SSTI Digest

While some state legislatures debate banning public funds for some or all stem cell research, others are using whatever funding tools they have available to advance the controversial science. Some states use tobacco settlement money, others use revenue bonds, and still others use direct appropriations. Some states use voter referenda while most stay within the traditional state legislative process. The newest twist comes from Illinois, where Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is using an executive order to commit $10 million toward stem cell research. Announcing the initiative in concert with Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Gov. Blagojevich says the new Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute (IRMI) will award grants to medical research facilities for the development of treatments and cures. The program will be administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health and is expected to be operational by the end of the year. The governor’s Executive Order directs that the IRMI program will provide funding for stem cell research that involves adult, cord blood and embryonic stem cells.…

The Oregon Legislature overwhelmingly passed S.B. 853 last week, creating venture development funds to facilitate technology commercialization for students and faculty at the state's seven public universities. Under the legislation, revenue for the newly created funds will come from donors who, in turn, receive credit on their state income tax returns. The development funds will use capital raised through university foundations to bridge the gap between an idea and the point where private investors become interested. Bill sponsor Frank Morse (R-Albany) said the program will have minimal impact on state revenue and will not cost the state money that would be spent on vital state services. Universities that license the inventions are required to return 20 percent of the royalty and licensing fees to the state treasury until the tax credit is recaptured. Proponents say the program has the potential to return millions as companies reimburse the state to cover the cost of credits and create jobs. Purposes of the fund are to provide: …

For many practitioners, the quickest summary of a recent 16-page analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York might be "something has to change." Looking at job creation since the recovery began three years ago, Richard Freeman and William Rogers III state in The Weak Jobs Recovery: Whatever Happened to "The Great American Jobs Machine"? that this is the worst recovery in all post-World War II recoveries. The analysis states 17 months of job growth since August 2003 has barely kept pace with increases in population. As a result, "It would take employment growth of some 300,000 per month over the next year and a half to bring the employment-population rate to the 64.4 level it held during 2000." The monthly average since August 2003 has been less than half that at 146,000. And that figure is even underwhelming in that other research, the authors point out, indicates as much of 30 percent of all job growth since 2001 has been temporary-help services. The negative news keeps coming in other key findings of the report: Slow jobs growth is not due to…

The quality of the economic performance assessment of federal programs has improved, but gaps still remain in the application of the measures used, according to the latest report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Released this week, the GAO report highlights the findings and recommendations of a panel it convened in December 2004 to discuss economic performance measures. The panel of government and academe participants sought to discuss the use of economic analysis, such as benefit cost or cost effectiveness, for helping to assess federal programs' performance. Participants were selected based on various qualifications related to the subject matter. Their findings, as expressed in the report, include: The quality of the economic performance assessment of federal programs has improved but is still highly variable and not sufficient to adequately inform decision-makers. The gaps in applying economic performance measures are that they are not widely used, mechanisms for revisiting a regulation or program are lacking, retrospective analyses are…

A new resource published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) argues that indices claiming to measure the same thing - namely, the capacity or potential for economic growth - often vary widely in their results and are not effective yardsticks of economic potential. In Grading Places, the nonprofit research institute EPI critiques five major business ranking indices, examining their methodology and validity. EPI observes that the rankings used in each index are based on each organization's own version of an index. Such indices are designed to show which states or cities have the best business climate, for example, yet share only one thing in common -- the agreement that places with lower taxes and fewer government regulations are better. Reports based on the rankings in these indices then go on to draw explicit policy recommendations such as cutting taxes and reducing regulations, leading states and cities to believe they will experience more business investment, more job creation, or more small business development, EPI states. The recommendations only hold…

Rebecca Bagley is the new Deputy Secretary for Technology Investment in the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development. Former University of Washington President Lee Huntsman is the first director of Washington's Life Sciences Discovery Fund. John Shields, president of the Alabama Technology Network since 1996, stepped down June 30. Mike Bailey is the new president. Maurice Swinton recently announced he has accepted the position of Program Manager for the Advanced Technology Office (ATO) of the Department of Homeland Security. Among its responsibilities, the ATO oversees the agency's SBIR/STTR programs. Citing a reorganizing, the Delaware Economic Development Office fired 20 percent of its staff (10 positions) last Thursday. According to the Associated Press and local news sources, among those relieved of their duties were Janet Wurtzel, chief operating officer, and Rob Propes, entrepreneurial and small business support director.

Rebecca Bagley is the new Deputy Secretary for Technology Investment in the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development.

Former University of Washington President Lee Huntsman is the first director of Washington's Life Sciences Discovery Fund.

John Shields, president of the Alabama Technology Network since 1996, stepped down June 30. Mike Bailey is the new president.

Maurice Swinton recently announced he has accepted the position of Program Manager for the Advanced Technology Office (ATO) of the Department of Homeland Security. Among its responsibilities, the ATO oversees the agency's SBIR/STTR programs.

Citing a reorganizing, the Delaware Economic Development Office fired 20 percent of its staff (10 positions) last Thursday. According to the Associated Press and local news sources, among those relieved of their duties were Janet Wurtzel, chief operating officer, and Rob Propes, entrepreneurial and small business support director.

The U.S. can watch as another country significantly expands its investments in innovation. This time it's France, as newly appointed Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin last month announced that the national government will double its funding from €500 million to €1 billion for the Industrial Innovation Agency (IIA), and give €350 million to the National Research Agency (ANR). The recently created Industrial Innovation Agency, announced earlier this year by President Jacques Chirac, was set up to fund large national champions in industrial R&D and technology development programs. Prime Minister de Villepin on June 18 stated that the funding to the IIA would back commercial projects in the fields of solar energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology and bio-fuels, according to the European Business New. Companies from other European countries are expected to be eligible for funding along with French firms. The ANR, announced by Prime Minister Raffarin in 2004, was created to support the development of basic and…