SSTI Digest

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." 

State and local strategies to assist start-up business formation often focus on three elements to help nascent firms: securing much-needed funding or capital (either private or public), lowering the overall cost of doing business, or gaining the skill set or access to intellectual resources to succeed. These objectives of tech-based economic development are, perhaps, most important in a recession, particularly a downturn like the current experience which comes after such a sustained period of growth.  Because most successful nonprofit technology business incubators address all three elements, it isn't too surprising to find the newspapers around the country carrying several stories on new incubators opening or existing incubators expanding their operations. The latter phenomenon, with examples in Maryland, Idaho, Missouri, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, attests to the economic development benefits that can be achieved through properly executed incubator strategies. 

Gaining a sense of how industries are likely to grow or contract over the next decade can be a vital tool for determining the priorities for tech-based economic development practitioners, public and private investing programs, and workforce developers. These figures are particularly relevant for geographic areas looking at cluster development strategies or targeted research/investment programs.  The November issue of the Monthly Labor Review, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, includes an article by Jay Berman projecting industry output and employment projections for the first decade of the 21st century.  Computer and data processing services (Standard Industrial Classification Code 737) continues to top the chart of fastest growing industries with an average annual rate of 6.4 percent growth for 2000-2010. Projected output for the field is expected to grow by an annual rate of 8 percent. 

Tthe five winners of the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier award for performance excellence and quality achievement, include, for the first time, three winners in the education category: 

The number of women who own the nation's privately-held businesses, presently at 28 percent of such businesses, is growing at twice the rate of all firms, according to a new report from Center for Women’s Business Research.  The center projects the number of majority-owned, privately-held women-owned firms will stand at 6.2 million by 2002, and that sales generated by these businesses will have grown 40 percent between 1997-2002. Employment in women-owned businesses also is growing at a rate 1.5 times the national average.  Sponsored by Wells Fargo, the Center’s two most recent reports, Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the U.S. and 50 States and Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the Top 50 Metropolitan Areas analyze both published and unpublished data provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and present the most up-to-date information currently available on the country's women-owned businesses. 

To create new research centers in FY 2003, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering approximately $26 million through its Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program.  At least two awards totaling up to $13 million each will be made. The awards, subject to 10 percent cost sharing, will be distributed as follows: $2.5 million (year 1), $3 million (year 2), $3.5 million (year 3), and $4 million (years 4 and 5).  Each new center will focus on the definition, fundamental understanding, development, and validation of the technologies needed to realize a well-defined class of engineered systems with the potential to spawn whole new industries or radically transform the product lines, processing technologies, or service delivery methodologies of current industries. 

Building Entrepreneurial Networks, a major report on how and why networks of entrepreneurs nurture economic growth in communities across the country, was released Wednesday by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE).  To illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial networks, NCOE’s seventh report profiles five organizations in Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas that have succeeded in developing unique entrepreneurial networks.  The report notes that regions which have developed strong entrepreneurial economies tend to possess several key ingredients — well-organized local networks along with strong universities, access to equity capital, and an advanced public infrastructure. Similarly, regions with strong networks tend to have high rates of new start-ups and fast-growing companies. 

In an effort to help combat the present economic downturn, the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is looking to partner with groups across the U.S. to provide training to displaced workers interested in starting new businesses.  The Kauffman Center is offering its proven FastTrac NewVentureTM program materials at no cost to organizations that want to provide the course to downsized workers in their states or communities. Partner organizations locate attendees, handle logistics, and pay trainer expenses. Displaced workers participate in the program at no charge. The Center has 10 years of experience with the FastTrac program and is ready to work with partners to implement the program rapidly and effectively in their communities.