SSTI Digest

Florida Incubators Form Alliance to Expand Services

The Seminole Technology Business Incubation Center (STBIC) and the University of Central Florida Technology Incubator have partnered, and the benefits are expected to be widespread, the Orlando Sentinel recently reported. STBIC – a joint venture of Seminole County, Seminole County Port Authority and Seminole Community College – is supported by grants from NASA and the Technological Research and Development Authority, which sponsors Florida programs that enhance education and economic development. Eight companies already are housed by SBTIC, but up to 15 more are expected to join in the next year.

Comparing the recent release to the same report issued two years ago surfaces an unavoidable danger of relying on trends identified 13 years ago in the 1990 decennial census. The 2002 educational attainment figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau in March reports 26.7 percent of the U.S. population 25 years or older holds at least a Bachelor's degree, about one percentage point higher than the previous year. The range across the states shows the District of Columbia at 44.4 percent with the highest and West Virginia with the lowest at 15.9 percent.

SSTI extends its thanks to those of you who have participated in the 2003 SSTI Weekly Digest survey. As mentioned in a separate e-mail earlier this week, the survey results help us determine the editorial direction and content of future issues of the Digest and Funding Supplement. We're also open to suggestions for our website, publication catalog, investment portfolios and hairstyles, so the survey offers a great chance to express yourself.

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The Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced it has $228.12 million available for grants to support state, regional and community efforts to create wealth and minimize poverty by promoting a favorable business environment to attract private capital investment and high skill, high wage jobs through world-class capacity building, infrastructure, business assistance, research grants and strategic initiatives.

U.S. Senator Olympia Snow (R-Maine) recently introduced a bill to boost the flow of venture capital to small businesses by allowing tax-exempt entities, such as pension funds and university endowment funds, to invest in Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) without incurring unrelated business taxable income.

S. 855, or the Small Business Investment Company Capital Access Act of 2003, is an approach to inject needed investment money into the economy while providing a stable, diversified and secure investment vehicle for tax-exempt pension and endowment funds. Industry experts believe the bill could boost capital available for SBICs by $200 million in the first year alone, according to the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies.

Speaking to a joint session of the House and Senate, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich recently presented his first budget, one that addresses a $5 billion budget crisis.

In economic development, while Governor Blagojevich wants the state to be proactive in keeping Illinois competitive in the global economy, the $1.77 billion planned for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) reflects a $576 million, or 25 percent, decrease over the FY 2003 level. Central to the governor's plans are creation of the $200 million Illinois Opportunity Fund that would use private investments to bring venture capital to the state; development of six new Centers for Entrepreneurship around the state to provide, training, tools and resources to help businesses get started; and the consolidation of 30 economic development and job training programs within DCEO, which is projected to save $16 million.

The FY 2004 budget passed by the Georgia Senate last week eliminates all $32 million the House approved for the OneGeorgia Authority, the state's loan and grant program targeting rural tech-based and traditional economic development. Created in 2000, the OneGeorgia Authority was anticipated to spend $1.6 billion over 25 years (one-third of the state's tobacco settlement funds) to assist the state's most economically challenged areas based on unemployment and poverty rates. Governor Sonny Perdue had requested $70.8 million for OneGeorgia in his FY04 request.

The authority's two primary funding vehicles – the Economic Development, Growth and Expansion (EDGE) Fund and Equity Fund – already have supported projects across the state for high tech manufacturing business expansion, life science and other technology-based incubators, traditional infrastructure, research and industrial parks, and speculative facilities.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council recently issued its annual State of the Industry Report, which reveals that in spite of an extended national recession that began in 2000, the region’s technology industries have held their own, at least through the mid-point of the current economic downturn. The report covers the 13-county southwestern Pennsylvania region and presents industry statistics for 2001, the last year for which complete data is available from government and other sources.

A Blueprint for Prosperity and Jobs, a comprehensive strategic plan to foster and sustain job growth, business success and community vitality in Missouri, has been released by the Missouri Department of Economic Development. The product of two years of research, the plan addresses Missouri's need to focus its resources on building a knowledge-based economy, with emphasis on businesses that generate key technologies and have tremendous growth potential.

The Missouri blueprint began with Governor Bob Holden's Economic Prosperity Summit in April 2001. Since that time, the department gathered input and recommendations from business and community leaders, educators and citizens from across Missouri. A series of roundtable discussions were held with leaders from three industries that hold promise for long-term growth – life sciences, advanced manufacturing and information technology – and additional insight was contributed through six regional dialogues.

Layoffs are an expected, yet difficult, aspect of the U.S. economy as companies shift employment needs to reflect changes in demand, technology, competition and trade. During a down economy, the number of workers facing layoffs can be particularly difficult for a region to reabsorb. Research has shown that experienced workers with long tenures in a particular job or sector endure substantial long-term earning losses once they find new work. In other words, the jobs older, more experienced workers take after being laid off typically pay substantially less than their original positions.

Academic R&D expenditures grew 8.9 percent in 2001, according to the National Science Foundation's FY 2001 survey of research and development expenditures at universities and colleges. Reported in Academic Research and Development Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2001, the survey finds 609 institutions of higher education in the U.S. collectively spent $32.732 billion in FY 2001. The figure for FY 2000 was $30.042 billion.

NorTech is interested in hiring an Associate Director who will be responsible for all activities associated with one or more initiatives and ongoing high level support for the initiatives. The mission of NorTech is to ensure economic growth and leadership in Northeast Ohio by promoting entrepreneurially based globally competitive technology development and commercialization. For each assignment, the Associate Director would be responsible for planning; convening and coalescing support from CEOs; advocacy at the local and state levels; launching the initiatives; and maintaining an active governance or advisory role post launch. NorTech seeks highly qualified individuals who have demonstrated success as entrepreneurs, senior business development assignments in growth organizations, or leadership experience in public-private initiatives. More information is available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.