. The provision allows for a tax credit equal to 6.5 percent of qualifying expenditures that increase R&D activities in Illinois. These expenditures include, for example, technological and experimental research whose purpose is to develop new or improved components, functions, performance, reliability or quality.

SB 2093 is available at: http://ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/96/PDF/096-0939.pdf.

A group of inventors, academics and researchers presented an aspirational list of inventors' rights at the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Annual Meeting held last week. The Academic Inventors' Bill of Rights includes protections for researchers and students to prevent onerous university intellectual property policies and lack of transparency from preventing successful commercialization. The full document will be available later this week at:  http://www.ipadvocate.org/