SSTI Digest

Jim Hayes is serving as interim president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama as the group works to fill the position. Hayes was a former director of the Alabama Development Office.

William Parsons is serving as acting executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Parsons is the vice president of operations.

Correction: Lara Vande Walle is the director of membership and business development for the Maryland Technology Council, not Maryland's TEDCO as was previously reported.

A draft report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommends the Department for Homeland Security include a centralized office for research and technology development and the senior-level position of undersecretary for science and technology, according to several published reports. The final version of Maximizing the Contribution of Science and Technology Within the New Department of Homeland Security, which was available on the PCAST website temporarily, is to be given to the President next week. News accounts indicate the PCAST recommendations will bring the Administration's position to reflect more closely the consolidated leadership structures proposed in separate Senate and House versions of Homeland Security legislation. PCAST calls for the under secretary for S&T to oversee a Homeland Security Advanced Research Agency (HS-ARPA), modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Both bills under consideration call for an undersecretary for science and technology, while S. 2452 also called for a Security Advanced Research Projects Agency,…

The St. Louis region lags behind a number of metropolitan areas including Austin, Portland, Atlanta, and Indianapolis in attracting 20- to 34-year olds to live and work in the region, according to a report released this month by the regional, nonprofit organization, FOCUS St. Louis. Preparing St. Louis for Leadership in the 21st Century Economy is the result of a year-long effort by a citizen-based FOCUS St. Louis task force. The 27-member group concluded the St. Louis region must be more effective in attracting and retaining young knowledge workers in order for the region to thrive and compete in the 21st Century economy. The task force report says citizens, employers, educators, and government and civic leaders must recognize the impending crisis and take steps to capitalize on, connect, and better market the area's resources to meet the needs of young knowledge workers. This includes, according to the report, increasing venture capital, expanding green space, creating a new, regional brand image targeted at young knowledge workers, and making St. Louis a vibrant region. More…

University partnerships lead to diversity in teaching and research, highlight the importance of university research and lead to the development of special expertise, concludes a policy brief by the Conseil Superieur De L’Education in Quebec. Universities: Working In Partnership, prepared for the Minister of Education, examines the effects of partnerships with outside entities on elements of the university mission in Canada, particularly Quebec. The brief outlines the positive effects of partnerships, as well as the counterproductive and undefined effects. The brief focuses on the university viewpoint of partnerships and identifies concerns and tensions by universities when engaging in these agreements. These concerns and tensions are parlayed into five key questions to be asked. From these questions, the Counsel outlines five guidelines for partnerships: The university's mission must remain the chief point of reference. The effects of partnerships on training must be optimized. Measures concerning university research funding provided for in the Quebec policy on science…

A review of recent grant announcements from across the country reveals the growing importance the Economic Development Administration (EDA) places on supporting technology-based economic development projects. EDA's emphasis on technology-led economic development is expected to be the focus of  a keynote address delivered by Dr. David Sampson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and EDA head, at SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference this October 2-3. EDA — which since 1965 has provided assistance to generate jobs, help retain existing jobs, and stimulate industrial and commercial growth in economically-distressed areas — has historically concentrated funding on traditional economic development projects focused on public works and infrastructure. EDA has been working to shift more resources toward tech-based approaches to building wealth and securing higher-wage jobs for rural and urban areas. A sampling from the latest rounds of grants reflects this shift: $1.5 million for construction of a 40,000 sq. ft. information technology business incubator in the…

Governor Bill Owen has named Trip Carter as the state's first aerospace advocate, the state's latest effort to help the industry, which employs approximately 110,000 residents and has $4 billion in revenues. Only Florida, California and Texas have larger stakes in the aerospace industry. As a result, the state has undertaken several initiatives over the past two years to develop and promote the industry's health as it goes through a transition period. The Aerospace Advocate appointment follows a Space Symposium held in Colorado Springs in April and the Colorado Space Strategy Initiative completed two years ago to study the importance of aerospace for Colorado's economy and outline specific recommendations for public-private initiatives to support the industry. Working through the Colorado Technology Alliance, Mr. Carter will report to the state's new Colorado Aerospace/Defense Council. The goals of the Advocate and Council are to work with leaders of industry, education, government, economic development organizations and the general public to establish strong space coalitions, ensure…

With several of the right elements already in place but scattered across a wide area, the two planning districts comprising the 13-county region surrounding Roanoke, Virginia, combined efforts to develop a strategic economic development strategy that focuses heavily on science and technology-based initiatives. The Alliance Group and its Planning Leadership Group, a team of public, private and academic stakeholder organizations, have outlined six strategic themes that entail regional economic development activities for the larger region: visibility, connectivity, quality-of-life amenities, knowledge work force, innovation and entrepreneurship, and economic transformation. The next steps, the group asserts, are to communicate the goals of the Strategy throughout the region and manage the necessary resources for enacting the goals. Regional Economic Strategy offers some insight on the region's transition between the Knowledge Economy and the New Economy as it stresses the importance of a knowledge work force, those workers whose knowledge is critical to a company's intellectual assets…

Two separate news stories covering different New Jersey's technology-based economic development initiatives may give one of the first peeks at Governor James McGreevey's plans for science & technology in the Garden State. The online edition of the Small Times reports Gov. McGreevey committed $2 million from the state's FY 2003 budget to support the New Jersey Nanotechnology Consortium, a new $12 million public-private research initiative based at donated Lucent research facilities. According to the article, $6 million of the additional funding is to come in the form of earmarks on the appropriations bills for the Department of Defense and National Science Foundation. The article is available at: http://www.smalltimes.com/print_doc.cfm?doc_id=4316 For the obituary column, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the same day that the activities of the state-funded seed and early venture capital program known as the Springboard Fund have been suspended because of the state's budget deficit. The program, which was administered by the New Jersey Commission on Science &…

Already, more than 20 organizations are taking advantage of SSTI's new affiliate membership program. In addition to being able to tap into SSTI's resources, among the benefits available to SSTI affiliates are two perks that many are taking advantage of: discounted registration fees for Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, SSTI's Sixth Annual Conference and a 10 percent discount on any purchases from SSTI's 150+ title bookstore and catalog. Eligibility to become an SSTI affiliate is open to local and regional science and technology programs, universities, trade associations, tech councils, organizations supporting technology-based economic development, international organizations and agencies, non-profit organizations, and individuals. SSTI welcomes our first affiliates: American Society of Mechanical Engineers Center for Economic Development, Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering and Applied Science Engineering Research Services, Arizona State University Delaware Technology Park Edison Welding Institute Harrisburg…

In June, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce released the 2002 estimates for Gross State Product (GSP). GSP estimates can be useful for standardizing data across states for ease of comparison or interpretation. SSTI has prepared a table presenting the GSPs for all 50 states and the District of Columbus for the decade 1991-2000 in current 2000 dollars. The states are then ranked by percent change over the decade. The GSP data is available for viewing and downloading at: http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/gsp/ SSTI's table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/080902t.htm SSTI thanks EconData.Net for alerting us to the release of the 2000 GSP figures through their free monthly email newsletter.