SSTI Digest

Carbondale, Illinois

The latest issue of the Illinois Coalition's TechAlert reports Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has broken ground on the $40 million, 45-acre Southern Illinois University Research Park. Plans call for the park to include 12 buildings totaling nearly 236,000 sq. ft. When full, the park should house approximately 75 companies with 800-1,200 tech-skilled employees. Financing for the initial phase has come from an Illinois FIRST grant of $500,000, a $300,000 Congressional

earmark, and approximately $700,000 in other federal funds. Verizon also has invested $800,000 in an on-site fiber optic switching center. The park is adjacent to the university's Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, which houses the Southern Regional Center of the Illinois Manufacturing Center and the Business Incubator Program.

The Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), an initiative that promotes the widespread availability and use of digital network technologies in the public and non-profit sectors, has approximately $12.4 million available in FY 2002.

The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators has been published for the second straight year. Bruce Mehlman, Assistant Secretary for the Technology Administration's Office of Technology Policy (OTP), released the report at SSTI's annual conference earlier this week. 



The second edition of the reference guide draws upon state-level data "that approximates the 'technology infrastructure' of the states, or, at the very least, compiles information about those factors that clearly affect states' capacity to generate new enterprises and high quality jobs, and sustain economic growth." 



Each of 22 input measures fall into three main categories, Funding In-Flows, Human Resources, and Capital Investment and Business Assistance. Another 15 output measures, which focus on two main categories — High-technology Intensity of the State's Business Base and Other Outcome Measures, including patents, fast-growing companies, earnings, and work force employment — combine with the input measures for a total of 37 measures. 



State profiles showing states' overall economic conditions, their science and technology organizations, and their ranking among each of the 37 measures also are provided in the report. 



Copies of The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators may be obtained by visiting: http://www.ta.doc.gov/Reports.htm 

State and local strategies to assist start-up business formation often focus on three elements to help nascent firms: securing much-needed funding or capital (either private or public), lowering the overall cost of doing business, or gaining the skill set or access to intellectual resources to succeed. These objectives of tech-based economic development are, perhaps, most important in a recession, particularly a downturn like the current experience which comes after such a sustained period of growth. 



Because most successful nonprofit technology business incubators address all three elements, it isn't too surprising to find the newspapers around the country carrying several stories on new incubators opening or existing incubators expanding their operations. The latter phenomenon, with examples in Maryland, Idaho, Missouri, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, attests to the economic development benefits that can be achieved through properly executed incubator strategies. 

Gaining a sense of how industries are likely to grow or contract over the next decade can be a vital tool for determining the priorities for tech-based economic development practitioners, public and private investing programs, and workforce developers. These figures are particularly relevant for geographic areas looking at cluster development strategies or targeted research/investment programs. 



The November issue of the Monthly Labor Review, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, includes an article by Jay Berman projecting industry output and employment projections for the first decade of the 21st century. 



Computer and data processing services (Standard Industrial Classification Code 737) continues to top the chart of fastest growing industries with an average annual rate of 6.4 percent growth for 2000-2010. Projected output for the field is expected to grow by an annual rate of 8 percent. 



The national average growth for all non-farm wage and salary employment is projected to be 1.6 percent annually over the decade. Selected individual sector employment growth projections include: 

Tthe five winners of the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier award for performance excellence and quality achievement, include, for the first time, three winners in the education category: 

The number of women who own the nation's privately-held businesses, presently at 28 percent of such businesses, is growing at twice the rate of all firms, according to a new report from Center for Women’s Business Research. 



The center projects the number of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms will stand at 6.2 million by 2002, and that sales generated by these businesses will have grown 40 percent between 1997-2002. Employment in women-owned businesses also is growing at a rate 1.5 times the national average. 



Sponsored by Wells Fargo, the Center’s two most recent reports, Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the U.S. and 50 States and Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the Top 50 Metropolitan Areas analyze both published and unpublished data provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and present the most up-to-date information currently available on the country's women-owned businesses. 



The ten fastest growing states based on 1997 to 2002 growth in the number of firms, employment and sales are: 1) Idaho and Wyoming; 3) Utah; 4) Nevada; 5) Arizona; 6) South Dakota; 7) New Mexico; 8) Montana and Oregon; and 10) Alaska. The top 10 ranked states based on an average of number of firms, employment, and sales are: 1) California; 2) Texas; 3) Florida, Illinois, and New York; 6) Ohio; 7) Michigan and Pennsylvania; 9) North Carolina; and 10) New Jersey. 



The analysis shows that more than half of the number of firms, employment and sales of women-owned firms in the U.S. are located in the top 50 metropolitan areas. The far west sees the greatest concentrations of women-owned businesses: nearly 35 percent of all businesses in Portland, Ore., are women-owned, Seattle (32.5%), Oakland (32.5%), Sacramento (30.8%) and San Francisco (30.8%) The fastest growing metropolitan areas during the same period are: 1) Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah; 2) Las Vegas, Nev.-Ariz.; 3) Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz.; 4) Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. and St. Louis, Mo.-Ill.; 6) Portland-Vancouver, Ore.-Wash.; 7) Nashville, Tenn.; and 8) Austin-San Marcos, Dallas, Fort Worth-Arlington, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas (all tied). 



The full reports are available for purchase from the Center for Women's Business Research. PDF summaries for each state and the 50 largest metro areas are available to download from: http://www.nfwbo.org/StateMetroReports.html

To create new research centers in FY 2003, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering approximately $26 million through its Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program. 



At least two awards totaling up to $13 million each will be made. The awards, subject to 10 percent cost sharing, will be distributed as follows: $2.5 million (year 1), $3 million (year 2), $3.5 million (year 3), and $4 million (years 4 and 5). 



Each new center will focus on the definition, fundamental understanding, development, and validation of the technologies needed to realize a well-defined class of engineered systems with the potential to spawn whole new industries or radically transform the product lines, processing technologies, or service delivery methodologies of current industries. 



Only U.S. academic institutions with undergraduate and doctoral engineering programs may submit pre-proposals as the lead institution. If the ERC is a multi-university effort, the lead university will be joined by long-term core partner institutions that share the responsibility for the ERC. 



These core partner institutions must have undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. Whether a single or multi-university center, short-term outreach in research and education involving a limited number of faculty, other investigators, and teachers from other universities or colleges and pre-college institutions outside the lead and core partner institutions is required. 



The Center Director must be a tenure-track or tenured faculty member in an engineering department at an eligible institution. In the case of a multi-institution ERC, the director must be a tenure-track or tenured member of the faculty of the lead university. The director's doctoral degree must be in engineering or a field of science. 



Playing critical roles in research, education, diversity, outreach and industrial collaboration, ERC innovations in research and education are expected to impact curricula at all levels from pre-college to life-long learning, to employ and reach out to a population that reflects the diversity of the U.S., and to be disseminated to and beyond academic and industry partners. 



A required letter of intent is due by March 15, 2002. Full proposals are not due until December 3, 2002. More information on the ERC program is available through NSF at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0224

Building Entrepreneurial Networks, a major report on how and why networks of entrepreneurs nurture economic growth in communities across the country, was released Wednesday by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE). 



To illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial networks, NCOE’s seventh report profiles five organizations in Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas that have succeeded in developing unique entrepreneurial networks. 



The report notes that regions which have developed strong entrepreneurial economies tend to possess several key ingredients — well-organized local networks along with strong universities, access to equity capital, and an advanced public infrastructure. Similarly, regions with strong networks tend to have high rates of new start-ups and fast-growing companies. 



The report also suggests local entrepreneurs and policymakers working to spur home-grown entrepreneurship should consider policies and initiatives to develop and support entrepreneurial networks. Case studies are provided for the five organizations which have developed model entrepreneurial networks:

In an effort to help combat the present economic downturn, the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is looking to partner with groups across the U.S. to provide training to displaced workers interested in starting new businesses. 



The Kauffman Center is offering its proven FastTrac NewVentureTM program materials at no cost to organizations that want to provide the course to downsized workers in their states or communities. Partner organizations locate attendees, handle logistics, and pay trainer expenses. Displaced workers participate in the program at no charge. The Center has 10 years of experience with the FastTrac program and is ready to work with partners to implement the program rapidly and effectively in their communities. 



In FastTrac NewVentureTM, participants explore the feasibility of their business concept, develop mentor relationships, discover whether life as an entrepreneur is right for them, and lay the groundwork for their future business ventures. The program is currently being implemented for displaced workers from Sprint in Kansas City and the aviation industry in Wichita, Kansas. 



Those interested in partnering with the Kauffman Center to provide entrepreneurship training to displaced workers should contact Kathy Nadlman at 913-681-5525 or knadlman@fasttrac.org

University of Buffalo Entrepreneurial Awards 

An in-depth look at the one-year success of a student company to win last year's first Panasci Entrepreneurial Awards at the University of Buffalo recently was highlighted in the Buffalo News. 



The three students who comprise Student Voice received $25,000 in seed capital as first prize in a competition administered by the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) in the School of Management. Student Voice, a market research firm specializing in data on college-age consumers, uses personal digital assistants and peer-to-peer, in-person interviews for data collection. 



The students' award was provided through a $1 million endowment donated to the university by UB alumna Henry Panasci, a pharmacist/business executive turned venture capitalist. Second prize recipients received $15,000. Seventeen new student teams have entered this year's competition, a field which will be narrowed to five finalists for presentations in January. 



To compete for the awards, UB students submit a business plan outlining the need for a product or service and its target market, including a description of the methods for bringing it to market. Entries are judged based on the soundness of the proposed product or service, marketability and chances for success. 



More information on the Panasci Entrepreneurial Awards, modeled after a successful Massachusetts Institute of Technology program (see below), is available at: http://www.mgt.buffalo.edu/cel/panasci.shtm

A National Science Foundation (NSF) program to foster significant public/private partnerships and help better position local communities to accommodate new and enhanced research and development is continuing into a second year, NSF announced last month. 



The $14 million in grants awarded last year under NSF's Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) have been supplemented with more than $7 million for 12 new grants in 2001 to cover projects in 11 states involving more than 150 partner organizations. 



The twelve lead institutions receiving new PFI awards include: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland; the University of Alaska, Anchorage; the universities of Maine, Southern Mississippi, Southern California, Pennsylvania and South Dakota; Montana Tech; Michigan Technological University; and Montana State, Northwestern and Wichita State universities. 



All are receiving an average of $600,000 over the next two to three years. The lead institutions are selected to act as catalysts in helping their surrounding communities transform research-based knowledge into innovations that create opportunities for new wealth and a broader economic base that benefit communities and the nation at large. 



A complete list of the second Partnership for Innovation Awards is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/press/01/pr0188.htm