SSTI Digest

Alabama The State Legislature recently approved income tax relief for small businesses who locate in 23 economically distressed counties and in areas previously known as Enterprise Zones, according to The Associated Press. The counties are said to have "high employment, low incomes and no growth," and the bill gives breaks to companies investing $500,000 and hiring at least five employees. The state reportedly will rank the counties according to their population change, per capita income and employment and will revise the list annually. Arizona Chairmen of the Governor's Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) recently launched the Arizona Technology Industry Development Association (ATIDA) — a non-profit organization formed to unite organizations interested in developing technology industries in Central and Northern Arizona. ATIDA's membership is comprised of representatives from GSPED's five technology clusters and foundations, economic development organizations, and university and community colleges. California…

A series of separate economic reports, revenue forecasts, and analyses of current trends released during the past week suggests the need for local, regional and state efforts to grow tech-based economies is increasing. As economic development practitioners and policymakers in science and technology prepare for the 2002 program, legislative, and budget cycles, they may want to consider: Last month’s official estimate of the federal budget surplus has been slashed by the Office of Management and Budget from $147 billion to approximately $50 billion. The Labor Department reports new unemployment claims rose by 58,000 last week, the highest level in over nine years. Orders for durable goods dropped for the third straight month, according to Commerce Department statistics released Thursday. State revenue collection, already slowing in a majority of states because of the economic environment, will experience another blow as the estate tax cut approved earlier this year by Congress and the President takes effect. National Governors Association estimates of the impact for all…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), through the Mathematics Education Trust, funds special projects that enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels. An organization valuing the use of instructional technology tools, NCTM currently has at least 10 grant opportunities supporting in-service programs, the improvement of professional competence and other related causes. Toyota's Investment In Mathematics Excellence (Toyota TIME) grant, for instance, annually awards teachers up to $10,000 for projects that enhance mathematics education within a school. Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., through its partnership with NCTM, the Toyota TIME grant is open to K-12 teachers with three years' experience teaching mathematics. The focus of the grant comes on individual students and classrooms rather than on district-wide projects. In 2002, as many as 35 two-year grants totaling up to $350,000, will be awarded to schools at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Proposals for the Toyota TIME grant are due January 10…

Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced awards estimated to total $65 million over five years to fund six major centers in nanoscale science and engineering. The awards are part of a series of NSF grants – totaling $150 million in fiscal year 2001 alone – for nano research in multiple disciplines.  The six centers will be located at Columbia and Cornell Universities and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, Harvard University in Massachusetts, Northwestern University in Illinois, and Rice University in Texas.  Nanoscale science, engineering and technology are focused on a scale ranging from the size of individual atoms to that of large molecules. The new Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers will develop new areas of research and help establish a nanotechnology workforce. The centers, intended to address challenges and opportunities that are too complex and multi-faceted for individual researchers or small teams to tackle in shorter periods of time, are expected to significantly advance the information…

In an effort to create a high tech center, officials in Ohio's Butler County anticipate spending more than $100 million during the next five years to increase telecommunications, biomedical innovations, electronic commerce, and other research. Funding for the measure would come from as much as a half-penny sales tax hike, according to a story published August 1 by the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Butler County already has approved $2.7 million for an 86-mile fiber-optic network, the article reports. Another $113 million in matching funds may come from the State of Ohio for related projects, including start-up help for high-tech entrepreneurs and the construction of highways to improve transportation. Technical assistance also is coming from the Milken Institute, a California-based company paid almost $300,000 in 2000 to develop a high-technology plan for the Butler County economy and to assist in its implementation.  Similar to other areas in the U.S., Butler and the surrounding region have faced a brain drain. The Ohio county saw a 4.9 percent drop in…

Whether it's called clusters or localization economies, the aggregation of firms in the same or closely related industries has captured the attention of many state and local tech-based economic development efforts. Understanding the phenomenon and formulating effective public policy to encourage or support clustering presents challenges for practitioners and researchers alike.  In addition to works on the topic previously covered in the Digest and available in SSTI’s Bookstore (such as Michael Porter’s On Competition or Ross DeVol’s Blueprint for a High-Tech Cluster), localization economies also have captured the research interests of international researchers. For example, the Canadian Innovations Systems Research Network (ISRN) is in the process of conducting a five-year $2.5 million (Canadian) study to examine the impact and importance of cluster-driven innovation in Canada. According to the ISRN website, Innovation Systems and Economic Development: The Role of Local and Regional Clusters in Canada will “investigate how local networks of firms and supporting…

The development and application of new information technologies across virtually every segment of the American economy has resulted in rapid, sustained growth in demand for highly skilled information technology (IT) workers. The Department of Labor estimates between 1983 and 1998 the number of high-skilled IT workers increased from 719,000 to 2,084,000 – an increase of 190 percent, more than six times the overall U.S. job growth rate during this period.  Rapid growth is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. The Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most recent ten-year employment projections indicate that the number of core IT workers – computer scientists, computer programmers, computer engineers, systems analysts, computer support specialists, and database administrators – will rise from 2.2 million in 1998 to 3.9 million in 2008. Another 300,000 will be needed to replace those leaving the field during this period.  As part of a Congressionally mandated study on America’s competitiveness, the Technology…

The 2001 Farm Bill  H.R. 2646, awaiting action by the full U.S. House of Representatives, includes authorization language to provide $50 million in funding for the Value-Added Grants Program to provide grants for start-up, farmer-owned, value-added processing facilities. The bill also would provide authorization for regionally planned rural development pilot programs and would continue the Research Initiative for Future Agricultural Systems at a program level of $145 million per year for fiscal years 2004 through 2011. The press release for the version of the bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee can be found at: http://agriculture.house.gov/press/pr010727.html  According to an August 26 Des Moines Register interview with Senator Tom Harkin, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Senate version of the bill, currently before the committee, would authorize $150 million for matching funds to support equity investments in value-added agriculture.  Georgia  A September 13 wire story from the Associated Press reports a…

Declaring September “Nonprofits & Technology Month,” the Foundation Center has launched a website presenting myriad financial and technical assistance resources to support the acquisition and use of information technology in nonprofit organizations. Included in the site are several categories including: Community Development Resources; Corporate Funders; Digital Divide Resources; Disability Resources; Federal Government Resources; Foundations; E-Philanthropy Resources; Other Funding Sources; Software/Hardware Resources; Technology Assistance and Training Resources; Technology News, Newsletters, and Online Forums; Telecommunications Resources; and Web Development Resources. The site is http://fdncenter.org/pnd/npotech/ 

SSTI’s fifth annual conference, Creating Opportunity: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, has been rescheduled for December 3-4. The agenda and location of the conference remain the same. At this time, we have confirmed the availability of the vast majority of our speakers; those that have not been confirmed are listed as invited on the agenda web-page (see http://www.ssti.org/Conf01/agenda.htm [expired] for the updated information).  While the riverboat cruise has been cancelled, we are planning a set of optional post-conference in-depth workshops for the afternoon of December 4. More information will be provided as soon as details are finalized.  Since the event was sold out and because we've received only a few cancellations for the December 3-4 dates, we will not be printing any new, revised promotional materials. The website remains the best source of information for the event.  Changing the date does provide us more space at the hotel, allowing us to accommodate approximately 30 more registrants. We anticipate…

If the corporate leaders, educators, scientists, and technology entrepreneurs who make up the Birmingham Area Technology Task Force have their way, Birmingham, Alabama in the 21st century will be a mecca for technology-based businesses and jobs. A cooperative effort of the City of Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid and the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, the “BATT Force” is charged with developing a strategic plan aimed at fostering the start-up, growth, attraction, and retention of technology industries to the Birmingham area.  At its initial meeting in late August, the 150-member BATT Force divided into six Work Groups, each of which will spend roughly the next nine weeks studying a specific area related to technology-based business development. The Work Groups will issue reports on their findings, including up to 10 recommendations for action. The Work Group reports will be the basis of the Birmingham Area Strategic Plan for Technology Development, to be presented to the City and the Chamber of Commerce by mid-November.  The areas to be…

State and land-grant universities provide major stimulus to their state and regional economies – generating jobs, attracting and helping create new high-tech businesses, and increasing state tax revenues in addition to providing a well-educated work-force, according to Shaping the Future – The Economic Impact of Public Universities. The study, prepared by National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), is based on a survey of its 212 member institutions. Fifty percent responded to the survey.  Among the key findings are:  State and land-grant universities multiply the effect of state tax dollars, generating an average return of $5 for every state tax dollar invested.  State and land-grant universities are a major source of jobs – the average public university campus employs more than 6000 full-time workers – and for every job on campus, another 1.6 jobs are generated beyond the campus.  An average of $284 million in yearly spending makes state and land-grant universities major economic players in the cities…