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SSTI Digest
DOEd Previews SBIR Topics
The Department of Education has announced its FY 2001 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program solicitation topics. The Phase I solicitation release date is Jan. 26, 2001 with a closing date of April 19, 2001. The agency also will be increasing Phase I award levels this year to $60,000.
The Phase I topics can be reviewed at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/SBIR/news.html
Interested parties can be placed on the mailing list for hardcopy by calling the Department's RFP Information Line at (202) 708-6498 and requesting "SBIR RFP Number ED-01-Q-003".
New Jersey Launches $40 Million VC Partnership
After discovering that only 10 percent of the venture capital raised in New Jersey is invested in New Jersey companies, a new venture fund has been established combining private, state, and federal resources. The seed investment fund will be used to assist New Jersey start-up technology businesses get off the ground.
Led by the nonprofit New Jersey Technology Council, NJTC Venture Fund partners include private investors and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The Authority is providing a 1:3 match for each private dollar raised, up to $10 million. Local newspapers report $22 million in private investment has been raised to date toward the goal of $30 million. The Small Business Investment Corporation (SBIC) program of the Small Business Administration may be used to further leverage the fund.
Technology/Economic Summits Yielding Results
What can policymakers and practitioners do if the statistics and other metrics indicate a state, region or locality is not well positioned for the technology-based economy, but the elected leaders and economic development professionals are plodding along with traditional approaches to job creation and development? Or, on the other hand, what if there are several fragmented or isolated technology-related activities and success stories occuring that could benefit from a little political exposure and synergy?
Group Recommends Measure to Improve Minnesota Economy
Following on the Summit on Minnesota’s Economy, a 21-member group appointed by the president of the University of Minnesota has unveiled its recommendations to strengthen the state’s economy. The recommendations in Report to the People of Minnesota: Building a Knowledge Economy for Minnesota’s 21st Century are divided among five strategies:
Recommendations in the new report are divided among five strategies:
Western Virginia Explores Its Future
Western Virginia’s economy is stagnant due to a variety of factors and must get in line with the “New Economy” according to a report commissioned by the Center for Innovative Leadership in Roanoke. A second study by the Center revealed the area's residents appear willing to support activities designed to bring new business and employment to the region.
The report concluded that despite a favorable quality of life in the “New Century Region," as Western Virginia calls itself, the area's economy has been concentrated heavily on declining manufacturing industries and must find ways to attract high technology business.
Northeast-Midwest Institute Reports on Federal Spending by State
Despite small improvements, Northeast and Midwest regions lag behind the South and West in terms of dollars returned to states from taxes sent to Washington, according to a report issued by the Northeast-Midwest Institute.
The Northeast-Midwest region’s return on every tax dollar was $0.88, while the South received an estimated $1.18 in federal spending for every dollar sent to Washington and the West had a return of $1.01, according to Flow of Federal Funds to the States: Fiscal 1999.
Other highlights include:
USDA, NIH Inventions Offered for License
The U.S. Department of Agrciulture and the National Institutes of Health released information on 24 inventions that are available for license. Descriptions and contact information for each invention/patent are presented on the accompanying SSTI webpage
States Graded on Higher Education
A new comprehensive study of the state of higher education in the United States says that as a whole, the nation has made large improvements in the percentage of high school students taking upper-level math and science courses.
However, taken individually, many states have a long way to go in order to adequately prepare students for college education, according to Measuring Up 2000, the first-of-its-kind report card by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, released November 30.
The report rated each state in five categories: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, and benefits. The authors used the familiar A-B-C grading scale and compared state-by-state.
Nanotechnology Takes Center Stage
Solicitations totaling more than $101 million have been released by the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation (see the National Nanotechnology Initiative webpage at http://www.nano.gov for more details on each opportunity). The amount of funding available is one more indication of the importance that nanotechnology is expected to play in the future. The policy and programmatic implications for science, technology, and economic development programs will be significant as more applications are perfected and commercialized.
Washington DC Passes Tech Incentives
New legislation to help revitalize technology development in Washington, D.C. received unanimous approval from the Council of the District of Columbia and is expected to be signed by Mayor Anthony Williams.
The "New E-Conomy Transformation Act of 2000," contains eleven incentives designed to help transform the D.C. economy. Councilmember David A. Catania and the New E-conomy Advisory Group comprised of seven business leaders, developed the incentives targeted at companies engaged in e-commerce, Internet-based businesses, information technology, and other sectors of the New Economy. The Advisory Group identified barriers to locating in the District such as workforce development and affordable facilities, then crafted incentives designed to help businesses overcome them. The incentives include several tax credits, cuts, exemptions, and abatements, and lease guarantees for qualified companies.
CyberCities Report Released
All but one of the metro areas evaluated saw their high-tech industry employment grow during the last five years according to a 135-page report, Cybercities: A City By City Overview of the High-Technology Industry.
The report, assessing the U.S. high-tech industry in 60 metropolitan areas nationwide, was released Dec. 5 by AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) and The Nasdaq Stock Market. As with previous AeA reports, the definition of high technology is narrowly defined as high-tech electronics manufacturing, communications services, and software and computer-related services.
The high-tech industry added 1.1 million new jobs nationally since 1993, or eight percent of the 13.8 million jobs created by the U.S. private sector in the same time span, the report said.
Study Finds Room for Improvement in State ED Program Auditing
An analysis of 122 audits of economic development programs in 44 states revealed many areas for improvement, according to Good Jobs First, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Minding the Candy Store: State Audits of Economic Development, released online in September, issues harsh criticism of many public economic development efforts. The report's remarks are spread across the individual economic development programs, the state auditing agencies, and the state elected officials.
Good Jobs First states properly designed performance audits or other external evaluations can be beneficial tools for policymakers to use in economic development program design, measurement, and refinement. Benefit analysis and evaluation of effectiveness were often lacking as goals or deliverables for most of the audits reviewed for the report. Among the report's other findings were: