SSTI Digest

Does the level of entrepreneurial activity vary between countries, and, if so, by how much? Does the level of entrepreneurial activity affect a country’s economic growth? What makes a country entrepreneurial? These questions are the focus of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2000, (GEM 2000), a year-long study involving 43,000 individuals in 21 countries. Researchers also interviewed almost 800 experts and scholars on entrepreneurship across the world in preparation of the report.

Key findings, many of which could also have relevance to regional differences in entrepreneurship across the US, include:

The Maine Science & Technology Foundation (MSTF) has issued a request for proposals to conduct an "Initial Evaluation of Maine's Public Investments in Research and Development." The study, to be completed by July 1, 2001, will provide baseline data for the first comprehensive evaluation MSTF is required by law to prepare for the state legislature and Governor by July, 2006. Subsequent comprehensive evaluations are to be completed every five years. The effort will:

Organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area will spend more than $20 million this year to bridge the digital divide, according to Who's Funding the Digital Connect?, a report released this month by the San Francisco Foundation. More than 54 organizations will provide computer access and/or training to more than 75,000 low income and underserved individuals in one of the most technology-savvy regions in the country, according to the study.

The study provides a base inventory of the digital divide programs and services provided in the area, the sources and stability of funding, and critical gaps in both service delivery and funding. The San Francisco Foundation will use the information as a component of Digital Connect, a larger strategy to eliminate barriers to technology for low income, under-represented, and underserved communities.

Key findings include:

Twenty researchers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) received the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers award late last month. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers who are in the early stages of building their independent research careers. To receive the award, nominees must be NSF CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) awards recipients. The CAREER award supports exceptionally promising college and university junior faculty who are committed to the integration of research and education. This year’s 20 recipients bring the total to 120 that have received the honor since it was established in 1996.



The recipients are:

The commercialization of academic research in 1999 resulted in more than $40 billion in economic activity that supported more than 270,000 jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). The 1999 AUTM Licensing Survey reports that business activity associated with sales of products from academic research last year is estimated to have generated $5 billion in tax revenues in the U.S. at the federal, state, and local levels.

AUTM's ninth licensing survey on technology transfer activities among academic institutions in the U.S. and Canada found:

Venture-based investments in the third quarter of 2000 reached $17.6 billion, a decrease of 12.5 percent drop from the record $19.8 billion reported in the second quarter of 2000, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTreeTM Survey results. Investments, however, are still nearly double the $8.9 billion reported in the third quarter of 1999. The MoneytreeTM figures correspond with declines reported by other quarterly venture capital surveys compiled by the Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.

The SSTI Weekly Digest has a new sponsor, making the publication free to any and all parties interested in tech-based economic development. The Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, selected SSTI as one of three awardees in a competitive solicitation for national information dissemination projects. SSTI proposed dramatically expanding the content and distribution of the Digest and establishing a web-based resource center.

The new cooperative agreement, potentially renewable for two more years, permits SSTI to do several things to enhance the value of the Digest for tech-based economic development professionals, particularly those working at local, regional, and state levels. Beginning with this week's "telco hotels" story, look for expanded coverage of local and regional issues in science, technology, and R&D. Occasional special Digest issues will focus on specific themes and elements of tech-based economic development.

Downtown office vacancy rates are at all-time lows, leasing rates are rising, and your city is increasingly a hub for business activity. Even the old, historic structures have been rehabbed and are at capacity. Sounds like dreams for most urban economic developers, right? For a growing number of communities, however, meeting these goals is leading to “New Economy ghost towns” devoid of the foot traffic, night life, and other human activity necessary for a thriving community. Retail, service and even private parking garages are complaining that the New Economy is killing their businesses.

During the past two years, buildings dedicated almost entirely to housing the telecommunications infrastructure critical for the New Economy have appeared everywhere. Commonly called “telco hotels,” these facilities serve as shared warehouses of fiber-optic cable and telephone wiring for co-locating telecommunications, data firms, Internet service providers, Internet incubators, and other dot coms.

The recipients of the 2000 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology, the nation's highest science and technology honors, were announced this week. The National Medal of Science, established by Congress in 1959 and administered by the National Science Foundation, honors individuals for contributions to the present state of knowledge across a variety of science frontiers. Ten of the twelve researchers received NSF support for portions of their academic careers or research and two of the medalists are Nobel Prize winners. The recipients of the 2000 National Medal of Science are: