SSTI Digest

J. Mike Books is leaving his post with the Indiana Health Industry Forum to become the first economic development director for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He also will serve as president of the Regional Economic Development Inc. Brooks will assume his new responsibilities on July 15.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the appointment of Judith Canales as Administrator for Rural Business and Cooperative programs in USDA's Rural Development agency.

Donald Cardon, who has been serving as director of the Arizona Department of Housing since March, was named director of the Arizona Department of Commerce.

The role of a technology incubator or accelerator for supporting nascent firms generally is regarded with the utmost importance by the tech-based economic development community. Tech incubators provide essential resources for startup companies to develop and commercialize new technologies, leading to the creation of high-quality jobs.

With estimates suggesting there could be as many as 5,000 incubators of all shapes and sizes worldwide, finding the latest and best practices for tech business incubation could be a challenge. Fortunately, award programs, such as the currently open SSTI's 3rd Annual Excellence in TBED Award, can help call attention to some of the most successful approaches.

While there is no question that the economic recession has taken a toll on states' fiscal conditions, the degree by which states are affected can vary widely from one state to another, as evidenced most recently in Arkansas and Georgia. In Arkansas, legislators wrapped up their 2009 session with a plan to distribute a $300 million surplus, while the budget agreement made in Georgia would cut spending by $1.6 billion in the coming year. The following overview provides an outline of legislative actions affecting the two states' programs that support tech-based economic development efforts.

Arkansas Operating with a nearly $300 million surplus, lawmakers passed a spending plan last week that authorizes funds for several economic development projects, including $50 million for Gov. Mike Beebe's Quick Action Closing Fund to attract new businesses to the state. 

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies. Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region. Georgia Research Alliance VentureLab 2007 Winner for the Commercializing Research category

Savannah's Creative Coast Alliance (TCCa) and the Savannah Economic Development Authority recently announced that they would provide up to one year of free rent for game designers to take up residence at the region's new Game Development and Digital Media Center. The offer is intended to promote the city's image as a center for game design and help provide local opportunities for graduates from the Savannah campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) Interactive Design and Game Development Program. For the past five years, SCAD has sponsored the annual Game Developers eXchange, a national event for the industry that has drawn greater attention to the region. In the press release announcing the free rent offer, TCCa bills Savannah as an alternative for companies looking to establish an East Coast presence with a low cost-of-living, high quality-of-life and a rich talent pool.

The following overview is a synopsis of select recent announcements from research parks across the nation, including groundbreakings and development plans to support vibrant regional economies based on science, technology and innovation. 

Lonnie Emard has been named interim director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a recently formed collaboration of business, academic and economic development organizations intended to build information technology (IT) opportunities in South Carolina.

Boise State University has tapped Mary Givens as director of the newly formed Office of Technology Transfer within the university's Division of Research.  

G.P. "Bud" Peterson, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, was named the eleventh president of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region. Recently released podcasts include:

Mike Cassidy of the Georgia Research Alliance discusses their Eminent Scholars program. The podcast is available at: http://www.ssti.org/media/cassidy.html. Sheryl Bryan of the Virginia Council on Advanced Technology Skills (VCATS) provides details on replicating the program in other states and regions. The podcast is available at: http://www.ssti.org/media/bryan.html

SSTI has an effective new learning tool for TBED policymakers and practitioners seeking guidance in approaches to building and sustaining tech-based economies. Through exclusive interviews with Excellence in TBED Award recipients, find out first-hand how these award winning initiatives successfully responded to a critical need by applying innovative approaches to generate substantial economic gains for their region.

Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars® 2007 Winner for the Expanding the Research Infrastructure category

Listen to a six-minute clip of SSTI's interview with Mike Cassidy.

As governors across the nation seek to fill record deficits, many new and longstanding TBED initiatives are facing challenging cuts or elimination. At the same time, governors are shoring up support for critical, targeted investments in the economy that they say are needed now more than ever. Using the platform of the state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses, several governors have announced new or increased investments in workforce innovation, bioscience, and alternative energy (see the Jan. 7, 14, and 21 issues of the Digest). Summarized below are executive recommendations from budget proposals in Georgia, Idaho and Vermont outlining new plans and proposed cuts to ongoing TBED efforts.

The second installment of the Tech Talkin' Govs series includes highlights from state of the state, budget and inaugural addresses delivered by the governors of Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont. 

Arizona 

Gov. Janet Napolitano, State of the State Address, Jan. 9, 2009

On December 9, two NIST programs will be hosting a meeting to explain how businesses can better take advantage of them. Officials from the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) will provide an overview and discuss future directions for the programs. SSTI is co-hosting the meeting because we see it as an excellent opportunity for TBED organizations and their clients to learn more about and provide input on programs that could see dramatic increases in funding in an Obama administration.

The meeting will explore important topics, including: funding opportunities for businesses and joint ventures through TIP, explaining what "areas of critical national need" are and how companies and TBED groups can contribute, and exploring the Next Generation MEP including growth services, technology acceleration, supplier development, and sustainability.