SSTI Digest

Gov. Pat Quinn unveiled last week the FY11 capital budget outlining the state's progress on the $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now plan enacted last year by the legislature (see the July 29, 2009 Digest). The governor is seeking an expansion of the program, which includes new appropriations for green economy initiatives within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

The Jobs Now plan provides funding for infrastructure, economic development, schools, and transportation and is financed by a combination of state debt and federal and local matching funds. To support renewable and energy efficiency businesses and component manufactures, the governor recommends a new appropriation of $30 million to DCEO for Green Business Development. Projects that develop and expand the renewable energy sector and corresponding supply chain that produce energy efficient products are being targeted, according to budget documents. DCEO also would receive funds for the following initiatives:

Providing access to startup capital, promoting biotechnology, and investing in the green economy to create and grow jobs are among the priorities of Gov. Pat Quinn's Illinois Economic Recovery Plan presented during a speech in December. The governor's plan would establish an Angel Investment Tax Credit program to allow investors making an early-stage investment in a technology startup to receive a capped credit against their Illinois tax bill. The governor also will propose the creation of a state fund to provide matching grants for technology research companies competing for federal funding and explore the idea of establishing a venture capital fund of funds. Additional strategies to incentivize green manufacturers to retool existing operations also are outlined in the governor's plan, which is available at:  http://www.illinois.gov/publicincludes/statehome/gov/documents/Illinois Economic Recovery Plan Final.pdf.

Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed into law a six-year, $31 billion Jobs Now plan and smaller capital bill supporting science and technology research and commercialization and broadband deployment. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer several of the grants.

Funding for the Jobs Now plan is provided by a combination of state debt and federal and local matching funds. The bill allows the state to access more than $3.7 billion in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Taxpayers, however, will face several fee increases to pay for the 20-year bonds issued to provide funding for the state's $13 billion share of the six-year capital plan.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center (IMEC) has posted a job opening for vice president, service development and delivery, to plan, organize and initiate activities aimed at achieving IMEC's objectives in service/product delivery to MEP small manufacturers, OEM/large manufacturing, and non-manufacturing markets.  Other duties include consulting services development and leadership, value stream management, service/product development and improvement, and corporate planning and coordination. The candidate must have 10 or more years of experience in the leadership of a business or organization comparable to IMEC.

For many states facing a challenging budget year, level funding for science and technology is welcome news to the tech-based economic development (TBED) community. With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year, governors are seeking solutions to stimulate their respective states' economies through new and expanded programs within specific priority areas. The following states recently unveiled budget proposals that would continue or grow TBED investments using a combination of federal stimulus money and state and local funds.

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.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has announced the launch of a statewide trade association to provide support to Kansas' software and information technology industry. The nonprofit has been registered with the state as the Software and Information Technology Association of Kansas (SITAKS) and is designed to support Kansas software, information technology and telecommunications companies.

Susan Strommer announced she will step down as president and CEO for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) to explore a new opportunity.

Additional job opportunities are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF) seeks an energetic chief executive officer (CEO) with strong organizational, interpersonal, communication, and fundraising skills to lead the association as it grows its membership and expands its reach. NASVF is the association for "innovation capitalists" - seed and early-stage investors who champion and invest in local entrepreneurs. NASVF has 120 member organizations and a network of more than 8,000 individuals. For the position of CEO, a graduate degree with five years of experience in entrepreneurial ventures, capital formation, venture capital or a related industry is required. To view the job description, go to: http://www.nasvf.org/web/allpress.nsf/pages/18166

Last week, NASDAQ saw the debut of the Illinois Tech Index (symbol: ILTI), currently recognized as the only technology index in the U.S. tracking publicly traded technology companies within an individual state. Based on 61 firms with their headquarters in Illinois, the Illinois Tech Index is derived from the aggregate value of the firms’ total shares outstanding. When the index officially started on Monday, May 19, the base value of the ILTI was 1000.00. As of Wednesday’s close of markets, the Index finished at 969.20.   The AeA and the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization (iBio) identified within certain industries the Illinois companies eligible for inclusion. The composition of the index will be updated on a semiannual basis. Besides highlighting the state’s leading tech companies, the mission of the Illinois Tech Index is to increase the state’s venture capital and technology investment activity, attract technology talent and jobs, and support entrepreneurial growth.  

Two weeks ago, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter vetoed legislation to repeal state R&D income tax credits for Idaho companies. Among his reasons for the veto, Gov. Otter claimed removing the credits would put Idaho at a competitive disadvantage because surrounding states over similar incentives. Was he right?

The Beaver County (Pa.) CO-OP announced it will change its name to StartingGate. The incubator will continue to assist entrepreneurs and new business start-ups and help expand existing businesses.

Joe Dedman was chosen as the first executive director of the Southeast Indiana WIRED.

Brian DuBoff was named the director of Maryland's southern region Small Business Development Center, which is hosted by the College of Southern Maryland.

Barbara Goodman has joined the Illinois Biotechnology Industry Organization as its executive director.

Mark Long has stepped down as the CEO of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp.