SSTI Digest

Using the statistics provided in the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress science assessment, SSTI has prepared a table ranking states based on the percent of 8th grade students scoring at or above proficiency in 2000. Ties were broken by the states' average scores for the year.  Montana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio and North Dakota were the top five states in the ranking — all with at least 40 percent of their 8th grade students scoring at or above proficiency in 2000. Thirteen other states were at or above the national average of 30 percent.  The SSTI table also presents each state's 1996 assessment score for 8th grade students, the change between 2000 and 1996, and the percentage of fourth-graders scoring at or above proficiency in 2000.  The table can be found on the following webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/113001t.htm 

2002 college graduates, particularly those with masters and doctoral degrees, can expect a tougher time finding employment after graduation next spring, according to the 31st annual Recruiting Trends survey conducted by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University.  The survey of 286 employers, primarily in the manufacturing and professional services sectors, determined that graduates with bachelor degrees will see a 6 percent to 13 percent decline in hiring during the 2001-02 academic year. 2002 grads with master’s and doctoral degrees could see a 20 percent decline.  In addition, survey respondents reported hiring 34 percent fewer bachelor’s degree recipients and 45 percent fewer master’s degree graduates than they projected last year.  The largest declines in hiring include engineering, computer science, and business.  More information is available from the Collegiate Employment Research Institute website at: http://msutoday.msu.edu/ 

Baton Rouge  The Louisiana Business and Technology Center (LBTC) celebrated on Wednesday its 13th year of existence with a reception at the Louisiana State University Faculty Club, honoring those tenants to graduate from the center's incubation program. LBTC, a small business incubator located on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, began in 1988 as a joint venture between LSU, the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority. The center has over 45,000 sq. ft. of office space that is currently leased to 20 tenant companies and has graduated 82 companies since 1988, including 66 companies still in operation.  Folkston, Georgia  A vacant school in Folkston soon will be home to the Okefenokee Education and Research Center, according to the Georgia Edition of The Florida Times-Union. Two million dollars from the state General Assembly and an agreement between the Georgia Wildlife Federation and Folkston is making way for the center. The first phase of the project will house researchers and student…

More than 45 days into the new fiscal year, several budget bills have finally moved out of Congress. Representatives from nearly all of the programs highlighted below will be participating in SSTI's fifth annual conference, discussing their priorities, plans and funding cycles for FY 2002. An entire track of breakout sessions has been dedicated toward federal funding opportunities for tech-based economic development programs and their clients.  FAST, ROP Take Hits in SBA FY 2002 Budget  The Commerce-Justice-State FY 2002 appropriation bill, in which SBA's budget is included, received Congressional approval this week and moves to the President's desk for signing. Overall, the SBA took a cut of $113 million. The two federal programs specifically tailored to support state SBIR/STTR outreach and assistance efforts have been cut as well:  The Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) made its first round of 30 awards, totaling $3.45 million, six weeks ago. This program was created by Congress in very large part because of the need…

The Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO), RESI (a regional economic studies institute at Towson University), and the Maryland Business Incubation Association (MBIA) presented on Thursday the results of the Maryland Incubator Impact Study — a first-of-its-kind study for the state by measuring the economic impact of Maryland's six public- and university-related high-tech business incubators on the state's economy.  Maryland's incubators are a significant economic boon to the state of Maryland, the study shows, estimating that incubator tenants and graduates generate between $184 and $530 million in gross state product and between $31 and $96 million in taxes annually.  The study also reveals the following:  Using three different estimation procedures, RESI calculated the annual employment impact of business incubator tenants and graduates between 2,210 and 6,852 jobs.  Using the same estimation procedures, RESI calculated the gross state, product, personal income and fiscal return generated by these firms. Total…

Innovation indices or S&T report cards can be useful tools for assessing the health and direction of a region or state's economy. The results can be helpful for determining appropriate policies and programs to affect change and measuring progress. Evolving over the past five years, many states, localities and national organizations have prepared indices. Links to past Digest articles covering these reports are massed on the following web page: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Indices/indices.htm The latest releases for Massachusetts, one of the forerunners using the tool, and Southern California are described below. The Mississippi Technology Alliance's new efforts also are highlighted.  Massachusetts  If the Commonwealth's Innovation Economy is to remain a major force in driving economic growth in Massachusetts, policy makers must continue to focus on attracting research and development funds, encouraging entrepreneurs and invention, and promoting the expansion of a highly educated and skilled workforce, according to the 2001 Index of the Massachusetts…

The President has nominated Sean O'Keefe to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. O'Keefe replaces Daniel Goldin, who resigned last month.  O'Keefe is currently the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Previously he served as the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Additionally, he served as the Director of National Security Studies which provides executive education programs for senior military and civilian Department of Defense managers. Before joining Syracuse University, O'Keefe was Professor of Business Administration and Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at Pennsylvania State University. He received an undergraduate degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a Master's degree in Public Administration from The Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  In other news, Tuesday's People Column for…

Fresno, California  The Valley Angels Investment Network soon will be administered by San Joaquin Venture Partners, a venture capital fund created in June, and California State University, Fresno, according to a recent article published in the Fresno Bee. Already, the network has nearly 20 prospective angels and 20 service providers and is set to help IQ Biometrix, a computer software company. Next to the Sierra Angels, the Sacramento Angels, the North Bay Angels, and the Tech Coast Angels, the network stands to be one of several such groups in California. Investors interested in becoming angels must have a net worth of $1 million or more or have earned at least $200,000 in each of the past two years. More information is available at: http://www.sjvp.org  Des Moines  A new partnership, the Technology Commercialization Acceleration Program (TCAP), was established Thursday by the Iowa Department of Economic Development and Iowa State University, the Associated Press reported. TCAP will foster the development of 15 new tech-based businesses in Iowa within three years…

PricewaterhouseCoopers has released the detailed data for the third quarter results of its Moneytree™ survey. The survey found a total of $6.5 billion was invested in 601 financing rounds — a 23 percent decline in dollars and a 16 percent decline in rounds compared to last quarter. SSTI has prepared a table presenting the state-by-state results.

Democrats took the year’s only two races for governor, electing Jim McGreevey in New Jersey and Mark Warner in Virginia.  Democrats also took control of the New Jersey Assembly for the first time in 10 years. Republicans, meanwhile, strengthened their control of Virginia's Assembly by 12 seats. The GOP now holds 64 of the 100 seats in the chamber. In Washington, Democrats claimed a narrow majority of the seats in the house, giving the party control of both legislative chambers and the governor's office.  With Tuesday’s election results, Republicans hold 27 governorships, Democrats control 21 seats, and Independents hold Maine and Minnesota. Each party controls 17 state legislatures while 16 are split between the two. Thirty-six states will hold elections for governors next fall. Incumbents in 19 of these states either are not running or are barred by term limits from serving another term.  Return to the top of this page 

Voters in Maine passed a bond issue authorizing the state to borrow $5 million for biomedical and marine research and development by Maine-based nonprofit and state research institutions.  The bond issue, one of six approved in the state on Tuesday, passed with 52.6 percent of the votes cast. Biomedical R&D will receive $4 million of the bond monies for projects, including an 80,000-square-foot expansion of Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. The lab expects to add 200 new jobs in connection with the facility's expansion. Marine research activities would receive the remaining $1 million.  According to the Bangor Daily News, a $20 million R&D bond issue passed by Maine voters in 1998 (see the Oct. 9, 1998 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest) has already generated more than $100 million in spinoff benefits, including new jobs, federal research grants and additional industrial R&D contracts.  Return to the top of this page 

States that support a vibrant technology sector are attentive to the quality of their economic development efforts and continue toattract venture capital will outperform those that do not, according to the 2001 Development Report Card for the States. The 15th annual report, released yesterday by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CfED), uses 70 measures to provide a state-by-state assessment of economic development policy in three main areas — Performance, Business Vitality and Development Capacity.  Top performers in this year's report, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington and Minnesota, all earned straight A's. They were joined by Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia on an "honor roll" of A’s or B’s. Eleven states received an F in at least one of the three categories.  Among its key findings, CfED says there is a very strong relationship between states that have a high presence in technology-intensive firms and states with high scores overall. Seven of the 10 honor roll states are among the top 10 states…