SSTI Digest

Georgia Tech topped the nation in its efforts to help state and local agencies with economic development, according to a study released by the Southern Growth Policies Board's Southern Technology Council (STC).

Conducted by Louis Tornatzky and Paul Waugaman, senior fellows at STC, Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy offers comprehensive case descriptions of how national research universities operate in the following areas:

Connecticut-based bioscience research and development (R&D) investment in 2001 totaled $3.6 billion, an 18 percent increase over 2000, according to the Seventh Annual Economic Report of Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), Connecticut's bioscience Cluster. 2001 Gains and Future Opportunities, released last week at Yale University, highlights several economic indicators that demonstrate the growth of the bioscience industry in Connecticut, including:

Small businesses bearing a critical role to the regional economies of upstate New York must overcome several barriers to growth if they are to enjoy future success, suggests a report by the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Conducted in partnership with the Center for Governmental Research, a non-profit organization based in Rochester, N.Y., Small Business: Big Challenge — A Survey of Small Firms in Upstate New York identifies the chief barriers to growth of more than 4,000 small businesses in western and central New York State. The survey also spells out the ways new technologies have impacted the region's small firms, more than one-third of which were reported to have expanded in the last three years.

In SSTI's second look at the 2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Geographic Area Statistics in as many weeks, SSTI highlights more of the report's key findings, including data on such fields as the value added by manufacturers, value of shipments, and average value added per employee. The total value added by U.S. manufacturers increased by 9.69 percent between 1997 and 2000, according to the Census Bureau report. Idaho experienced the largest such increase (122.89 percent). Of the eight states that saw a decrease of value added by their manufacturers, New Mexico topped the list (24.56 percent). However, the District of Columbia experienced the largest decrease in the U.S. (42.74 percent).

Michigan Governor John Engler recently signed Senate Bills 880, 881 and 999 to help make high-speed Internet connections available and affordable to consumers across the state. Almost unanimously approved in the Michigan House and Senate, the Governor’s broadband initiative was supported by a coalition of more than 50 statewide associations, local groups and companies. The bills are as follows:

Responding to the demands of business leaders to close the nation's workforce skills gap, the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) has created the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Voluntary Partnership to represent the telecommunications, computer and information industry sector. By bringing together representatives from business, labor, education and community-based organizations, NSSB is facilitating the creation of a system of skill standards, assessments and certification that is expected to help the nation's businesses compete in the global economy and improve worker productivity. ICT is the fifth industry-led Voluntary Partnership recognized by NSSB; the other partnerships cover the manufacturing, sales and service, education and training, and hospitality and tourism industry sectors.

NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology has released an integrated strategy, or blueprint, that suggests developing new technology will lead to a new era of aviation. The strategy, while not completed in time to be reflected in the Administration's 2003 budget request, will be used to guide federal aeronautics investments in research, education and development. The NASA Aeronautics Blueprint: Toward a Bold New Era of Aviation identifies four elements on which NASA will focus — the digital airspace, revolutionary vehicles, security and safety, and a state-of-the-art educated workforce — to address critical issues in aeronautics. NASA must work closely with the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, academia and industry to be successful, according to the blueprint. With respect to the four elements above, the following points are made:

As a means of highlighting the performance and composition of state economies, Harvard's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, led by Dr. Michael Porter, has published profiles on all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The profiles, available at http://www.people.hbs.edu/mporter/stateprofiles.htm, include data based on the Cluster Mapping project — a multi-year effort to statistically define clusters and analyze regional economies in the U.S. Relevant economic areas for companies and metropolitan areas, as defined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, are outlined. The profiles are arranged by the following topics:

The Census Bureau report released last week, 2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Geographic Area Statistics, provides annual data from 1997 through 2000 on the number of all manufacturing employees, number of production workers, value added by manufacturers, cost of materials, value of shipments, and new capital expenditures for manufacturing establishments by state. The data cover manufacturing industry groups such as food, apparel, lumber, chemicals, computers and transportation equipment. Due to the adoption of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in the 1997 Economic Census, approximately half of the industries in the manufacturing sector of NAICS do not have comparable industries in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system that was used in the past. As a result, comparability of current and historical data is severely impacted, and the report only presents data from 1997 through 2000.

The U.S. Small Business Administration and My Own Business, Inc., have jointly created a free, online entrepreneurship course for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The announcement was made at the Conference on Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century in Washington, D.C., earlier this week. The 11-session interactive course was developed by My Own Business, Inc., a Los Angeles-based, non-profit firm founded in 1992 by a successful entrepreneur, to develop and provide educational materials on entrepreneurship. The course includes audio sound bytes, quizzes, feedback and an online tool to create business plans. Each of the individual components of the virtual business seminar can be pursued in sequence or independently. The 11 segments are:

Arizona The Arizona State Legislature has agreed to pull $10 million from the Arizona Job Training Program due to a current budget crisis, according to the Arizona Daily Star. A temporary agreement until the Legislature adopts the state budget, the cut in funding for the  program would preserve grants that have been approved but have  not been awarded. About $400,000 for program funding would remain until July 1. The training grants provided through the program enable companies to administer formal training to boost their employees' skills; it is the only state program in Arizona that provides in-house training. Cleveland, Ohio

The Ohio Department of Development, which works collaboratively with businesses, communities and the Ohio Legislature to develop financial and technical programs, seeks to fill the position, Grants Administration Manager. The position's duties include managing the outside Grant Administration Team, assessing project results and progress, and performing other duties assigned by the Deputy Director of the Technology Division. Candidates must show the following: a Bachelor of Science in Business or Public  Administration or a related area of study; a minimum of five years  experience in public administration, economic development or a related field; proficient in the use of computers (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, database spreadsheets); and excellent written & verbal communication skills. Candidates also must be able to travel up to 40 percent of time. Previous supervisory experience is  preferred. More detailed information is available on SSTI's website at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm