SSTI Digest

The Wisconsin Venture Network (WVN) in Milwaukee has folded into the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) Foundation in Madison, and the combined WIN entity has become a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Members of both the WVN and WIN approved the merger in separate votes last week. The merger means WIN now is formally a part of the Tech Council and there are two WIN chapters — one in Milwaukee and another in Madison.

The Madison WIN will be administered through the Tech Council, but the Milwaukee chapter will retain a local board of directors and control of its monthly programs. Over time, WIN hopes to form chapters in other Wisconsin cities where technology-based economic development is a priority.

A higher rate of entrepreneurial activity is strongly connected with faster growth of a local economy, the U.S. Census Bureau reports in Endogenous Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities. The recent working paper, prepared by the Bureau's Center for Economic Studies, examines the connection between knowledge spillover and economic growth in a regional economy. The study concludes that variation in the level of entrepreneurial activity, a diverse mix of industries, and the amount of human capital are positively correlated to growth rates.

Three major findings are presented:

Despite an economic slowdown, the Twin Cities is more competitive than it was a year ago, according to a study released by the Great North Alliance, a regional civic leadership organization. Conducted annually, the Great North Opportunity Forecast uses regional productivity and innovation to predict future competitiveness and opportunity.

The 2002-03 forecast measures 58 key indicators of the regional economy of the Twin Cities and divides the indicators into four areas — current performance, development capacity, innovation capacity and resource flow. Innovation capacity, for example, includes 18 indicators measuring inspiration, invention, and entrepreneurial development. In each area, the Twin Cities' performance is compared against 11 similar sized high-growth regions around the U.S., including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Orange County (CA), Phoenix, Raleigh, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Earlier this week U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Don Evans announced the Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) would be piloted in Senegal, a democratic secular nation in which 94 percent of the population is Muslim. DFI is designed to promote economic growth by transferring the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the developing world.

The new initiative leverages the leadership of the U.S. government, the creativity and resources of America's leading companies, and the vision and energy of entrepreneurs in developing countries. If the three-year pilot project is successful in Senegal, it could be rolled out to 20 countries in the next five years. Key elements include:

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education recently released The Rising Price of Higher Education, which documents the rising costs of public education in the U.S. Using the data found in the report, SSTI has constructed a 50-state table presenting a comparison of the cost of tuition and fees at 2- and 4-year public institutions in 2001-02 vs 2002-03.

For 4-year institutions, Massachusetts shows the greatest change, 23.7 percent, between the last two academic years. Missouri's average public tuition and fees for 4-year institutions in 2002-03 reflects a 20.1 percent increase over the previous year. In the same category, New Jersey tops all states with the highest average ($6,533), as its overall increase was 13.4 percent.

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) recently introduced legislation that would authorize a multi-agency national nanotechnology research initiative. Nanotechnology is one of the top interagency priorities in the Administration's fiscal 2004 proposed budget for non-medical, civilian scientific and technological research and development.

H.R. 766, the Nanotechnology Research and Development Act of 2003, authorizes $2.1 billion over three years for nanotechnology research and development programs at the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the National Science Foundation. The bill provides a formal structure for coordination of research across the agencies, emphasizes interdisciplinary research, addresses societal concerns raised by nanotechnology, and requires outside reviews of the program.

Policymakers must understand the ways in which the information technology (IT) revolution is transforming business operations across both new and traditional industries, according to Paul Sommers and Daniel Carlson, the authors of What the IT Revolution Means for Regional Economic Development, a discussion paper prepared for the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. By achieving this understanding, economic development officials will "be prepared to respond to the new challenges and opportunities these changes present," say Sommers and Carlson, both of the University of Washington Evans School of Public Affairs.

Several recent project announcements highlight communities using incubators and research parks, some of the tools for technology-based economic development, in specialized formats to capitalize on existing strengths and nurture additional growth of clusters of related tech firms. Such targeted approaches can help to focus other TBED activities for additional benefits. For example, workforce training can be designed for the particular technology sector rather than tailored at higher costs to the needs of several unrelated technology firms in a general technology incubator or research park. Other savings can come in promotional and marketing strategies, tie-ins to university research capabilities, and specific EPA or OSHA regulations. Examples of some of the projects underway include:

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) drafted and approved four reports in 2002. Three of those reports are now available online at http://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/pcast2002rpt.html. Each report was submitted to President Bush and is briefly synopsized below.

The federal role in early-stage technology development (ESTD) is much more important than may be suggested by collective R&D statistics, suggests Between Invention and Innovation: An Analysis of Funding for Early-Stage Technology Development, a report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Prepared to support informed public policies concerning the transition from invention to innovation, the study finds that federal technology development funds complement, rather than substitute for, private funds.

Jeff Bond, former long-time manager of the BMDO SBIR program, has been named Acting DoD SBIR/STTR Administrator, replacing the retiring Ivory Fisher.

The University of Nebraska Technology Park has named Steve Frayser as president.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has nominated Jack Lavin to run the newly named Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The agency was formerly called the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Lavin was chief financial officer for Rezco Enterprises.

Greg Main, Oklahoma's former secretary of commerce, has been named president and CEO of the Oklahoma Technology Development Corp., which runs the Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center.

Jeff Bond, former long-time manager of the BMDO SBIR program, has been named Acting DoD SBIR/STTR Administrator, replacing the retiring Ivory Fisher.