SSTI Digest

Of Arizona's 664,454 businesses, 98 percent qualify as small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, according to a study released by the Arizona Department of Commerce and the Arizona State University's Center for the Advancement of Small Business. The study was conducted by the Masters Consulting Group (MCG), an MBA student organization at ASU's College of Business. The number of Arizona's small businesses, estimated at 651,317 by the MCG report, includes 281,022 home-based businesses. For comparison, Arizona had 329,031 small firms in 1997, the last year for available U.S. Census data. The 1997 total, however, does not include limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, not-for-profit corporations, and C corporations. Number of Businesses in Arizona is organized into six sections and includes a statistical breakdown of businesses by the state's 15 counties. The study is available at: http://www.azcommerce.com/publications/current_release.asp?sID=139

Virginia is one of the most connected states in the country with 5.19 million access lines, 2.76 million wireless telephone subscribers and 218,808 high-speed lines, according to a report issued by Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). State of the Telecommunications Industry in Virginia analyzes the state of the national and local telecom industry and identifies the key drivers of Virginia’s success in attracting telecommunications companies, focusing on the industry during the latter part of 2001 and the first half of 2002. The report states that, with the national telecommunications industry in turmoil, further consolidation is inevitable. Between March 2000 and February 2002, more than $1 trillion in market value in the telecom industry was lost, and more than 300,000 people in the industry lost their jobs. In addition, the telecom industry recovery will lag the rest of the economy by 18-24 months. “The telecommunications industry will continue to have a big impact on Virginia’s economy, which is the reason CIT focuses on advanced telecommunications as a key vertical…

Arizona The Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) has formally recognized the state's 12th industry cluster, E-Learning. The implementing organization for the cluster is the Globalized E-Learning Association, which grew from earlier efforts by the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council, the telecommunications infrastructure foundation under GSPED. E-Learning is the 12th Arizona cluster recognized by GSPED since its inception in 1992. Florida Moving forward with his initiative to build research-based Centers of Excellence with the state's university system, Governor Jeb Bush announced Tuesday five industry-member appointments to the nine-member Emerging Technology Commission. The remaining industry members were appointed by the Speaker of the House and Senate President. As a next step, the Commission will receive proposals from universities and their partnerships that will result in 2-5 plans presented to the Florida Board of Education by February 1, 2003. The Commission will hold its first meeting in August. …

SSTI extends a friendly reminder there is still time for readers to complete the 2002 SSTI Weekly Digest survey. As mentioned in a separate e-mail earlier this week, the survey results help us determine the editorial direction and content of future Digest issues. We recognize demands on your time exceed availability, so the 2002 Digest survey asks only 11 critical questions. Completing the online survey forms should take only a few minutes. Most are multiple choice for further simplification, although your personal comments are very helpful, too. Every SSTI staff member involved in preparing the SSTI Weekly Digest and Funding Supplements will read every comment or suggestion, and a summary of the results will be submitted to the Economic Development Administration, the source that allows the Digest to be a free publication. We thank those of you who have already responded to the 2002 survey. It is available at: http://www.ssti.org/digestsurvey02.htm [expired]

Nominations are being accepted currently for the 2002 Tibbetts Awards to recognize those small firms, projects, organizations and individuals judged to exemplify the very best in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) achievement. Named for Roland Tibbetts – acknowledged as the father of the SBIR program – the Tibbetts Award Program is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA). All nominations must be received by August 12, 2002, and announcements of awards will be made late August or early September. The national ceremony to recognize recipients of Tibbetts Awards will be held in Washington, D.C. on October 2, 2002. The event will include a specially arranged program of high-level briefings addressing issues of consequence to technology firms and the SBIR community and a luncheon featuring a keynote speaker. All nominations must be submitted electronically through the Tibbetts website. To view details, past awardees, or submission information, go to "Tibbetts Awards" at http://www.sbirsttr.net/tibbetts.

Governor Dirk Kempthorne has announced the creation of TechConnect East, a regional science and technology office to be located at the Idaho State University Incubation Center in Pocatello, Idaho. Funded with $30,000 from Bechtel, an engineering-construction firm, $25,000 from the Eastern Idaho Economic Development Council (EIEDC), and $15,000 from the state, TechConnect East will support job creation and high-tech business development in southeastern Idaho. Additional office and administrative support will be provided by Idaho State University and the Bannock Development Corporation, an economic development organization in Pocatello. Dr. Bill Shipp, President and General Manager of Bechtel's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) office in Idaho Falls, says TechConnect East will help the area expand a wide array of emerging industries, ranging from biotechnology and improving agriculture to software and systems development. INEEL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory. Shipp, who also serves as the Governor's Science &…

The nation's metropolitan areas were responsible for "driving the economic performance of the nation as a whole last year," accounting for 98 percent of job growth and 86 percent of national economic growth, according to a new report prepared for the U.S. Conference of Mayors by DRI/WEFA. The Role of Metro Areas in the U.S. Economy contains data on each of the nation's 319 metro areas, including 2001 gross metropolitan product, as well as growth and employment figures. Economic forecasts are also provided for the 20 largest U.S. metro areas. As engines of economic growth, job and income creation, metro economies hold the key to the future of the U.S. economy, the report observes. Some of the findings include: In the aggregate, metro areas outperformed non-metro areas economically in 2001. Of the country's 319 metro areas, 269 grew in inflation-adjusted output in 2001, with 135 growing faster than the national average. Over the past decade, metro economy output increased from $5 trillion to $8.9 trillion, an average annual increase of 6 percent, ahead of the…

The Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis at Florida State University has completed a New Economy index for Tallahassee, showing how the Florida capital compares with 66 MSAs and, in a second analysis, a comparison of 20 Florida MSAs. Tallahassee ranks 11th among all MSAs assessed, a finding the authors suggest confirms "the city's economy has a number of very strong advantages." The new index strives to build on the The Metropolitan New Economy Index, a study released by the Progressive Policy Institute in April 2001 that established a framework within which to rank the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas. In Comparison of Tallahassee and Other American and Florida MSAs Using the Metropolitan New Economy Index, the authors describe new characteristics of the New Economy using five major categories: knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism and competition, the transformation to a digital economy, and technological innovation capacity. Within the categories are 16 indicators used for MSA rankings. Tallahassee's high overall placement, the authors contend, shows the…

Today's online issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports Microsoft Corporation is contributing $750 million to China to support computer science education, basic research, software training, and business growth. To give a sense of the magnitude and potential importance of Microsoft's investment on the Chinese and global IT market and workforce: the $750 million (to be allocated over three years) is currently equal to 50 percent of the entire Chinese software industry's annual revenues. The article reports $24 million would be used to create five software colleges in the leading Chinese universities while the balance "will go directly into joint-ventures with Chinese manufacturing firms and software companies." The article is available online free on the Chronicle's website: http://chronicle.com/free/2002/06/2002062801t.htm

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced 51 grant recipients will share $6.1 million for rural economic development. Funding for the projects comes from the USDA's Rural Business Opportunity Grants Rural Development and Rural Business Enterprise Grant programs. The 2002 awards are distributed across 24 states: Arizona - $265,221; California - $450,000; Florida - $399,600; Georgia - $183,279; Illinois - $874,500; Kentucky - $398,000; Louisiana - $50,000; Maine - $445,000; Mississippi - $372,923; Missouri - $319,999; Montana - $63,260; Nebraska - $50,000; New Mexico - $200,960; New York - $250,000; North Carolina - $300,000; North Dakota - $236,290; Oklahoma - $211,070; Oregon - $250,000; South Carolina - $163,450; South Dakota - $100,000; Tennessee - $288,247; Utah - $46,545; Washington - $149,271; and West Virginia - $92,930. While traditional economic development and infrastructure improvements still dominate the slate of awards, nearly half of the 51 grants will support creation of business incubators, entrepreneurship programs, revolving loan funds for emerging businesses,…

A new report assessing Maine's seven targeted technology sectors represents the first systematic attempt to analyze the growth of the state's industry clusters. The report, Assessing Maine's Technology Clusters, was prepared for the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) by the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School. The MSTF report begins by defining clusters as more than geographic concentrations of firms in a similar industry. Clusters occur when a network of relationships between companies, suppliers, service providers and supporting institutions provide a competitive advantage to all related firms in the region, the report states. A cluster strategy, the report observes, can benefit both rural and heavily populated areas in Maine. By pursuing an economic development strategy of investing in the technology sectors — information technology, biotechnology, advanced materials and composites, precision manufacturing, forest products and agriculture, marine technology and aquaculture, and environmental technologies — the state has sought to spur technological innovation in…

Florida's High Tech Corridor and LaGrange, Georgia, have been named two of the world's top seven "intelligent" communities in a recent report by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a project of the New York-based telecommunication group World Teleport Association. In The Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2002, the Corridor is recognized for its work in developing the region's high-tech workforce and as an effective collaboration between academia, the private sector and local and state government. Other ranked communities include Bangladore, India; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Seoul, South Korea; Singapore; and Sunderland, UK. The ICF's yearly award honors the seven top communities or regions it sees as pioneers or role models for the development of vibrant "Digital Age communities." To be chosen, the communities must meet at least one of the five Intelligent Community Indicators defined by ICF: Significant deployment of broadband communications to businesses, government facilities and residences, with government providing a catalyst through regulation, e-government…