SSTI Digest

The first-ever Mississippi Innovation Index was released Wednesday by the Mississippi Technology Alliance.



Targeting technology-based economic development in Mississippi, the Index groups baseline data into eight categories and establishes a data collection process for 24 science- and technology-related indicators. Initial analyses suggest:

Kansas, Inc., a nonpartisan public-private organization, recently released the findings and recommendations of its team of economic development consultants and more than 1,100 Kansans as a comprehensive update to Kansas' economic development strategic plan.



Making the Knowledge Economy Work for All Kansans emphasizes commitment to a cooperative environment by both public and private sectors in Kansas. Considered the state's most ambitious look at economic development in nearly 15 years, the report highlights five strategic objectives, including 47 policy recommendations, that address the challenges facing Kansas:

Again, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State addresses.



Utah

Michael Leavitt, State of the State, January 28, 2002

http://www.utah.gov/governor/stateofstate.html

Dallas

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has created an external advisory council to provide insight into research trends, entrepreneurial activities, government liaison and global outreach. The council, which is composed of members of academia and both the commercial and defense industries, is being asked to help administrators plan the future of the university's research, assist in maintaining a sense of direction and focus in present work research, and interact closely with UTD's internal research council. UTD has a legislatively mandated emphasis in the natural sciences and engineering and management sciences.



Greenville, South Carolina

An unidentified developer has purchased 132 acres near Interstate 85 to build a research park with a $40 million wind tunnel, according to the Associated Press. The park, pending approval by nearby Clemson University's board of trustees, would attract research funding for Clemson and would be geared to the motorsports and automotive industries. Serving as a facility for Clemson's motorsports engineering program, the park's wind tunnel would be used in automotive research to study the effects caused by air swirling around a moving vehicle.



Lancaster, Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System has promised $20 million to begin venture capital investments in downtown Lancaster, the Lancaster New Era recently reported. Part of a $100 million fund to bring small companies to an incubator, the commitment makes way for a proposed $10 million renovation of three floors in the former Lancaster Press building. Emerald Assets Management, a company overseeing the initiative, is expected to complete investment agreements that could place up to $50 million in the fund by the end of March. Emerald also is looking for assistance from the state's Department of Community and Economic Development to cover the renovation costs.



Roanoke, Virginia

The newly named Business Technology Park at Radford University awaits renovations to the 110,000-square-foot building in which it will be housed, according to the Roanoke Times & World News. Already home to the university's Small Business Assistance Center, the building has space for 10 tenants in offices measuring 4,000-5,000 sq. ft. each. Tenants will have access to the university's offices for international trade expertise, management and leadership development, and technology training, among other shared services. The park is being situated in the former Carilion Health System building on 78 acres of St. Albans Hospital property in Pulaski County.



Return to the top of this page

Rick Kovar, executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council for the past two years, resigned from his position. The 242-member Council is beginning the search for a new director.



John Anderson, CEO for Enterprise Florida since 1996, has announced his retirement effective in June. The nonprofit organization that handles economic development for the state has been accused in recent months for negative audit findings by the state, overstating its impact figures, and for Anderson's comment that the organization is not in the job creation business.



The North Carolina Technological Development Authority is going through staff cuts and reorganization after a critical audit caused the state to pull its funding. Five management and staff positions, comprising 40 percent of the organization's workforce, have been eliminated to regain the state's support and public confidence.



Return to the top of this page

To give environmental technology entrepreneurs the chance to have their business plans analyzed by experts and win money for it, the National Environmental Technology (NET) Incubator in Wilberforce, Ohio, is hosting the first annual National Business Plan Competition.



Prizes including $10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place and $2,500 for third place will be awarded. The company deemed "Most Likely to be Funded" will have the opportunity to present its plan before a panel of investors at the Energy and Environmental Network's Early Stage Capital Forum in Boston on May 8. In addition, two years of free rent in the NET Incubator will be granted to the finalist with the business plan deemed most likely to succeed, yet not ready for equity funding.



Entrants must be companies — either currently operating or in the formation stage — that have the intent to manufacture or have proprietary enabling technology or software that will allow rapid growth. Companies must have a business plan that demonstrates a clear business model and intent to expand significantly; the business plan must be for a seed, start-up, or early stage venture. In addition, the company described must be organized to do business in their home state as a corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, or limited liability company.



A distinguished panel of experts will review business plan submissions and give feedback on how to improve companies' models and methods of presenting the plans. A $200 entrance fee applies; participants eliminated before the finals will be reimbursed $150. All entrance materials must be postmarked on or before February 15, 2002. Other eligibility requirements apply. For more information, visit: http://209.190.53.22/competition/incubator.htm

With more than 110 great titles to aid the policy, practice and study of tech-based economic development, the SSTI Publication Catalog, Resources for Building Tech-based Economies officially is online.



Placing the catalog on the World Wide Web is the latest effort to reflect the SSTI's commitment to making available quality information on science and technology policy issues and tech-based economic development. From Accessing Capital to Commercializing Technology, 17 categories arranged by the most common objectives of local, state and national entities make it easy for users to locate specific titles.



Whether you're new to the field or a seasoned professional, SSTI is confident at least one publication in Resources for Building Tech-based Economies will significantly improve your understanding and application of tech-based economic development policies. Visit the SSTI Publication Catalog online at: 

http://www.ssti.org/Publications/publications.htm

Total R&D expenditures in the U.S. are expected to increase about 3.5 percent to $285.6 billion in 2002, according to the annual Battelle-R&D Magazine research and development forecast.



Three significant factors, according to the forecast, have combined to exert influence on the state of R&D funding for the upcoming year, including the change in presidential administration, the faltering economy and the events and aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The forecast suggests the impact of these factors cannot be underestimated.



"In previous years, the analysis of the emerging patterns of R&D could readily accommodate almost any singular disruption and could present a reasonable picture of the anticipated effects," said Dr. Jules Duga, a Battelle senior researcher and co-author of the report. "However, the concurrent triple-whammy experienced over the past few months creates a degree of uncertainty that is higher than usual and adds a layer of complexity to the forecast."



Highlights in the forecast are:

In his fourth State of the State Address, Governor Jeb Bush outlined a new $100 million university-based initiative focused on nanotechnology and biotechnology.



"I propose that we dedicate $100 million to create the Florida Technology Development Initiative. This initiative will build centers of excellence among our universities dedicated to the key research necessary for building our promising technology sectors. New facilities, laboratories, and endowed academic chairs will be the catalysts for entrepreneurial investment. If we build it, they will come. If we seize this opportunity, the best and the brightest academics, researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs will call Florida home. And they in turn will help build businesses that will fuel our economy for the next century," Gov. Bush said.



The Governor's written budget request provides more details on the proposal:

The following item was prepared by Bill Noxon of the National Science Foundation.



U.S. collegiate enrollments in graduate-level science and engineering (S&E) fields rose in Fall 2000 for the second year in a row following several years of declines, according to a new National Science Foundation Data Brief from the Division of Sciences Resources Statistics. However, the entire 2000 increase, and then some, was due to the largest-ever, single-year increase in foreign student enrollees who held temporary visas.



The 2000 graduate S&E enrollments rose a modest 0.8 percent over 1999, reaching 414,570 — the highest number since 1996. The all-time high was in 1993 when more than 435,700 enrolled as full-time graduate students. But the numbers declined for the next five years. In 1998, less than 405,000 students enrolled in S&E graduate programs U.S.-wide, representing the lowest total for the decade.



In 2000, S&E graduate students with temporary visas reached an all-time high of more than 121,800. From 1998 through 2000, their numbers jumped by more than 19 percent, far exceeding the overall increase of the last two enrollment years.



"In the mid-1990s, the numbers of students with temporary visas went down fairly sharply when the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 made thousands of Chinese students eligible to receive permanent resident visas," Joan Burrelli, author of the data brief, says. "The recent increases, we believe, are tied to more foreign students coming to the U.S. to study computer science and electrical engineering." [Bill Noxon]



For more information, see: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/databrf/nsf02306/db02306.htm

Yesterday's Providence Journal-Bulletin reports the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) has reduced by merger the number of Slater Centers. With the goal of increasing the impact of the state's annual $3 million investment, the restructuring from six to four centers is intended to reduce overhead and administrative costs, allowing more of each resulting center's funding to flow into emerging businesses.



The Slater Centers foster industry-university collaborations, build and strengthen relationships among academic institutions, and develop industry clusters. The centers offer business development resources — in the form of investments of up to $100,000 — to nascent ventures while creating a culture of entrepreneurialism. The merger, according to RIEPC officials quoted in the article, also permits center staff to focus more time and energy in the portfolio companies.



Two of the original six centers, the Slater Center for Biomedical Technology and the Slater Center for Interactive Technologies, remain focused in their original technology areas, while the remaining four are being consolidated into two broader centers: the Slater Center for Design and Manufacturing Innovation and the Slater Center for Marine and Environmental Technologies.



More information on the Slater Centers and RIEPC is available from: http://www.ripolicy.org/slater.html

Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.



Officials in Sullivan County, a community of about 144,000 that neighbors Virginia, established the Educate and Grow scholarship program in May 2001. The program was approved first by the Kingsport (Tenn.) Board of Mayor and Aldermen and, with no dissenting votes, the Sullivan County Commissioners gave way to a $300,000-per-year plan for the program.



Under the program's terms, up to 168 students may receive full tuition assistance on a per-year basis to attend Northeast State Technical Community College, and every student in Sullivan County's six high schools and homeschoolers is eligible for the $1,600 in tuition money. Recipients must take at least 12 hours of classes a semester, maintain a C-average, enter college within 15 months of graduating high school, and complete a 60-hour degree at Northeast State within three calendar years.



Northeast State, which offers two-year associate degrees in 45 fields, reportedly has experienced success in attracting graduates via the Educate and Grow program. This past fall, 103 students enrolled in the program, and an above-average 72 returned for the spring semester, according to the Kingsport Times-News. In November 2001, the program was lauded by members of Kingsport's Economic Development Partnership for showing progress and gaining national attention.



Return to the top of this page