SSTI Digest

Is Pennsylvania getting enough bang -- or the right bang -- from its investments in promoting a tech-based economy? The state has been one of the nation's leading public investors in technology-based economic development (TBED) for more than 20 years. Programs have evolved and been added over the years as factors affecting innovation and private sector growth changed. The result is now Pennsylvania's researchers and entrepreneurs have a complex portfolio of public-private resources available to them.

Understanding the function served by the various TBED policies, programs and TBED initiatives toward transforming the state's economy is a goal of a new report from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

Goal is improved service delivery, advocacy for tech community To produce a more focused and effective effort in the areas of commercialization and advocacy, the Illinois Coalition has divided into two separate public-private organizations.

The coalition’s historical goal of enhancing Illinois’ research structure by advocating for large-scale research and development (R&D) investment will remain the same, while the newly formed entity, the Illinois Technology Development Alliance (IDTA), will work with technology enterprises in accessing capital and establishing growth.

The Kauffman Foundation recently launched "Giving Back to Entrepreneurship," a website dedicated to informing entrepreneurs how they can use their energy and creativity to support their communities and help jumpstart the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Giving back can include both financial and service contributions. For example, dedicating one's time and expertise to activities such as mentoring, serving on boards, teaching or contributing to online or print publications for entrepreneurs provides valuable services without a financial commitment.

As a percentage, Silicon Valley has lost more jobs over the past four years than any U.S. metropolitan area since 1939, but evidence shows the region is stabilizing with a return to levels reminiscent of the late 1990s. Funding for venture capital is up, per capita income is increasing, and research and development funding has reached new highs. Yet, the region's most striking feature of late is, perhaps, the way it is growing, according to the 2005 Index of Silicon Valley.

The index, recently released by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, shows the state of the region's economy is a muddled picture depending on how far back one goes to measure it. Since 2004, the results are positive, but medium-term-and-beyond comparisons reveal sharp declines. If one benchmarks the region against pre-dot.com levels, then it would appear the Valley has "resumed an incremental pattern of growth," the authors say.

Editor's Note: Last week's issue of the Digest included a Recent Research item, Are Leading Firms Team Players? that drew an animated reaction from a reader whose opinion SSTI holds in great respect because of his contributions to improving the understanding and delivery of technology-based economic development initiatives. As a result, Dr. Jerry Paytas, director of the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Economic Development, accepted our request to prepare an alternative review of Andrea Morrison's "Gatekeepers of Knowledge" within Industrial Districts: Who They Are, How They Interact. He is joined in this response by Dr. Donald F. Smith Jr., university director of economic development for Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh.

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.

The first two 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

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, State of the State Address, Jan. 18, 2005 "I ask you, in particular, to provide a Small Business Investment Incentive, giving modest relief...to small firms that take the risk to add jobs. To stimulate the formation of new small businesses, I propose that existing local economic development funds be freed to establish new venture capital funds in each region of our state.

Business community advocacy for public investments in technology-based economic development (TBED) may make the difference between legislators appropriating programs $1 million or $100 million. Most importantly, active private sector engagement in establishing, implementing and overseeing a state or community's TBED agenda speeds realization of the true benefits of public-private TBED partnerships: more competitive and innovative companies, more high-yield investment opportunities, more high paying jobs, and a more skilled workforce.

Unfortunately, often the largest business associations in town -- the chambers of commerce -- are the last to embrace the long-term investments necessary to effect real positive change in their communities or states. In other regions, chamber involvement stems from a one-upmanship philosophy that also grips many politicians, as we're seeing in the escalating battle between the states to simply spend the most in stem cell research.

We greatly appreciate the praise and suggestions we've received from readers regarding the Tech-based Economic Development (TBED) Resource Center, a cooperative project of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy and SSTI. The new online library contains links to more than 1,300 research reports, strategic plans, best practices and impact analyses from state and federal government, university researchers and foundations.

Based on initial user input, we've added capability to search by author and by date entered. The year of publication also will be shown in search results.

We welcome additional suggestions for the site and recommendations of materials to include in this free resource. To browse the collection or make a suggestion, visit: http://www.tbedresourcecenter.org.

To fulfill a goal within the state's 2010 Initiative of becoming a recognized leader in research and technology development, the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development will operate an Office of Commercialization under the direction of Mel Ustad, current Interim Vice President for Research at the University of South Dakota.

The Office of Commercialization serves two purposes, according to Jim Hagen, secretary of the Department of Tourism and State Development. Its main function will be to coordinate technology transfer from university and private research centers to the private sector. The office also will facilitate the commercialization of that research, Hagen said.

Anyone working with an entrepreneur knows they like to write their own rules. The latest survey characterizing the world's pool of entrepreneurial talent finds a large majority of them also write their own checks to finance their businesses. It's easier to write - and change - the rules when you also control the purse strings.

Seventy-three million people are nascent entrepreneurs or own or manage a young business, according to the 2004 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) released today. Directed by Babson College and the London Business School, the report is the largest annual measure of entrepreneurial activity worldwide.

Large industrial or technology firms are often sought by economic development recruiters to serve as anchors for cluster development. Once an anchor is attracted, policymakers often nurture local industrial districts as ways to promote transmission of technical know-how and deepen industrial relationships. Does the strategy work?

Not always, according to a recent working paper by Andrea Morrison of Universita del Piemonte Orientale, Gatekeepers of Knowledge within Industrial Districts: Who They Are, How They Interact.