SSTI Digest

Addressing a joint session of Rhode Island's General Assembly, Gov. Don Carcieri unveiled last week a fiscal year 2005 budget that includes funding for several technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives. Gov. Carcieri's budget attempts to navigate around a projected $240 million budget gap for FY 2004 and FY 2005. Despite proposing $92 million in spending reductions, the governor would direct $50 million toward a new Center for Biotechnology to be built at the University of Rhode Island. The center would serve as both a world-class research facility for students and a stimulus for the state's growing biotech economy. Other highlights of the governor's budget include: $4 million to the Samuel Slater Technology fund for increased investment in start-up companies; $1.5 million in seed capital to help the state's universities attract $3 million in new National Science Foundation (NSF) research funds; $48 million in bonds for a marine life sciences park at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, R.I.; A new tax incentive program aimed at attracting entrepreneurs; and,…

Preliminary findings from an annual survey conducted by the National League of Cities (NLC) reveal economic and fiscal conditions are worsening in many of America's cities and towns. A large segment of those surveyed by NLC also reported improvements in areas such as the vitality of their downtowns, increased efficiency in service delivery, and preparedness for emergencies and homeland security. The 345 respondents in the survey, State of America's Cities, reflect a nationally representative sample. Responses from the surveyed cities and towns indicate that both overall economic and fiscal conditions have worsened over the past year more than they have improved, according to NLC data. Overall economic conditions worsened in 40 percent of cities, compared to 26 percent that said conditions improved. Roughly one-third of those sampled reported no change in their economic conditions. Forty-four percent said fiscal conditions have worsened, compared to 22 percent that reported improvement. Nearly one-third said they experienced no change in their fiscal conditions. Worsening unemployment also was…

The need for tax cuts, reduced and simplified regulations, a well-trained workforce, lower employee health care costs, and a state-sponsored industry advocate are among the top concerns shared by a core group of Minnesota manufacturers. Those concerns and others are summarized in Positively Minnesota Manufacturing: Making It Great, a report released earlier this year by the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The report is a synopsis of feedback obtained during a series of roundtable meetings convened by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in October 2003. To help manufacturers, DEED identified several key areas that could warrant further consideration: Reforming corporate taxation and sales tax on capital equipment; Working with higher education institutions to build a skilled manufacturing workforce; Examining ways to help contain health care costs; and, Cutting air travel costs for manufacturers. State manufacturing proponents call for continued support for Minnesota Technology Inc. (MTI), the state's technology-based economic development organization. Since its…

When this year's high school freshmen receive their diplomas in four years, it will mark the largest and most competitive graduating class ever, according to a new study. Released by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), ACT Inc. and the College Board, the study projects the number of high school graduates will peak in 2008-09 at 3.2 million. A slow but steady decline in the number of enrollments and graduates is expected to occur in most parts of the U.S., following the peak year. Among regions, the West is projected to see highest percentage of growth, with elementary and secondary enrollments climbing by 9 percent between 2001-02 and 2007-08. The South will experience a 5 percent increase, the study observes, while the Midwest and Northeast will drop by 9 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Nationally, annual increases in the number of graduates are projected to range from about 6,300 (0.2 percent increase) to 79,000 (2.5 percent increase) between 2001-02 and 2017-18. The size of graduating classes across individual states will vary, according to the data. Arizona…

Arizona taxpayers paid at least $100 million for the TGen Institute. The east coast version of Scripps cost Florida a cool $500-plus million. How much should Kansas City expect to pay the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to double the size of its 600,000 sq. ft. research facility instead of locating a second campus elsewhere? Not a dime. At least not directly. In making the announcement, founders Jim and Virginia Stowers acknowledged the efforts of city, state and academic leaders to strengthen life sciences research at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and the University of Kansas. “Virginia and I have been gratified to witness the efforts of our government leaders in Kansas and Missouri to support growth of excellent life science at both state universities," Jim Stowers said. "Their actions have reinforced to us that they are as committed as we are to making Kansas City the best place for life science research and discovery development. Our confidence in their efforts to help the two universities has led us to conclude that the next phase of growth in the research…

California's Treasurer Phil Angelides called earlier this month for the nation's largest and third largest pension funds to invest at least $1.5 billion into environmental technologies and environmentally responsible companies. The goal of Angelides' initiative is to improve long-term financial returns for pensioners and taxpayers through investments in the burgeoning environmental technology sector, while also reducing the risks to the pension funds posed by corporate environmental liabilities. The treasurer’s Green Wave initiative calls on California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to invest a combined $500 million in private equity investments, venture capital, and project financing to develop "clean" technologies that can provide the pension funds with positive, long-term returns. The two pension funds have a total of $250 billion in assets. The initiative also calls for the two funds to invest an additional $1 billion into environmentally screened funds through leading active public equity investment managers with…

The Fund for Our Economic Future, a new collaboration of Northeast Ohio private, community and corporate foundations to support regional economic development, has secured more than $22 million in commitments and is expected to grow to $30 million. Launched last week, the fund is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic collaboration of its kind in the U.S. Numerous participants are collectively providing the fund's initial $22 million. A select number of Northeast Ohio nonprofit organizations capable of strengthening the regional economy figure to benefit from the fund. By concentrating its resources on a small number of programs and pursuing them as part of an overall plan, the fund is expected to impact Northeast Ohio's economic revitalization more significantly than any other organized philanthropic grantmaking initiative to date. The fund will address issues such as business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship, technology development and workforce preparedness. Projects that strengthen the region's core cities and demonstrate commitment to diversity in the…

As promised in her 2004 State of the State Address, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner released a New Economy Initiative last week that includes several new elements to encourage economic growth in Delaware. The $34 million package is expected to generate at least $16 million more in federal and private match. Many of the elements of the plan were recommended by the governor's Strategic Economic Council. The largest component of Gov. Minner's proposal is a new $12.5 million Delaware Competitiveness Fund to make one-time investments in companies modernizing their production facilities. As presented in the governor's press materials, the uses for the fund could be quite broad: provided matching grants for implementing new manufacturing processes; bring in new product lines; abate taxes; find buyers for idled facilities; support employee training; and, bring R&D results into manufacturers' operations. Other elements include: Creating a $1.5 million Technology-Based Small Business Seed Fund within the Delaware Economic Development Office to provide nascent tech firms with equity or competitive…

Those arguing that the U.S. is slipping as the world's leader for innovation have another data point to add to their arsenal. The U.S. continues to dominate international patent filings, but America's lead over other countries shrunk 12 percent last year, according to data released this week by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The total of 39,250 international patent applications filed from the U.S. in 2003 was 12 percent less than the 44,609 applications filed a year earlier. The U.S. share of all international patent filings also fell — from 39.1 percent in 2002 to 35.7 percent in 2003. The nation's filings in 2000, for comparison, represented 42 percent of the world's total patent filings. In 2003, inventors and industry from the U.S. (35.7 percent of all applications in 2003), Japan (15.2 percent ), Germany (12.7 percent), United Kingdom (5.5 percent), and France (4.3 percent) topped the list of biggest users of the Patent Cooperation Treaty system (PCT) managed by WIPO. International patent applications received from developing countries continued to rise; in…

Advanced research grants and equity financing are just two items slated for funding in Maine Gov. John Baldacci's $120 million revenue bond package, unveiled last week. The tech-based economic development (TBED) items would receive a combined $7 million in funding. The largest portion of the governor's package, $65 million, is dedicated to land conservation and parks. Other elements address housing, health and environmental issues. For Maine's business and research community, highlights include: $5 million for Applied Research Fund competitive grants for applied research in natural resource-based industries, including forest bio-products, marine research, aquaculture, farming, and fishing. Administered by the Maine Technology Institute, the funds would be used to support development of new products, improved management practices and new technologies. The state funding is expected to leverage an additional $5 million in federal, private and other nonpublic support. $2 million for the Small Enterprise Growth Fund for equity investments of up to $500,000 in small Maine…

"We cannot be satisfied with simply passing stem cell research legislation." So said New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey during his State of the Budget Address on Tuesday, proposing the state fund research specifically in the controversial area. Stem cell research holds promise for treating and curing a host of devastating diseases and disorders, including spinal cord injury, brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and coronary heart disease. The best source for human stem cells are embryos, which raises ethical questions. Gov. McGreevey wants the state to make an initial investment of $6.5 million in FY 2005 toward creation of a New Jersey Institute for Stem Cell Research. The proposed center would be run by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. According to news reports, the Governor's plan calls for approximately $25 million in state funds over five years to create the institute. Additional funding would be derived from private and…

A new plan to grow North Carolina's biotech industry to 48,000 jobs by 2013 and 125,000 by 2023 was released earlier this month by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a state-supported nonprofit organization. If implemented, the 108-page plan would cost up to $650 million over five years. That figure does not include the "to be determined" cost for 15 of the plan's 54 recommendations. The 54 action steps span a variety of objectives: Enhance the ability of universities to conduct innovative research and transform new ideas into commercial opportunity; Encourage universities to support and reward faculty entrepreneurial activities; Support the attraction, retention and expansion of biotech companies, with an emphasis on biomanufacturing companies; Boost workforce training programs to prepare workers for jobs in research and biomanufacturing; Strengthen K-12 math and science education to help motivate and prepare future biotech workers; Spread the economic and societal benefits of biotechnology to all areas of the state; and, Address the societal and ethical issues of…