SSTI Digest

Pennsylvania has been a leader in tech-based economic development for more than two decades. With more than $208 million for tech-based economic development initiatives, the 2001-02 Budget Request submitted by Governor Tom Ridge this week shows why the state remains at the forefront of the field. Coupled with the $61 million in education technology, "Brain Gain," and digital divide initiatives proposed (see Pennsylvania's entry under this week's Tech Talkin' Govs article below), the state is developing a cradle-to-grave strategy for competing in the New Economy. 



The technology-based economic development proposals include: 

In a follow-up to Maine Governor Angus King’s call for every 7th grader to have a laptop computer that they would use in school and could take home, the Task Force on the Maine Learning Technology Endowment has recommended that every student and teacher in the 7th through 12th grades be provided with computers that would be wireless and portable. The computers could be used in the classroom and, pending school district permission, be taken home. 

Last year, Governor King proposed spending $50 million to purchase laptops for every 7th grader. In response, the Legislature created a $50 million endowment and created the Task Force to make recommendations for how learning technology could be better incorporated in the classroom. 

The Washington DC metro area is widely recognized as one of the country’s technology hubs. Unlike the country’s other major tech centers, however, which have been heavily focused on computer technology for several decades (see Annalee Saxenian’s Regional Advantage for a discussion of Silicon Valley and Route 128, for instance), the nation’s capital region went through a significant restructuring during the 1990s as a result of the New Economy and federal government downsizing. 



The tech-based boom of the New Economy has not been shared evenly across the metro area, however. A recent study revealed that, during the seven years of 1993-2000, the region enjoyed a growth of 379,500 jobs – with more than 23 percent of those jobs being in the technology industry. The District of Columbia employment base, though, shrunk by nearly 47,000 jobs during the period. The city lost 79,200 government jobs over the seven years, more than two-thirds of them in the federal sector. 

Editor's Note: The sixth and final installment in our review of the Governors' inaugural addresses, state of the state addresses, and budget messages for 2001. Previous weeks' installments are available on our website http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2001/headlines01.htm 

Alabama 

Governor Don Siegelman, State of the State Address, February 6, 2001 

http://www.nga.org/governors/1,1169,C_SPEECH^D_684,00.html

In light of major economic changes due to technological transformation, increased globalization, and changing demographics over recent years, and the resulting effects of rising workforce insecurity, the Office of Workforce Security in the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), will hold its first national research conference. 



The conference will focus on issues related to impacts, trends, and challenges of the macro-economy to workforce development, the significance of recent changes in workforce development, workforce competitiveness in global economy, workforce security in the New economy, and major policy options to promote economic opportunities for the workforce. 

The Office of Technology in the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development seeks an Assistant Director for the Centers of Excellence Program. The position's responsibilities include promoting the development of new and established Centers that will assist the state economy to expand in focused technology areas. Deadline for application is February 23, 2001. More information on this and additional career opportunities in tech-based economic development can be found at the S&T Job Corner: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm 

Two new programs from the U.S. Small Business Administration are designed to infuse new capital into economically disadvantaged rural and inner city areas and strengthen existing businesses through technical expertise and mentoring.



The New Markets Venture Capital program (NMVC) is anticipated to spur as much as $15 billion in economic development in distressed areas, while BusinessLINC (Learning, Investment, Networking and Collaboration) is designed to assist small firms by providing access to technical assistance, business advice, market knowledge and contracting opportunities that come from relationships with larger companies.

Editor's Note: The fifth installment in our review of the Governors' inaugural addresses, state of the state addresses, and budget messages for 2001. The first four articles in the series were over the past four weeks. Those issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest and all other previous editions are available on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2001/headlines01.htm

Massachusetts

Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci, Budget Recommendations, FY 2002, January 24, 2001

http://www.state.ma.us/bb/fy2002h1/default.htm

With President Bush announcing the creation of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, some analysts and practitioners are pondering the implications for economic local and state development efforts.

Do faith-based organizations have a role in ED?

One doesn’t have to look too far for evidence that some faith-based groups already are actively supporting the push for local tech-based ED. The National Congress for Community Economic Development’s 1998 national census of community development corporations (CDCs) shows 14 percent (about 500) of all CDCs across the country identified themselves as "faith-based organizations." The NCCED provides resources and support for faith-based economic development efforts. The website is http://www.ncced.org

There is so much happening in state and local tech-based economic development across the country that we’re adding a new Digest feature: the Regional Roundup. Our goal is to provide 1-2 sentence coverage of news stories, reports and resources demonstrating the variety of activities underway to build a stronger tech-based economy. Of course, whenever possible, we’ll include a link or contact for more information.

It is widely argued in the tech-based economic development community that New Economy businesses, specifically computers and information technology, account for the tremendous economic growth of the last half of the 1990s. But does the data support this?