SSTI Digest

Sixty-two organizations in 44 states and the District of Columbia will receive a total of $3.5 billion in tax credit allocations through the second competitive round of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, the Treasury Department recently announced. Several of the selected organizations have a national market perspective.

Established by Congress in 2000, NMTC attracts private-sector capital investment into urban and rural low-income areas to help finance community development projects, stimulate economic opportunity and create jobs in the selected areas. The NMTC Program permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in investment vehicles known as Community Development Entities (CDEs).

A new economic development council formed in South Carolina has been charged with two objectives: help reshape the state’s economy and raise its per-capita income. Members of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, a group of business, academia, government and economic development leaders, were announced earlier this month.

During an events session in Columbia, co-chairs Gov. Sanford and Ed Sellers, the chairman and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield, met with the council members, asking them to advance the goals of a report that grew out of the South Carolina Competitiveness Initiative. The Initiative was a collaborative effort including individuals from the Palmetto Institute, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Palmetto Business Forum, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation, and the University of South Carolina and managed by the Monitor Group.

A new report from the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), A Toolkit for Evaluating Public R&D Investment, provides useful information to anyone interested in evaluating publicly-sponsored research and development (R&D) programs. While the report focuses on more than 40 evaluations that have been performed for ATP, it offers one of the most comprehensive and understandable overviews of evaluation methods and applying those approaches.

In one section, the authors provide a general framework for evaluation, discussing evaluation fundamentals, including the objectives and steps of evaluation, and choosing various methods of evaluation. The advantages and disadvantages of a variety of approaches, including surveys, case studies, bibliometrics, historical tracing and expert judgment, are described.

Community colleges can play an important part in shaping the workforce in the science and technology (S&T) sector. For example, with the growth in biotech, there is an increasing need for technicians in the biotech field and workers are finding that they can prepare for these jobs rather quickly in community colleges. Technicians in biotech manufacturing facilities generally have two-year specialized training or an associate degree from a technical or community college, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. With overall employment expected to increase, particularly in biotech, the field is attracting more displaced workers.

North Carolina community colleges are embracing this new role as they prepare for the development of six new biotech centers to be hosted within the state’s community colleges. Earlier this month, the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges accepted recommendations to distribute $4.4 million in grant awards to the centers.

The Department of Defense (DoD) distributed $152.9 million in awards under its fiscal year 2003 Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program competitions. A total of 1,882 awards were selected from a pool of more than 15,000 proposals across all states and the District of Columbia.

DoD's SBIR Program provides up to $850,000 in early-stage research and development (R&D) funding directly to small technology companies. Between SBIR and the department's Small Business Technology Transfer Program, which supports small companies working with researchers at universities and other research institutions, DoD funds more than $1 billion annually in early-stage R&D projects.

New Mexico Firms Would Receive $30M in Venture Funding New Mexico might be close to closing on two venture deals worth a combined $30 million, the Albuquerque Journal recently reported. The New Mexico State Investment Council (SIC) gave preliminary approval of the $30 million to two Santa Fe-based firms early last month. Flywheel Ventures, one of the two companies in consideration for the money, was said to be raising its own $30 million for investment in seed and early-stage technology companies. Rio Grande Venture Partners, the other beneficiary, would indirectly contribute to tech firms through a $100 million fund it hopes to close this spring. The New Mexico investment program requires that both companies provide match funding and do business in the state, either whole or in part.

Debra Elston has been named the Federal Highway Administration's director for research, technology, and innovation deployment within the Office of Research, Development, and Technology.

Garza Fernandez, president of the Southern Arizona Industry and Aerospace Alliance, announced her resignation to devote more time to the Technology Development and Research Institute.

Arthur A. Garcia has been appointed director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Until his appointment, Garcia has been administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service.

Debra Elston has been named the Federal Highway Administration's director for research, technology, and innovation deployment within the Office of Research, Development, and Technology.

Garza Fernandez, president of the Southern Arizona Industry and Aerospace Alliance, announced her resignation to devote more time to the Technology Development and Research Institute.

Arthur A. Garcia has been appointed director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Until his appointment, Garcia has been administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service.

Elizabeth Gatewood has been named director of Wake Forest University's new Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts. At Indiana University, Gatewood was the Jack M. Chair of Entrepreneurship and the director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Paul Hiller, formerly managing director of the economic development arm of the Irvine Chamber of Commerce, is the new president and chief executive officer for the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.