SSTI Digest

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is seeking candidates for a senior portfolio manager. This is an at-will position responsible for managing and overseeing investment and grant portfolios for the 21st Century Job Fund. Negotiates all investment contract and grant agreements, serves as a resource for portfolio companies seeking information about investment capital, and identifies opportunities to leverage investments for Michigan's competitive edge technology industries. Requires a Master's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or related field and a minimum of five to seven years business related experience in the area of life sciences and experience in business, finance and investments in the areas of position-specific technical business environment, public sector investing, capital markets, venture capital, private equity, portfolio management, and/or commercial lending. The Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA), a private, not-for-profit, professional services firm that is dedicated to creating the next generation of better,…

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.   Longtime readers of the SSTI Weekly Digest may remember attempts to tie distinct groups of technology companies to the market. The “…

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? It is true most states offer R&D tax credits to their corporate residents at this point. Little has been known about the credits’ impacts or effectiveness on recruitment, however. Most of the academic research on the topic has focused on the federal R&D tax credits and competition among nations.   On the state level, in theory at least, a rationally acting, research-intensive firm can be expected to select a location within a state that has an R&D tax credit over another state without one – all other things being equal. Note: The italicized phrase is a critical but impossible one that is required for these kinds of conclusive statements.    A recent research paper published in Economic Development Quarterly begins to shed some light on the effectiveness of state R&D tax credit…

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. Robert McMahan Jr., the North Carolina governor's senior adviser for science and technology and executive director of the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, has left those posts to become dean of Western Carolina University's Kimmel School of Construction Management and Technology. The Oklahoma Bioscience Association announced its launch. Tracey van Niekerk has been selected as the new life sciences coordinator for the Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana. Van…

Publisher's Note: SSTI notes with much sadness the March 5 passing of Indiana State Sen. David Ford, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. David was a good friend not only of SSTI's, but also of the tech-based economic development community across the nation. In addition to being a tireless and cheerful advocate for investing in science and technology, he was also a gentleman in the true sense of the word, and we miss him greatly. David Abbott, executive director of the George Gund Foundation, was elected the new chairman of the Northeast Ohio-based Fund for Our Economic Future. Abbott replaces Robert Briggs of the GAR Foundation, who had served as chairman since the Fund was formed in 2004. Birgitte Ahring has joined Washington State University as the director of the Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy and as the Battelle Distinguished Professor, based at WSU Tri-Cities. Eddie Ashworth, president of Research Park Corp., the managing entity of the Louisiana Technology Park, is resigning to become undersecretary of the state Department of Social Services. The Tucson-based BioIndustry Organization of Southern Arizona, known as Bio-SA, has…

Gov. Rod Blagojevich unveiled a $25 billion capital plan supporting, in small part, several energy and technology projects, while at the same time eliminating funding in his fiscal year 2009 operating budget for several TBED-related programs within the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).   The bulk of the spending for the governor’s Illinois Works proposal would be spent on road and bridge construction ($14.4 billion), with $1.1 billion earmarked for both higher education and energy and technology projects. Gov. Blagojevich said during his Budget Address that the plan – which requires $11 billion in new state funds – would be funded primarily through a brief sale of the state lottery, which is expected to generate $10-12 billion. Of that amount, $7 billion would be used to fund the capital plan, and the state would issue bonds for another $3.8 billion, according to the governor’s office. The proposal invests in new and existing programs within DCEO, including: $77.5 million for development of coal gasification plants; $25 million for construction of conventional ethanol, cellulosic ethanol and biodesiel production…

Lisa Porter was named the first director of the new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. Porter, NASA's associate administrator of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said she will leave the agency in February.

With rumors of recession building, several of the nation’s governors are announcing new TBED-focused initiatives in 2008 – many of which will be presented to lawmakers for funding in the coming months. In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich unveiled two new initiatives encouraging entrepreneurship to grow high-technology businesses throughout the state.   Both initiatives focus on supporting new and serial entrepreneurs with developing and commercializing technologies. The Entrepreneurship in Residence Program (EIR) provides mentorship by pairing experienced entrepreneurs with young entrepreneurs to help them start new businesses. The Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) will administer the program through a grant totaling $860,000 awarded by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The CEC will select qualified entrepreneurs to enroll in the EIR program who, in turn, will identify promising technologies and match them with young entrepreneurs. The goal is to help them start a business and move toward a first round of financing. Each EIR-approved business is eligible to receive up to $80,000 for prototype development,…

Jeff Coney was named Northwestern University's first director of economic development.

In his recent combined State of the State and budget address on March 7, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed the formation of the Illinois Community Assets Fund (ICAF), a $100 million venture designed to increase access to capital and financing to economically distressed communities and populations that have had inadequate access to mainstream capital markets within the state. The assets of ICAF would be contained within the State Treasury, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) would administer the fund. All $100 million would be distributed within a three-year period.   The ICAF would consist of the following four programs: Community Financial Institutions Participation Fund – $30 million to partner with third-party financial intermediaries and invest in businesses that lack access to traditional lending sources; Immediate Returns Capital Grants – $25 million to support small business expansion and job creation projects in economically depressed areas of the state, to be administered by the DCEO; High Growth Equity Fund – $25 million to contribute to existing private sector equity investments in high-growth…