SSTI Digest

We read a lot of e-mail for the Digest. A lot of e-mail. We know that e-mail boxes are getting fuller all the time, so even thinking of recommending that you increase your reading load takes a lot of nerve, or a very good reason. This one is the latter.



For anyone interested in cultivating the fullest understanding possible of the wide world of tech-based economic development, I believe one of the best newsletters/websites is Ontario's Regional Economic Development and Innovation (OREDI) Newsletter, a free biweekly e-publication of the Ontario Network on the Regional Innovation System (ONRIS) at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto.

The number of states reporting cost overruns, budget cuts and use of their fiscal reserves has grown significantly over the last three months, according to a report released last week by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).



State Fiscal Outlook for FY 2002 - January Update addresses budget problems in FY 2002 and looks at fiscal developments affecting FY 2003 budgets. Data collected from state legislative fiscal offices by NCSL indicate that more than three-quarter of the states have implemented budget cuts or holdbacks and more than half are tapping their rainy-day accounts.



All but five of the 50 states report that revenues are below projections. The future offers little hope for a quick recovery, as 37 states already report budget gaps in next year's revenue forecasts. Tax proposals to help balance FY 2003 budgets are under consideration in 19 states.

Royalty payback requirements and expanding roles for universities are among the changes outlined by the U.S. Department of Commerce in The Advanced Technology Program: Reform with a Purpose. With goals of improving the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and providing "stability" — making the program more palatable to its perennial Congressional detractors — the Department of Commerce has identified six structural changes within ATP.



Since its first competition in 1990, ATP has provided $1.8 billion in funding for more than 580 projects supporting early-stage, high-risk research. For much of its history and despite several independent evaluations, the program has seen protracted appropriations battles with the House of Representatives. Even the President's FY 2002 budget request, the first submitted by the Bush Administration, proposed a funding hiatus for ATP while the program was reviewed. (Congress appropriated $185 million for ATP in FY 2002.)

Earlier this week, Governor Don Sundquist and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp. (TTDC) released the New Economy Strategy, a broad plan to improve the state's economic viability through science and technology. The strategy encompasses many new initiatives to complement TTDC's existing portfolio of tech-based economic development efforts.



Using six focus groups across the state, the planning process drew input from more than 175 people involved in research, economic development, science, and technology.



Specific recommendations are organized to address five objectives:

The San Diego Work Force Partnership recently released four strategic plans as a blueprint to prepare San Diego's workforce to compete in the changing global economy. Initiated as part of a broader Regional Workforce Development Strategic Planning Initiative, the plans reflect the concerns of area businesses for developing and maintaining skilled workers.



San Diego Regional Technology Alliance, a nonprofit organization, and San Diego State University completed the plans, which evaluated workforce development trends in four local industry clusters — biosciences, computer and electronics, software and computer services, and visitor services.



To study and formulate recommendations for the clusters, the plans' focus was to identify cluster employers' current training needs, data needs for educators and employers, and strategies to improve ongoing communication between educators and employers.

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) and the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) recently presented the first part of a two-phase study by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies entitled The Genealogy of Maryland Entrepreneurs.



Phillip Singerman, executive director of TEDCO, and David S. Iannucci, Maryland Secretary of DBED, provided the information Feb. 4 during the fifth annual State of Technology in Maryland Summit in Annapolis.



Highlights of the first phase of the study reveal the following about the history of Maryland businesses:

Leaders of Central Indiana's top research, academic and economic development organizations announced on Wednesday an effort to develop the region as a world-class center for the life sciences industry.



The Central Indiana Life Sciences Initiative — led by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), the City of Indianapolis, Indiana University, Purdue University and the Indiana Health Industry Forum — will seek to increase the number of jobs, businesses, and research opportunities in the life sciences industry in Central Indiana through four goals:

This is the fifth installment in the "Tech-talkin' Govs" series which provides highlights of programs, policies, and issues included in the Governors' addresses related to tech-based economic development.



Connecticut

John G. Rowland, Budget Address, February 6, 2002

http://www.state.ct.us/governor/news/budget2002.htm

Two independent surveys of venture capital investments made during the fourth quarter of FY 2001 suggest an end to downward trends in the flow of money and number of VC placements.



MoneyTree™ Survey

The fourth quarter 2001 results of the MoneyTree™ survey measuring venture capital activity across the country are now available online. This is the first survey conducted since the merger of the two most widely known quarterly investment surveys, the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics MoneyTree™ Survey and the quarterly survey conducted by the National Venture Capital Association.



With total investments of $7.1 billion, the fourth quarter data provides evidence that the VC community's reluctance to invest, which started in the third quarter of 2000, was finally reversing itself. Figures for both the total number of deals and total investments were higher than the third quarter.

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), formerly known as the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, may have cut the amount of research funding it is required to award small tech companies, but the Department of Defense still must meet its full 2.5 percent set-aside obligations, points out Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri in a strongly worded, bipartisan letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Senators are the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, respectively.



An eleventh hour insertion in the 2002 Defense Appropriations Act reduced MDA's set aside requirement for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program from $148.8 million to only $75 million [see the 1/11/02 SSTI Weekly Digest for more information].

With the goal of supporting partnerships that unite the efforts of local school districts with science, mathematics, engineering and education faculties of colleges and universities, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the first request for proposals (RFP) for the $160 million Math & Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Involvement of additional stakeholders, especially states, is highly encouraged, according to the RFP.



The program seeks to improve student outcomes in high-quality mathematics and science at all levels, from pre-K to 12. By stressing partnerships, MSP emphasizes that mathematicians, scientists and engineers participate in the effort to impact the teacher workforce and to work with teachers and administrators to substantially improve student achievement. NSF expects teachers and higher education faculty, as well as administrators and school guidance counselors, to be significantly involved in proposal development and program implementation.

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: