SSTI Digest

The Oct. 25 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest previewed ballot issues in six states that would have implications for their respective state efforts to grow a knowledge-based economy. The unofficial results at press time for each are provided below:

Unofficial results posted today on the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) website reveals political control of at least 10 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers (Nebraska has a unicameral legislature resulting in the odd total for the country) changed parties in yesterday's election.

NCSL reports "Based on unofficial results, the Democrats won the Colorado House, Colorado Senate, North Carolina House, Oregon Senate, Vermont House and Washington Senate. In case of the Colorado and Washington chambers, the margin of victory is only one seat, and recounts are expected in several districts."

Republicans took control of the Georgia House, Indiana House, Oklahoma House and Tennessee Senate.

Gov. Rick Perry announced last month a long-term, strategic job creation plan that will focus state efforts on six industry clusters that economists say will be the engine of future job creation and economic growth in the U.S. Although the state already has an advantage in terms of a growing workforce, the key is retaining workers that are skilled and trained in emerging technology fields, the governor said.

A study conducted for the Texas Workforce Commission identified the following clusters for the state:

Venture capital (VC) investing dipped in the third quarter of 2004, with $4.3 billion going to 601 companies, according to the latest MoneyTree™ Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and National Venture Capital Association. The Q3 2004 figure was below the prior quarter of $5.9 billion, but equal to the $4.3 billion posted in Q3 2003.

The Life Sciences sector continued to dominate as it has for the past nine consecutive quarters, among MoneyTree™ Survey highlights. Investments in the sector totaled $1.26 billion, or 29 percent of all venture capital. Biotechnology and Medical Devices, the sector's two components, accounted for $771.4 million and $486.3 million, respectively. Seventy-five biotech and 52 medical device companies were funded during the quarter.

Four Greensboro, N.C., economic development organizations – the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Partnership, Action Greensboro and the Development Corp. – have agreed to consolidate into the Greensboro Partnership.

The New Century Technology Council has changed its name to the NewVa Corridor Technology Council to reflect the regional branding campaign underway for the Roanoke area.

While the presidential election has been dominating the news, voters across the country will be acting on an array of tech-based economic development issues on Election Day next week. The largest is an initiative in California that would provide up to $3 billion for embryonic stem cell research. If approved by California voters, Proposition 71 would have the potential of significantly changing the landscape of where stem cell research is carried out and have significant economic development implications.

Separate reports released in the past two weeks, one by a national outsourcing firm and the other by a Congressionally mandated commission, reveal efforts to create jobs faster than they are being eliminated remains a challenge for many sectors of the U.S. economy.

Quarterly Figures for Information & Communications Tech Job Cuts Computer and related high-wage tech job cuts jumped 60 percent in the third quarter, according to the latest quarterly survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The 54,701 positions lost during the summer brings the total to 118,427 so far this year.

The largest number of layoff intentions were at computer companies, which planned 30,624 cuts in the third quarter (127 percent increase over the previous quarter). Also seeing increased job cutting are telecommunications (+8 percent to 19,825) and electronics (+75 percent to 4,092).

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced $14.4 million in Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) grants to 27 organizations in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Historically, TOP has been one of the most competitive tech-based economic development grant programs offered by the federal government, and 2004 was no exception – 494 applications were received, requesting $277.1 million.

This year's grantees represent a variety of nonprofit organizations and public institutions, including hospitals, K-12 schools, libraries, universities, public safety agencies, community technology providers, and city and county governments. Partnerships with the private sector and state and local organizations are required, leveraging the $14.4 million in federal funds with commitments in non-federal matching funds totaling $16.9 million.

According to Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Kentucky is on the wrong side of a widening digital divide as the Commonwealth ranks 44th in its proportion of high-tech companies, 45th in household computer use, and 43rd in citizen Internet use. To help improve these figures, the governor has called for a broadband deployment and adoption plan that will leverage state, federal and private investment to have full, statewide broadband deployment by 2007.

The plan, Prescription for Innovation: Delivering Broadband Technology for a 21st Century, will address challenges of Kentucky businesses and residents by identifying their needs and implementing community-specific plans. Building upon the success of the rural broadband bill signed earlier this year (see the May 24 issue of the Digest), the plan will address the supply-side and demand-side issues resulting from full deployment and increased adoption.

The biopharmaceutical industry is poised to become an important source of economic growth in regions that are successful in nurturing it, according to a recent report from the Milken Institute. With so many states and communities focusing significant financial resources toward developing bio-based economies, the industry analysis is likely to be welcome news.

Biopharmaceutical Industry Contributions to State and U.S. Economics demonstrates the strong economic impact that the biopharmaceutical industry already has on state and U.S. economies. In addition, the report includes 10-year projections that maintain the total employment impact by 2014 will increase to more than 3.6 million and real output will reach $305.1 billion -- assuming government policies continue to encourage basic and applied R&D in the biopharmaceutical field.

Finland remains the most competitive economy in the world and tops the rankings for the second consecutive year in The Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005, released earlier this month by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The U.S. is in second position, followed by Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, respectively.

The rankings are drawn from the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive survey conducted by WEF that polled more than 8,700 business leaders in 104 economies worldwide. The survey questionnaire is designed to capture those factors affecting an economy’s business environment that are key determinants of sustained economic growth. Particular attention is placed on elements of the macroeconomic environment, the quality of public institutions underpinning the development process, and the level of technological readiness and innovation.

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill received top honors as the most entrepreneurial campus in a Princeton Review survey of 357 schools and universities across the country. Moving UNC-Chapel Hill to the top of the list were such things as offering entrepreneurship as a major for its undergraduate business degree and several programs to help students launch their own careers as entrepreneurs.