SSTI Digest

Jacques Koppel, president of Minnesota Technology, Inc. since 1991, announced his resignation on July 28. Under Mr. Koppel's leadership, MTI worked with more than 5,600 manufacturing and technology companies around Minnesota, helping the state's economy realize gains of more than $700 million in the process. MTI's Board of Directors has appointed Frank Starke interim President to lead the organization during its transition from a quasi-state corporation to a private nonprofit corporation.

The SSTI Weekly Digest will be taking a brief summer break and will resume publication on Friday, August 22.

Before ending its 2003 session, the Rhode Island legislature signed off on nearly all of the technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives at the core of Gov. Donald Carcieri's strategy to help the state rebound from the down economy. First outlined in his Feb. 4 State of the State Address (see the Feb. 14 Digest), the governor's multi-faceted approach includes many key pieces to building a stronger tech-based economy: business-university partnerships to advance and commercialize technology, entrepreneurial assistance for tech firms, increased investments in academic R&D capacity, incentives to encourage tech commercialization, access to early-stage capital, and the tech-skill competence of the workforce. Specifically approved by the state legislature were: Initial planning funds of $300,000 for the $50 million University of Rhode Island Center for Biotechnology and Molecular Biosciences; Increasing appropriations for the Slater Samuel Technology Fund from $2.5 million to $4 million. The Fund supports and sustains the growth of entrepreneurial tech firms…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced earlier this week the availability of $6 million in USDA Rural Development grant funds to support rural economic and community development efforts. USDA's Rural Community Development Initiative provides funds to help nonprofit, community-based development organizations, federally recognized Indian tribes and low-income communities improve their ability to develop rural housing and community facilities and to improve economic growth. Rural Development provides equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. Recipients are required to obtain matching funds from non-federal sources. Grant recipients will provide training and technical assistance to eligible organizations and communities located in rural areas with populations of 50,000 or less. Technical assistance includes: setting up homeownership education programs; supporting micro-enterprises, cooperatives and sustainable development; and providing training to develop strategic…

The unsettled nature of the venture capital industry is well depicted in two differing reports released Tuesday. Both detail venture capital investments for the second quarter of 2003, but offer a conflicting picture of U.S. investing activity. Data found in the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Thomson Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey suggest two straight years of quarter-to-quarter declines in venture capital investing ended with Q2 03. The newest data from Growthink, however, reveals the downward trend continued from the preceding quarters, showing a 1.2 percent decline over the first quarter of 2003. MoneyTree Survey™ Investments totaled $4.3 billion, up marginally from $4 billion in Q1 03, according to the MoneyTree™ Survey. A total of 669 entrepreneurial companies received funding in the second quarter compared to 647 companies in the previous quarter. Further, investments in companies in the early-stage of development increased significantly to $956 million, up from $668 million in the prior quarter — the first such increase in three…

The City of Spokane and a group of local organizations have penned a strategic plan designed to help the city and the Inland Northwest achieve an Innovation Economy. Sponsored by the Spokane Economic Development Council, SIRTI and INTEC, Developing an Innovation Economy highlights numerous specific actions believed to have the greatest potential to deliver measurable results for the local economy. The strategic plan does not give a detailed benchmarking of the region's current economy or emerging clusters, but builds on its fundamental tenet — a "Triangle of Innovation" involving Spokane/Coeur d'Alene, the Tri-Cities and Pullman/Moscow. Within these three points, the plan states, the Inland Northwest has significant research capacity, including several universities (Washington State University, the University of Idaho, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University in Cheney and Spokane, WSU Spokane), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and several strong nonprofit research organizations and private firms. Various new ventures have resulted from the successful implementation…

Nearly 60 percent of the new jobs in the knowledge-based economy of the early 21st century will require skills that are held by just 20 percent of the present workforce, states a new report released by the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM). The Case for Enhancing American Workforce Skills examines a growing skills gap in the nation's manufacturing sector and the problems employers have in finding skilled workers able to deal with technological changes in the workplace. The skills gap is deepening at a time when manufacturing workers are increasingly being laid off — since 1999, more than two million have lost their jobs. Industry and government need to join forces to make substantial improvements in workforce education and training programs and to incentivize American workers to keep pace with technological change by continually improving their skills, NACFAM concludes. The Case for Enhancing American Workforce Skills offers these findings: The enhancement of workforce skills and knowledge would help the nation sustain higher levels of productivity…

Until now, the opportunities have been fairly limited for tech-based economic developers to learn from the lessons of fellow practitioners running successful entrepreneurship programs. Through a unique partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, SSTI is excited to offer at its annual conference this fall a track of six breakout sessions dedicated to sharing and documenting the specific policies, strategies and practices that foster technology entrepreneurship. The link between tech entrepreneurship and sustained growth is increasingly recognized by economic developers. As a result, myriad exciting approaches to encourage tech entrepreneurship have sprung up across the country. These same entrepreneurship programs face unparalleled challenges for the foreseeable future, however. State and local fiscal constraints limit the service delivery capabilities of many initiatives, while also demanding new approaches to creating opportunity for entrepreneurial success. The contraction of the venture capital market, with the disappearance of viable exit strategies, makes launching and…

Small businesses in the U.S. should consider a wide and complex range of factors before investing in foreign patents, recommends a new report prepared by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). Experts’ Advice for Small Businesses Seeking Foreign Patents identifies factors small businesses should consider when deciding whether to obtain patent protection abroad and the steps they should take to improve their patent efforts. The Congressional request spawning GAO's inquiry grew out of the apprehension that small businesses were not acquiring patent protection abroad, but were losing prospective sales in foreign markets. Using surveys from an expert panel of 39 patent law attorneys, GAO outlined three critical factors: identifying and assessing the long-term (cradle to gave) costs of foreign patents; weighing the potential benefits of foreign patents and patent locations; and, the need to understand foreign patent laws and international treaties. GAO then identified six key steps for small businesses to improve their foreign patent efforts: Avoid divulging information…

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Joint Venture: Silicon Valley has named Russell Hancock as its new president and CEO. Dr. Lee Eiden, SBIR Program Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Education for nearly seven years, is shifting positions within the agency to work for the Office of Management/Chief Information Office. Dr. Eiden's contributions toward improving the state-federal partnership for SBIR outreach and technical assistance will be greatly missed by the state and local tech-based economic development community. The director of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development has announced his retirement. Jim Pickens will remain in the position until his replacement is named, according to local news reports. Pari Sabety, director of Ohio State University's Technology Policy Group, is leaving to become Director of the Neighborhood Markets Initiative, a new program of the Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy in the Brookings Institution…

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Joint Venture: Silicon Valley has named Russell Hancock as its new president and CEO.