SSTI Digest

The Administration's $593 million FY 2006 request for the Small Business Administration (SBA) represents a 3 percent decrease from the FY 2005 appropriation. Funding levels for selected activities identified as "core programs" in the agency's press release include: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) - $88 million (1.1 percent decrease) to support 1,100 SBDCs around the country that provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. Women's Business Centers (WBC) - $12 million (2.7 percent decrease) to support 84 WBCs located throughout the U.S. to promote the growth of women-owned businesses 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 (1.4 percent increase) to support 389 chapter offices to provide entrepreneurs with free, confidential face-to-face and email business counseling services. National Women's Business Council - $750,000 (1.3 percent…

The first four installments of SSTI's annual look at how TBED will play in the 2005 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, State of the Commonwealth Address, Feb. 1, 2005 "The tax plan I offer tonight includes incentives to help promote education and economic growth...I'm proposing a tuition tax credit of up to 500 dollars for each student going to Kentucky colleges and universities. "...Additionally, several other incentives are included: a Kentucky enterprise initiative to give tax credits for hard construction and research and development costs...I’ve also proposed Brownfield credits, clean coal technology credits, environmental stewardship credits and alternative fuel credits. This plan promotes economic development while being environmentally responsible." Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, State-of-the-State Address, Feb. 3, 2005 "We are creating a division within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity…

Gov. Christine Gregoire announced the first stages of her economic development program last Wednesday, highlighted by a proposal to inject $35 million annually starting in 2008 for the next 10 years into life sciences research at the state's universities. Gov. Gregoire also requested legislation be introduced this week that would facilitate the transfer of technology from research institutions to the private sector. Gov. Gregoire said the payoff of the proposed Life Sciences Discovery Fund would be twofold, with a strengthening of the state's reputation as a bioscience center and the creation of as many as 20,000 new jobs in the next 10-15 years. The state legislature and the administration of former Gov. Gary Locke had grappled with increasing the state's biotech investment for the past two years, yet no final funding package ever emerged from the legislature. Gov. Gregoire and the state's private and academic life sciences research community is hopeful the new version of the proposal will be more palatable. Washington currently is one of the top five states in the nation in drawing…

The nation's most significant source of funding for life science research, the National Institutes of Health, announced two sweeping changes last week that could dramatically alter biotechnology commercialization. The first policy change addresses known and potential conflicts of interest by NIH employees, while the second encourages all NIH-funded research to be released publicly within 12 months of final publication. Issues of Ethics Over the past year, NIH has been addressing the ethics issues raised by the outside consulting activities of several of its employees. Under the new rules, all NIH employees are prohibited from engaging in certain outside employment with: 1) substantially affected organizations, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; 2) supported research institutions, including NIH grantees; 3) health care providers and insurers; and 4) related trade, professional or similar associations. Investments in organizations substantially affected by NIH, such as the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, also are not allowed for those employees who are required…

The latest email from the Reseau Innovation Network's Innovation Newsletter out of Canada and the D.C.-based Public Forum Institute's National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship called to SSTI's attention two websites with online access to more than 60 academic research papers of potential interest and importance to those interested in encouraging economic growth through innovation, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and public policy. SSTI will highlight selected papers in Digest articles over the coming weeks, but links to all of the works and brief introductions to the sites are provided below. Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics (DRUID) 2005 Winter Conference Link to papers: http://www.druid.dk/ocs/papers.php?first_letter=all&cf=2 DRUID's latest meeting in January once again meets expectations as one of Europe's leading conferences for advancing the latest thinking on tech-based economic development issues. The link above provides access to abstracts and full PDFs for the 54 papers presented this year. Selected titles include: A Life Cycle…

In January, Rhode Island's Tech Collective announced the creation of BioGroup, a subsidiary to focus on the needs of the state's life science industry. The new organization will serve as the state affiliate to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The San Diego Regional Technology Alliance has become a component of CONNECT at the University of California-San Diego. Under the new name, RTA@CONNECT, the Alliance will focus on delivering training and entrepreneurial assistance services. The Tucson area's economic development efforts were centralized with the creation of the Regional Economic Development Corp. in late January. Staff are expected to be shifted to the new group from the Tucson Office of Economic Development, which is closing, and from Pima County. The Tucson Citizen reported the merger "virtually" closes the Greater Tucson Economic Council by eliminating public support of $710,000 for the council activities. The Regional Economic Development Corp will have a combined budget from the city and county of $5 million for its first year. The Kansas City Star…

By the end of the week, SSTI will be sending Digest subscribers our ninth annual review of the president's federal budget proposal. We will highlight dozens of science and technology programs and initiatives of interest to our readers. Early indications are the 2006 request, released this afternoon, if enacted would result in significant changes for nearly every program of importance for the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. A few leaked headlines over the past few days set an ominous tone: CDBG and Treasury programs merged with the Economic Development Administration and cut by $13 billion; and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership slashed 57 percent. Grappling with record deficits and a pledge to cut the deficit in half over four years, the Administration's budget proposal, as always, will reveal its priorities for strengthening the country's position as the leader of the global knowledge economy. The special Federal Budget Issue of the Digest takes the place of the Feb. 14, 2005, issue. No Funding Supplement Next Week The Digest's Funding…

Gov. John Huntsman, Jr. named Jack Brittain, dean of the University of Utah Business School, vice president in charge of the new Office of Technology Ventures. Brittain, dubbed the "innovation czar," will continue to lead the business school in addition to his new position.

Gov. Jim Doyle named Mary Burke as the new head of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. Burke replaces Cory Nettles, who resigned last month.

Rose-Hulman Ventures President Jim Eifert and Executive Vice President Brij Khorana resigned their positions to return to faculty duties at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  

John Maxson, former president of the Illinois Coalition, was named CEO of The Greater North Michigan Avenue Association.

Michael Relyea was named deputy executive director of the New York State Office of Science and Technology Academic Research.