SSTI Digest

Last week, Governor Gray Davis announced the award of three grants to support the creation of new Regional Technology Alliances (RTA) for the Inland Empire, San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento/Capital regions. The three new non-profit organizations join existing RTAs in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay area to provide decentralized business support services for innovative, California-based technology firms. Because the RTAs are designed by the tech community within the particular service area, each RTA offers regionally-customized approaches to technical assistance, securing financing, and other business support. The three new RTAs, expected to open by May, will receive $200,000 in state matching grants from the California Technology Investment Partnership (CalTIP). The RTA and CalTIP programs are administered by the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.

High school courses for advanced study in mathematics and science should focus on helping students acquire in-depth understanding rather than the more superficial knowledge that comes from covering too much material too quickly, according to a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Learning and Understanding: Improving Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in U.S. High Schools concentrates on biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in U.S. secondary schools. Although AP and IB have raised the level of mathematics and science education in the U.S., the report says, their efforts to emphasize the key concepts in science disciplines have not been realized because of the excessive number of topics covered in each subject.

An economic diversification package recently approved by officials in Orange County, Florida, is intended to offset some of the post-September 11 difficulties experienced by the local economy. More than $1 million for the Orange County Economic Stimulus Package was approved in late January by the Board of County Commissioners. The initiative provides funding for five measures, including:

This is the final installment in this year's coverage of the Governors' State of the State and Budget Addresses highlighting issues of importance to the tech-based economic development community. Illinois George Ryan, State of the State/Budget Address and Supporting Press Materials, February 20, 2002

President Bush has nominated Major General Charles F. Bolden, U.S. Marine Corps to serve as NASA's next Deputy Administrator. A former astronaut, Bolden currently serves as the Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Last week, David Allen began his tenure as Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. Allen was the Assistant Vice President for Technology Partnerships at the Ohio State University. On April 1, Jerry McGuire becomes the first director of technology transfer for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. McGuire currently is the director of technology transfer and licensing for the University of Buffalo. Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

President Bush has nominated Major General Charles F. Bolden, U.S. Marine Corps to serve as NASA's next Deputy Administrator. A former astronaut, Bolden currently serves as the Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Last week, David Allen began his tenure as Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. Allen was the Assistant Vice President for Technology Partnerships at the Ohio State University.

On April 1, Jerry McGuire becomes the first director of technology transfer for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. McGuire currently is the director of technology transfer and licensing for the University of Buffalo.

Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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.)