SSTI Digest

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced the recipients of its 2003 Excellence in Economic Development Awards. A total of eight award-winners were named across seven broad award categories. Those pocketing awards in Innovation and Technology-led Economic Development, respectively, are described below. Innovation Utah Division of Business and Economic Development, Utah Smart Site Project, Salt Lake City, Utah - The Utah Smart Site Program develops family-sustaining employment opportunities in rural communities through the attraction, creation and expansion of businesses that use the Internet to provide information technology outsourcing services for clients anywhere in the world. The Utah Smart Site Program has resulted in the attraction of two new businesses, the creation of 13 new IT businesses and the expansion of an additional seven IT businesses. In addition, four firms have announced their intent to locate in Utah's rural communities. These companies have created 618 new jobs with an additional 580 jobs that have been announced - http://…

Washington Governor Gary Locke signed legislation last week that will give a tax break for research and development (R&D) firms. HB 1462 – passing unanimously, 96-0, in the State House and by a majority, 41-4, in the State Senate – prohibits Washington's local governments from taxing the intellectual property of these companies. The new law provides that "a city may not impose a gross receipts tax on intellectual property creating activities." Such activities are said to include R&D that leads to the creation of patents, trademarks or other intellectual property. However, municipalities may continue to tax research firms that occupy a certain amount of square footage or have a certain number of workers. HB 1462 is expected to cost the city of Seattle $1.5 million annually, according to the Seattle Times. More information on the bill is available at: http://www.leg.wa.gov/wsladm/billinfo/dspBillSummary.cfm?billnumber=1462 In related news, tax exemptions benefiting high-tech and biotech companies in Washington were approved last week for another 10 years by the State Senate…

To help make his state a leader in research, development and innovation, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey recently signed an executive order establishing the Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development. Highlighting the state's strengths but calling for it to move forward, even with a $5 billion budget shortfall looming, the governor said the commission is needed to put New Jersey in position to be more competitive. The commission is being charged with five primary functions, including: Working to make New Jersey's university research sector a strong partner for industry; Ensuring that the state has policies and programs in place to support research and development; Developing plans that will attract more federal funding for research; Supporting new businesses and guaranteeing that New Jersey's workforce is trained for high tech jobs; and, Identifying important, emerging technologies and the resources needed to support them. New Jersey's strengths are largely found in its research universities, the governor noted. To improve upon this area, however, Governor…

A recent study by Iowa State University researcher David Swenson suggests the ISU Research Park's substantial and diverse economic activity bolsters Iowa's economy. Focusing on current tenants, Swenson's research shows that the park links directly to almost $88 million in total industrial output. Businesses that provide goods and services to park customers and employees are said to generate an additional $46.3 million in economic activity. Park administrators commissioned the Iowa State Department of Economics to complete the analysis to measure current economic value created by the park's companies and centers. The park has tracked growth by employment and new business starts for more than 10 years; however, it has never studied its overall economic impact. Wages paid by park companies exceeds $36 million annually, according to the data. An additional $16.9 million in wages are generated by businesses providing goods and services to park firms. Park tenants employ more than 900 Iowans. Another 639 central Iowa jobs are generated by businesses providing goods and support services to the…

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. The UCF incubator, since opening in 1999, has grown from 12 to more than 30 companies, which have generated more than 400 new jobs and more than $100 million in revenues from sales and research and development grants. The incubator consists of more than 70,000 sq. ft., with locations in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the UCF campus in East Orlando, and in Downtown Orlando. Both incubators assist technology-…

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. Washington, D.C. held first place in the Census' 2000 estimate for the same statistic, but the percentage was only 38.3 percent. This reflects an apparent 15.9 percent increase in the number of District residents with a Bachelor in just two years. More dramatically, when comparing the 2000 and 2002 reports, South Carolina, Delaware and Indiana respectively posted 22.6 percent, 22.9 percent, and a whopping 38.6 percent jump in college graduates in 24 short months. Did it really happen that fast? Not likely. One would expect a corresponding…

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. Hundreds of you responded in the first few minutes, potentially causing a traffic strain on our little server. Four Digest recipients were nice enough to alert us to a technical glitch that involved a sordid browser-firewall relationship that we think we've resolved. If you encountered any problems, we hope you will try again. Completing the online survey form should take only a few minutes. Most are multiple choice for further simplification, although your personal comments are very helpful and most valuable. Every SSTI staff member involved in preparing the SSTI Weekly Digest and Funding Supplements will read every comment or…

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. EDA encourages only those investment proposals that will significantly benefit areas experiencing or threatened with substantial economic distress. Distress may exist in a variety of forms, including, but not limited to: high levels of unemployment, low income levels, large concentrations of low-income families, significant declines in per capita income, substantial loss of population because of the lack of employment opportunities, large numbers (or high rates) of business failures, sudden major layoffs or plant closures, military base closures, natural or other major disasters, depletion of natural resources, and/or reduced tax bases. Most of the funding ($203.7 million) is…

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. "Passage of this bill will dramatically increase the amount of investment capital available to America's Main Street — the sector that creates approximately two-thirds of net new jobs," said Snowe, Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.), the Committee's former Chairman, and Senator…

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. Governor Blagojevich's budget also calls for DCEO to aggressively promote the development of new technologies for renewable energy resources. The department's energy division would receive…

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. A Senate amendment to restore at least $14 million for the Authority failed narrowly on a 26-28 vote before final passage of the state budget last Friday. The versions of the…

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. Commissioned by the Council and conducted by Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Economic Development, the report examines the economic role that the technology industry clusters play in southwestern Pennsylvania. These clusters include information technology, advanced materials, biomedical and biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and environmental technology. In addition, the report reveals progress on other key indicators of economic health, such as venture capital investment and research and development (R&D). The number of technology and technology-related businesses rose 8.9 percent to 10,200…