SSTI Digest

Several warnings have been issued in recent years about U.S. dominance in the world's scientific and technological communities slipping: the number of science and engineering (S&E) doctorates awarded per capita; the dearth of women and minorities entering technical fields; the facility in which knowledge, companies and people can be transferred globally; scores on standardized math and science tests; and indicators for global entrepreneurship, to name a few.

The latest alert, a draft report released in December by the National Science Board (NSB), urges the National Science Foundation (NSF) to take a more active, even strategic, role in fostering and participating in international S&E partnerships and collaborations.

Regional Technology Strategies, Inc. (RTS), a national nonprofit workforce and economic development group based in Carrboro, N.C., has published Cultivating Successful Rural Economies: Benchmark Practices at Community Colleges.

Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Fund for Rural America, RTS identified by a competitive process 43 dynamic and effective programs at rural community colleges in the U.S. and abroad that are helping rural businesses adapt to current economic trends.

RTS' publication profiles several benchmark practices that encompass effective responses to the regional economic conditions, from a fiber arts program at Northern Mexico Community College to a hospitality-industry training program in Northern Ireland.

Annual R&D expenditures at America's academic institutions topped $30 billion for the first time, according to the early release tables from the National Science Foundation's Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges, Fiscal Year 2000. The final results of the latest annual survey reveals a nine percent increase over 1999 expenditures.

Despite growing by more than $1.4 billion during 2000, the federal government's share of total support for academic R&D, at 58.19 percent, fell to its lowest percentage since 1959. State and local government share dropped to 7.33 percent, the lowest level since the survey began in 1953. Institutional funds, on the other hand, accounted for 19.71 percent of academic R&D expenditures in 2000, the highest level ever for this source of funding.

Chicago Chicago CivicNet recently named 22 firms as finalists for an endeavor to build and operate a network connecting 1,600 public buildings in Chicago with fiber optic cable. CivicNet, an initiative of the City of Chicago and the Mayor's Council of Technology Advisors, saw more than 60 companies respond to the Request for Information issued by the City in November 2001. A finalist competing for CivicNet's Request for Proposals (issued in December) will win $25 million a year for the next 10 years to build the digital network that, being extended to private homes and businesses, would mean considerable additional revenue. A listing of the finalists, who must submit proposals by March 29, is available at: http://www.chicagocivicnet.net/

While visions of sugarplums will be dancing in the heads of most Americans, SSTI's staff will be boxing up its files and moving to new offices on Dec. 20-21.

Due to the move and because SSTI will be closed during the week of December 24-28, the next issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest and the funding supplement will be published January 4, 2002.

That said, we extend a special holiday wish to all readers, friends and supporters. SSTI especially thanks the Economic Development Administration, without whose generous support, the Digest would not be possible.

Wishing you a more peaceful and successful 2002, Dan, Becky, Cathy, Ruth, Sue, Mark S. and Mark K.

Creating and strengthening regional competitiveness and innovation is the key to the nation’s ability to succeed in the global marketplace and raise the standard of living for all Americans, according to a new report presented Thursday at a joint conference of the Council on Competitiveness and the National Governors' Association.

Titled Clusters of Innovation: Regional Foundations of U.S. Competitiveness, the report is the result of a two-year study sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness that outlines an agenda for both the public and private sectors to strengthen regional economies and build clusters.

President George W. Bush appointed on Wednesday 22 individuals to serve as members of the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). They are:

Charles Joel Arntzen of Ariz., Norman R. Augustine of Md., Carol Ann Bartz of Calif., M. Kathleen Behrens of Calif., Erich Bloch of D.C., Stephen B. Burke of Penn., Gerald Wayne Clough of Ga., Michael S. Dell of Texas, Raul Fernandez of Md., Marye Anne Fox of N.C., Martha Diane Winters Gilliland of Mo., Ralph E. Gomory of N.Y., Bernadine Patricia Healy of Ohio, Robert John Herbold of Wash., Barbara Kilberg of Va., Walter Eugene Massey of Ga., Gordon E. Moore of Calif., Kenneth Nwabueze of Calif., Steven Gerald Papermaster of Texas, Dr. Luis M. Proenza of Ohio, George Martin Scalise of Calif., and Charles M. Vest of Mass.

A new report showing that Michigan is performing at the level of the national average in tech transfer recently was released by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

An Assessment of Technology Transfer at Michigan’s Public Universities holds that Michigan is an improving top-tier commercialization state, using statistics and measurements to create benchmarks in the areas of tech transfer and entrepreneurial activity. The benchmarks are used to compare the performance of Michigan universities with other universities nationwide.

As a state, Michigan fares well in the amount of sponsored research funding, with the University of Michigan ranking fourth nationally, according to the report.

Community Science Workshops (CSW) are spreading nationwide, due to a second $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will enable San Francisco State University (SFSU) and its partners to create CSWs across the U.S.

CSWs, or informal drop-in science centers, were first given life four years ago when SFSU received its initial $3 million grant from NSF. Being self-supported through community partnerships, CSWs spread in 10 underserved California communities in Fresno, San Jose, Los Angeles, Watsonville and Oakland and led to satellite workshops in neighboring communities.

Eight of 15 new sites will be launched in cities including Tucson, Miami, Houston, New Orleans, Detroit, Seattle, New York, and Washington, D.C., with at least one workshop located on or near a Native American reservation. These sites will serve as hubs for developing spinoff sites.

Carbondale, Illinois The latest issue of the Illinois Coalition's TechAlert reports Southern Illinois University at Carbondale has broken ground on the $40 million, 45-acre Southern Illinois University Research Park. Plans call for the park to include 12 buildings totaling nearly 236,000 sq. ft. When full, the park should house approximately 75 companies with 800-1,200 tech-skilled employees. Financing for the initial phase has come from an Illinois FIRST grant of $500,000, a $300,000 Congressional earmark, and approximately $700,000 in other federal funds. Verizon also has invested $800,000 in an on-site fiber optic switching center. The park is adjacent to the university's Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center, which houses the Southern Regional Center of the Illinois Manufacturing Center and the Business Incubator Program.

The Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), an initiative that promotes the widespread availability and use of digital network technologies in the public and non-profit sectors, has approximately $12.4 million available in FY 2002.

As part of the Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), TOP gives matching grants for model projects demonstrating innovative uses of network technologies.

Applicants may request up to a total of $750,000 in funds from NTIA. TOP expects the federal amounts awarded to range from $200,000 to $750,000, with an average of approximately $500,000. NTIA will provide up to 50 percent of the total project cost, unless the applicant can document extraordinary circumstances warranting a grant of up to 75 percent.

The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators has been published for the second straight year. Bruce Mehlman, Assistant Secretary for the Technology Administration's Office of Technology Policy (OTP), released the report at SSTI's annual conference earlier this week.  The second edition of the reference guide draws upon state-level data "that approximates the 'technology infrastructure' of the states, or, at the very least, compiles information about those factors that clearly affect states' capacity to generate new enterprises and high quality jobs, and sustain economic growth."