SSTI Digest

Alabama Senate Bill 130, which would create $80 million in tech-based venture capital funding if passed, was introduced during the current special session of the Alabama state legislature. Using the certified capital company or CapCo model, the bill allows insurance companies to redirect tax payments into qualified investment firms. According to a recent Birmingham Business Journal article, backers of the bill concede the current fiscal environment and short session will probably lead to the bill’s reintroduction when the regular session begins in January. Atlanta, Georgia The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce has created a task force to develop a strategy to position the region as a center for biotech innovation, capital, talent and business. Working in conjunction with the Georgia Research Alliance, the task force includes leaders from the business community, academia, public health organizations and research. Implementation of the Atlanta region biotech strategy is expected to begin later in 2002. More information is available at: http://www.…

A Letter from Bozeman, Montana The National Commission on Entrepreneurship publishes NCOE Update, a free, high-quality e-newsletter providing insightful looks into the factors and trends shaping the country’s entrepreneurial community. This week’s issue provides a useful examination of the public and private efforts to nurture technology entrepreneurship in Bozeman, Montana. The story and subscription information can be found on the NCOE website: http://www.ncoe.org/newsletter/update/10_16_01.html Back issues of the biweekly NCOE Update are available under the Newsletter link on the NCOE website. A Look at the New York City Reinvestment Fund The latest issue of the Capital Xchange, published online by the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, includes an article analyzing the success of the New York City Reinvestment Fund. Started in 1996, the Fund has already invested $54 million in 48 projects, creating 2,750 jobs for the city. The authors, Peter Plastrik and Kathryn Wilde, point out though, that it’s the CEO-to-CEO…

The European Commission's 2001 European Innovation Scoreboard, characterizing the strengths and weaknesses in the capacity for innovation of the European Union (EU) and its member states, shows the EU continues to lag behind the U.S. and Japan.  Released October 1, the scoreboard uses 17 indicators to rate each member state's capacity for encouraging innovative business and improving the competitiveness of their industry through innovation. The aspects of the innovation process measured by the scoreboard are:  Availability and the use made of people with the right skills, using figures including the supply of new scientists and engineers and the percentage of the workforce employed in technology sectors of industry.  Creation of new ideas, based on figures for R&D expenditure and patent applications.  Innovation by firms as measured by statistics such as the percentage of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that develop product or process innovations themselves or in…

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) released State Government Initiatives in Biotechnology 2001, the results of the first comprehensive survey of state government efforts to attract and grow the biotechnology industry. The report, prepared by Battelle Memorial Institute and the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), contains information from 48 states and shows state governments becoming increasingly active in recruiting and supporting biotechnology companies.  As an example of state government innovation in biotechnology initiatives and the valuable information contained in the report, 16 states are utilizing their tobacco settlement funds for bioscience-related research and development. In addition, 28 states reported having at least one publicly supported venture fund that can invest in bioscience-related companies. The majority of states responding to the survey have research and development tax credits, sales and use tax exemptions, or investment tax credits related to biotechnology.  The report shows trends in a variety of…

Nearly $43 million in grants were awarded October 1 to 74 non-profit organizations, including state and local governments, by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).  NTIA made $42.8 million available through its Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), which extends the benefits of advanced telecommunications technologies to underserved communities and neighborhoods. The grants subsequently were matched by $46.7 million in contributions from the private sector and state and local organizations.  Grant winners from across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico provide services in such areas as telemedicine, public safety, distance learning, community information, and other innovative services.  A complete list of the TOP awards, including descriptions of the grant winners, is available on the TOP website: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/index.html  For your convenience, SSTI has prepared a table showing award totals by state at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/…

As Congress and the Bush Administration look at national economic stimulus packages, debate is beginning in some states to enact similar measures to reverse the direction of their local economies. Various tax cuts for businesses invariably are included in the states’ discussions. The most recent edition of the Federal Reserve Research Roundup (3rd Quarter, 2001) includes a timely review of a recent working paper from the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston that looks at the relationship between corporate investment decisions and state and local taxes.  The Research Roundup article by Monique Morrissey follows in its entirety (reprinted with permission from the Financial Markets Center ):  State Corporate Taxes. According to a Boston Fed working paper, firms’ “user cost of capital” – a theoretical construct defined as the annualized cost of purchasing an additional unit of capital – varies little from state to state despite wide differences in state marginal tax rates. The implication: state…

A Rhode Island Economic Strategy: 10 Ways to Succeed Without Losing Our Soul recently was released by the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council. The report outlines 10 economic development initiatives through four themes centered on places, people, clusters and connections.  Rhode Island must "strike a balance between collaborating and competing with its neighboring states" if it wishes to remain a center of New Economy activity, according to the report. To do so, the state must secure its share of the Boston Metro's high-wage industries while addressing infrastructure and the region's global competitiveness.  Some highlights among the report's 10 key strategies:  "Create synergy among technology, the arts, and outdoor recreation. Make Providence a new economy job engine for Rhode Island (so that) Boston is a job engine for the Metro. Reinvent Quonset/Davisville as a job engine for industrial parks in other towns, rather than as a competitor with them."  "Double the number and increase the diversity of college graduates…

California  Capital Valley Ventures, a business accelerator with a three-month training program for tech entrepreneurs, is coming to the Sacramento region, the Sacramento Bee reported. The venture is being spearheaded by Jack Crawford Jr., founder of NetLink, NetSource, 2Publish and Campus Engine. Crawford reportedly plans to start a workshop series capable of holding 25 people interested in beginning new businesses. The series, scheduled to begin this month, will involve three-hour sessions held once a month for three months and offer training on raising capital, forming a management team and generating revenues. More information is available at: http://www.capitalvalleyventures.com  Georgia  An agricultural incubator is in the works for Columbus, Ga., and the surrounding area, according to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The area has received $500,000 from the One Georgia Fund (tobacco settlement money) but needs $2.1 million to complete the project. To receive additional One Georgia money, the remainder of the funding has to be secured, most likely through fund…

SSTI's fifth annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, will take place December 3-4, 2001, at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The conference agenda remains intact from the original mid-September dates with almost all speakers reconfirmed. (see the conference agenda on SSTI's webpage: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/agenda.htm [expired] )  More Seats Available!  While the event was sold out for the September dates, the new schedule allows the conference to accommodate a greater number of participants because of the additional meeting space available. Interested parties are encouraged to register online through the conference web center: http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/conf01.htm [expired] Accommodations at the Omni William Penn  The hotel is offering SSTI conference registrants a discounted room rate of $129 per night for all reservations made on or before November 2, 2001. Reservations may be made by calling the Omni William Penn directly at (412) 281-7100 and mentioning SSTI's…

Gov. Don Sundquist has named Tony Grande to be the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Mr. Grande formerly was ECD Deputy Commissioner as well as its Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee business services and director of manufacturing services.  Marianne Hudson is leaving her position as Vice President - Marketing & Communications with the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center to become a program manager at the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.  Bruce Johnson is the new Director of the Ohio Department of Development. Mr. Johnson formerly served in the Ohio Senate.  Senate nomination hearings were held this week for John Marburger, President Bush's nominee for Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Phillip J. Bond, nominee for the position of Undersecretary of Technology for the Department of Commerce.  Gov. Ronnie Musgrove is appointing Robert J. Rohrlack, Jr. as the new Director of the…

Gov. Don Sundquist has named Tony Grande to be the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD). Mr. Grande formerly was ECD Deputy Commissioner as well as its Assistant Commissioner of Tennessee business services and director of manufacturing services.

Marianne Hudson is leaving her position as Vice President - Marketing & Communications with the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center to become a program manager at the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.