SSTI Digest

One of the differences between technology-based economic development (TBED) and more traditional approaches to promoting economic growth is TBED's orientation that while all jobs may be important, they are not created equal. Traditional economic development may provide millions of dollars for financial incentives and infrastructure construction assistance for a shopping mall or "big box" retailer that provides many poverty-level wage positions or part-time jobs. Investment in TBED, however, may direct the public's limited resources toward creating and sustaining companies requiring higher skilled employees, paying higher wages, and increasing the standard of living for its residents. But what constitutes a high wage job? A measure for creating wealth is to improve an area's per capita personal income, the total personal income received by all persons in a given area divided by the population of that same area. Broadly speaking, jobs that pay more than the per capita personal income would be preferable to those paying less. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has released the 2003 figures…

The National Science Board recently named Mary Good to be the recipient of the 2004 Vannevar Bush Award for "her life-long contributions to science, engineering and technology, and for leadership throughout her multi-faceted career." Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development. Robin Siss, Vermont's first commissioner for the Department of Information and Innovation, has announced her resignation. Siss began the position in August. Denise Fehr will serve as acting commissioner. Katherine Willis, the founding president of Cyber-state.org, has announced her retirement. Jeff Moore will serve as interim president.

The National Science Board recently named Mary Good to be the recipient of the 2004 Vannevar Bush Award for "her life-long contributions to science, engineering and technology, and for leadership throughout her multi-faceted career."

Sean O'Kane, a hotel manager from Manchester, N.H., has been confirmed as the new commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Robin Siss, Vermont's first commissioner for the Department of Information and Innovation, has announced her resignation. Siss began the position in August. Denise Fehr will serve as acting commissioner.

Katherine Willis, the founding president of Cyber-state.org, has announced her retirement. Jeff Moore will serve as interim president.

In an attempt to attract more bioscience firms, Florida will invest up to $1 billion of its $102 billion employee pension fund into venture capital, the State Board of Administration recently announced. A forum was held last week by Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, to outline the investment plan to more than 80 venture capitalists in attendance. Leading the forum was Coleman Stipanovich, director of the State Board of Administration, Richard Lerner, president of the Scripps Research Institute and Gov. Jeb Bush. The pension fund is part of $5 billion the state puts into alternative funds to be used for higher risk investments, Stipanovich said. The first installment will be $350 million during the next 12 months. With the Scripps Institute set to receive $569 million in state and county funds to build a research campus in 2006, spinoff research likely will be passed on to new companies in Florida, the Palm Beach Post reports. The message being sent to investors, the newspaper contends, is Florida becomes a good place to invest capital. The Scripps Institute is obligated to…

Two legislative bills encompassing economic development priorities of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin initiative recently were signed to provide assistance for both entrepreneurs and manufacturers. Senate Bill 261 creates two tax credit programs to spur investment in start-up companies and fosters a new measure to provide funding and technical assistance to entrepreneurs. To encourage investors to take a chance on new Wisconsin companies, SB 261 offers $65 million in tax credits over the next 10 years. When fully deployed, the credits will leverage more than $260 million of investments from the private sector, Gov. Doyle said. The second part of the act provides $2.6 million for technology commercialization grant and loan programs in order to create a network of assistance centers to support entrepreneurs. Also signed was Assembly Bill 859, which aims to restore Wisconsin's manufacturing sector. Gov. Doyle noted that the industry has lost more than 84,000 jobs in the last three years. Under the legislation, $1.5 million in funding will be allotted to manufacturing extension programs…

The U.S. cannot take its position as a world leader of innovation and research for granted, suggest new initiatives sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation. A report released on April 21 by NSF states the U.S. must take action, pointing out that invention requires both ingenuity and a skilled workforce. The task force - a group of 14 organizations associated with business and academia - unveiled its own advocacy campaign a day earlier, calling upon the federal government to grow the budgets of several key research agencies. Targeted for policymakers and the public, the task force's initiative is aimed at reversing a decline in federal investment in basic research in the physical sciences and engineering. The decline, the task force says, puts at risk the development of new technologies, new industries and high-value jobs. Basic research in areas such as chemistry, physics, nanotechnology, genomics and semiconductor manufacturing has brought about some of the most significant innovations of the last 20 years, the task…

Small firms, as much as large ones, may be key to the nation's ability to innovate, particularly in emerging fields, according to data published by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A report released earlier this year by SBA's Office of Advocacy shows that large firms in the biotechnology, medical electronics, semiconductor, and telecommunications industries are citing patents by small firms in higher-than-expected numbers. The report, Small Firms and Technology: Acquisitions, Inventor Movement, and Technology Transfer, examines small firms' contribution to the innovation process through acquisition by larger firms and the hiring of elite inventors. Also considered is large firms' dependence on small firm technology through patent citations. The report's conclusions are drawn from two 1,000-plus databases of company patent activity from 1996 to 2000 and from 1998 to 2002. Small businesses represent a growing share of the country's highly innovative firms (defined as those with 15 or more patents during either of the two study periods), increasing from 33 percent of the pool in 2000 to…

The National Science Foundation has released a new statistical report entitled Federal Funds for Research and Development: Fiscal Years 2001, 2002, and 2003. Included among the 112 tables are 10 presenting the 2001 data by geographic distribution, performer and federal agency. Federal obligations for research and development in 2001 totaled $78.078 billion. One-fourth of the total was for intramural R&D -- research activities taking place within many federal labs, research centers and military installations. With $5.435 billion, Maryland captures the greatest share of federal intramural research. California, the District of Columbia and Virginia make up distant second, third and fourth place finishes, respectively. The extramural, or external, portion of federal R&D expenditures is performed by industry, academia, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), other nonprofit institutions and state and local governments. These funds, in excess of $58.5 billion in 2001, are awarded through a variety of competitive and noncompetitive methods. It is important to note, the FFRDCs include R…

Alexandria, La. An Alexandria native is looking to give his city its first research park, according to the Daily Town Talk. Originally proposed in November 2002, developer Jeff Richardson's plan would combine city resources as well as those of Louisiana State University and Southern University. The plan's first phase would cost $1.1 million annually, employing 15 workers, as part of a U.S. Navy project. The second phase would average about $1.5 million annually and add 10-12 positions. Farmingdale, N.Y. Following several years of anticipation, supporters of the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park expansion at Farmingdale State University can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The park will add a second building to its campus, starting this August, with the $17.2 million it received from the State University Construction Fund earlier this month, Newsday recently reported. Approval for financing of the 50,000-square-foot addition was in the works since the first building opened in 2000. Of the 20 acres available, only six are presently used by the park. A third building that…