SSTI Digest

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 Office of Business Development - $4,538,898 for the operation of the Massachusetts office of business development, including funding for statewide technology related grants, with a limit of $536,000 for the Massachusetts international trade council. An increase of $1,113,466 over last year’s recommendation. Biomedical Initiatives - $400,000 for a contract with the Massachusetts  biotechnology research institute; provided, that the institute submits a plan for financial self-sufficiency by July 1, 2002. A decrease of $100,000 from the FY01…

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 In fact, the 2000 Guide to Religious Community Development Investment Funds  reports that religious organizations have invested $900 million in low-income communities. While the vast majority of faith-based activities are oriented to social and health services, there are some significant exceptions. In Los…

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. If you have news you think others in the field should know, add us Digest@ssti.org to your media and newsletter distribution list. Alaska The Alaska High-Tech Business Council <http://www.ahtbc.org&gt; and IT Careers Consortium have released a draft comprehensive "IT Career Pathway Model" for developing Alaska's information tech workforce. The pathway is a blueprint for generating interest in IT careers and providing key competencies to students to ready them for a long-term career in the industry. Arizona The Greater Flagstaff Economic Council <http://www.gfec.org&gt; is opening a new technology incubator serve…

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? A look at productivity growth may help to answer the question. Productivity growth is seen as a measure of progress: increases in productivity are often associated with improvements in the nation’s economy and society’s general welfare. William Nordhaus, Professor of Economics at Yale University, has written a series of three papers exploring the measurement of productivity and growth, with particular attention to the contributions of the New Economy sectors. In the first, Alternative Methods for Measuring Productivity Growth, Nordhaus argues the link between productivity growth and economic welfare is not clear. Traditional measures of productivity growth do not reflect improvements in the economic welfare of society. He breaks down the current economic formulae used for measuring productivity growth and closes with an alternative…

Many tech-based economic development programs recognize the importance of having seed and venture capital accessible to their start up tech firms and entrepreneurs. Some practitioners, though, see a challenge in encouraging equity investment in more conservative, risk adverse regions and localities. The dot-com “correction” of last year probably did not help. Accurate estimates of the average return on venture capital investment (VC) may help to open the purse strings of hesitant angel and seed funding sources. But what is a valid estimate of the return on individual venture capital investments? Obtaining an answer to that question has not been easy in the past. In the new working paper, The Risk and Return of Venture Capital, John Cochrane, Professor of Finance with the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago, takes on the issue. Attempts by economists in the past have been plagued by a lack of accurate data on the market value of individual VC deals between initial investment and disposition through an initial public offering (IPO), acquisition/merger, or failure…

Addressing the Digital Divide, workforce development, and technology deployment in education are among the highest priorities of the nation’s mayors, according to Priorities for the New American City, the 2001 action agenda of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Released last week at the Mayors’ 69th Annual Winter Meeting by Boise Mayor H. Brent Coles, the plan outlines dozens of recommendations for the Bush Administration across ten issue areas ranging from drug control to the environment to transportation enhancements.  Many of the suggestions requiring federal funding encourage the use of block grants to maximize flexibility in program design and implementation across cities. Key recommendations for tech-based economic development include: Federal investments in university-related public and private partnerships in R&D projects to promote innovations in technology should be increased. The federal research and experimentation tax credit should be made permanent. The tax code should be examined to make sure that it encourages new technology investment. The Administration…

With as much emphasis on accessing and applying technology as on creating it, the final report of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE) outlines several recommendations to improve Arizona’s position and performance in a tech-based economy. “While it is important to have industries that produce technology and continually improve it, the real impact of [the new economy] will be felt by the application of technology across a wide range of industries and activities,” says the 36-member task force appointed by Governor Jane Dee Hull. Released earlier this week, An Economy That Works for Everyone is developed around four elements: K-12 and higher education; telecommunications infrastructure; government leadership in support of technology, R&D and access to capital; and, enhancing government services through the application of technology. The elements are labeled respectively Learning, Linking, Leading, and Living in the 37-page report. Specific APNE recommendations for the state include: $250,000 of seed funding from the state to develop a business plan…

Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of excerpts from recent speeches and budget proposals demonstrating the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education. Maine Governor Angus King, FY 02-03 Budget Request, January 5, 2001 http://www.state.me.us/governor/news/index.html A $2.3 million increase during the second year of the biennium for applied research and development through the Maine Economic Improvement Fund at the University of Maine System. ( $5,740,000 in fiscal year 2001-02 and $7,883,500 in fiscal year 2002-03) Increased funding of the Maine Biomedical Research Fund of $2,000,000 in the second year of the biennium. Level funding for the Maine Technology Institute ($6.4 million) and the Maine Science & Technology Foundation ($1.79 million) New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Budget Address, January 22, 2001 http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/p10123c.html New $10 million Higher Ed/Business and Industry Partnership Fund to…

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) seeks nominations for the second annual Award for Excellence in Economic Development. EDA established this award to recognize outstanding economic development activities of national importance. The competition is open to all types of nonprofit organizations, nonfederal government bodies, and universities and colleges. Award selections are made by a highly qualified and independent panel of economic development practitioners, academics, and government representatives. Nominations will be taken until February 16, 2001 in three categories: Excellence in Urban or Suburban Economic Development; Excellence in Rural Economic Development; and, Excellence in Economic Development in Native Communities. The nomination packet can be downloaded and printed in PDF format from EDA's Web site:       http://www.doc.gov/eda/html/1a13_excellenceaward.htm

NIST has opened the fiscal year 2001 competitions for funding under 13 different research grant programs: Precision Measurement Grants; the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (known as SURF) in six NIST laboratories (Building and Fire Research, Chemical Science and Technology, Information Technology, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics); the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory Grants Program; the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; the Fire Research Grants Program; the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; and the Physics Laboratory Grants Program. Applications are due by Feb. 15, 2001, for the Precision Measurement Grants and all of the SURF programs, and by Sept. 30, 2001, for the laboratory grants programs. For details on the 13 grant programs and complete application requirements, go to the online Federal Register at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html and enter "01/11/2001" and "National Institute of Standards and Technology" as search…

The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is recruiting a technology transfer and commercialization project manager with a proven track record in related disciplines from the private and/or public sector. This MEP position is located at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque and charged with helping local manufacturers access unique federal laboratory technologies to assist industry in the development and commercialization of new products, advanced materials, and innovative manufacturing processes.  Project manager is responsible for industry outreach, customer needs assessment, technical “sales” linking clients with laboratory resources as well as private commercialization consultants and project managing related customer activities.  Please forward resume, cover letter, salary expectations and your success stories to:  Human Resource Director, New Mexico MEP, 4501 Indian School Road, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, F: 505-262-9691, E-mail address: hrdirector@newmexicomep.org, Web address: http://www.newmexicomep.org The full description can be found…

Science policy and tech-based economic development have taken center stage in Idaho with last week’s release of the Idaho Science and Technology Strategy and the supporting new initiatives included in Governor Dirk Kempthorne’s recent budget message. With the strong tech base in Boise, the wealth of science and technical expertise at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), and robust state revenues, Governor Kempthorne and the 23-member Science and Technology Advisory Council he appointed believe the key elements are in place to launch a comprehensive strategy for growing and expanding the state’s tech-based economic. The council, which includes the state’s top technology company executives, engineers, educators, and technology experts, recommended several courses of action in the Idaho Science and Technology Strategy: Build, attract, and retain a highly skilled technical workforce Invest in creating R&D excellence and promoting industry-university collaboration Facilitate commercialization of technology developed in Idaho…