SSTI Digest

Canada already has seen its number of biotech firms grow from 227 in 1997 to 400 in 2000, second only to the U.S. in biotech concentration. Last week's announcement of a $51 million (Canadian) biotechnology strategy is intended to further strengthen the Ontario's position in health research and commercialization.

Ontario's Biotechnology Strategy, outlined by Ernie Eves, Ontario's Premier, and Jim Flaherty, Minister of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation, includes the following highlights:

Nine metropolitan areas have been identified as the nation's possessing the greatest concentration of the U.S. biotechnology industry in a new Brookings Institution report entitled Signs of Life: The Growth of Biotechnology Centers in the U.S. The report says the nine areas listed below in order account for: more than 60 percent of all spending on research by the National Institutes of Health; slightly less than two-thirds of all biotech-related patents; eight of every nine VC dollars invested in biopharmaceuticals; and, 95 percent of the dollars in research alliances.

Few private foundations across the country have made a comparable commitment in size or duration toward improving a single state's ability to participate in a knowledge-based economy as the Lilly Foundation has for Indiana. The latest round, reported in this week's online Chronicle of Higher Education, promises a total of $138 million to match donations received by Indiana's accredited colleges and universities. The pledge of $3.5 million to each institution is open to 38 two-year and four-year schools.

The Chronicle reports that to be eligible for the matching donation from the Lilly Foundation, schools must commit to using the raised funds only to strengthen academic programs. Thirty schools were signed on at press time and each had received $150,000 grants from Lilly to seed their fund raising efforts.

Through the 2002 Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) solicitation, the Small Business Administration (SBA) anticipates making up to 27 awards to state efforts to stimulate and encourage broader participation in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

The agency has up to $2.7 million available in FY 2002 for new awards. In FY 2002, all awards made will be equal to $100,000. Each state represented in the multi-state application will not be eligible to receive an award amount exceeding $100,000.

In FY 2001, the SBA funded the first round of FAST awards to 30 states. Awards ranged from $100,000-150,000.

Both new applicants and and prior year awardees are encouraged to apply for FY 2002 funds.

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released its annual progress report on education, The Condition of Education 2002, presenting 44 indicators on the conditions and trends in elementary, secondary and postsecondary education. In one of two special analyses, the report focuses on the experience of nontraditional college students, who comprise the majority of college students today.

Analysis of NCES's National Postsecondary Student Aid Study shows that almost 75 percent of undergraduate students are in some way nontraditional. Only 27 percent of college students fit the "traditional" profile of a college student: a high school graduate who has gone directly from high school to college, who attends school full-time and does not hold a full-time job, who is financially dependent on his or her family and who has no spouse or other dependents.

Besides supporting life science research in universities, one of the other key areas states and communities are using to encourage the growth of a local biotech industry is by supporting an increase in the availability of wet lab and other biotech facilities. Biotech space, however, is extremely expensive compared to other traditional tech incubator facilities for a variety of reasons (design, HVAC, environmental, security, regulatory, etc.)

New Hampshire Biotechnology Business Incubator Feasibility Study, a very detailed report released by the State of New Hampshire, presents a critical assessment of New Hampshire's ability to support technology-related business incubators, with emphasis on biotechnology facilities connected to universities such as Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire (UNH).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has selected 10 states to receive continuation awards of up to $47,000 for the SBIR/STTR Rural Outreach Program. The three-year-old program provides matching grants to states to establish or expand programs to assist small high technology businesses to increase their participation and success in SBIR and STTR programs through training, counseling and outreach.

Of the 25 eligible states, the recipients — Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming — were found by an outside peer review panel to be the top performers based on FY 2001 performance reports.

The narrow award pool and more rigorous review process resulted from the 67 percent cut in the FY 2002 Congressional appropriations for the Rural Outreach Program. The FY 2001 budget for the program was $1.5 million, while the FY 2002 budget was $500,000.

Christmas or Hanukkah for state coffers usually comes in April as taxpayers rush to meet the deadline for filing personal tax returns. Unfortunately, according to the latest survey released by the National Conference of State Legislatures this week, State Fiscal Update-June 2002, states collected $8.6 billion less in individual tax collections this April than a year ago. Much of the drop — 21 percent overall — came in final income tax payments, which fell nearly 29 percent compared to last year.

Data collected by the survey reveals that immediate relief is not forthcoming. Estimated tax payments, considered to be a harbinger of expected receipts in the year ahead, are running nearly 27 percent behind the first four months of 2001.

Only three states, Arizona, Vermont and West Virginia, reported increases in estimated payments.

Comprising a majority of the U.S. workforce, women make up only 8.5 percent of the nation's engineers. A number of programs have been launched over the past decade to recruit more women into the field, and while women now represent 20 percent of all engineering students, women remain more likely than men to switch out of the field, particularly in the first two years of college, concludes a recently released study.

The Women's Experiences in College Engineering (WECE) Project reveals female engineering students are most encouraged by a support network of peers, faculty and advisors, when it comes to pursuing a degree in their field. Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the study results suggest efforts to improve female students' self-confidence and to strengthen the school's support climate positively affect whether women persist in obtaining engineering degrees and entering the workforce as engineers.

The National Science Foundation has released Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering: Fall 2000, a collection of 54 detailed statistical tables present the distribution of graduate students in science and engineering (S&E) across population segments, fields of science or engineering and by college and state.

Nationally, there were 414,570 graduate S&E students in 2000, up less than one percent from the previous year. The tables report California, New York, Texas and Illinois had the most graduate S&E students in science and engineering in 2000.

Economic downturns have a way of encouraging states, universities and communities to assess, refine and re-invigorate their strategies to promote growth and prosperity. The current recession is no exception. With the widely recognized roles played by science and technology in economic success, the news of changes and additions to tech-based economic development strategies from across the country is not too surprising. Here are some recent highlights:

While Congress debates whether or not it should fund national programs to address the Digital Divide, many communities continue their efforts to ensure all local residents have the technology training and access needed to secure high-quality employment and attain skills through lifelong learning. The City of Seattle, through its Department of Information Technology, may offer one of the more sophisticated and successful models for approaching the issue.

With guidance provided by the City's Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB), Seattle has identified a number of appropriate roles for the city to play in addressing the Digital Divide, including: access provider, strategic planning, data collection and mapping, technical advisor, coordinating resource development, Web hosting, funding community technology centers and literacy efforts, and promoting civic use of technology.