SSTI Digest

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued several requests for research proposals during the past month that may be of interest to Digest subscribers and their clients. The following are requests whose deadlines occur during the next two months.



The Office of Research and Development (ORD)in partnership with NASA’s Office of Earth Science (OES) is soliciting grant applications to establish Estuarine Indicator Research Programs. These programs will be designed to identify, evaluate, recommend, and potentially develop new, innovative indicators of ecological conditions. A total of $6 million in funding will be awarded to four programs that include plans for large geographical areas. The deadline for applications is March 7, 2000. For more information, contact http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa and click on “announcements.”



The Pollution Prevention Incentives for States grant program expects to have $5 million available to award in the area of reduction or elimination of pollution across all environmental media and in strengthening state technical programs to disseminate source reduction information to businesses. The deadlines for applications and proposals will be determined by region. For specific regional information, contact Christopher Kent at kent.christopher@epa.gov 



The Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance (NCERQA) in collaboration with the Office of Policy and Innovation is soliciting grant proposals in the area of Market-based Mechanisms and Other Incentives for Environmental Management (MM&I). This competition encourages research that will aid in the development of approaches for designing programs to meet environmental goals cost effectively. Ten awards will be made for a total for $2 million in funding. The deadline for applications is February 2, 2000. For complete information, visit http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa/rfa/market2000.html  

The 18 governors who comprise the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) have agreed to create a Western High Technology Council to serve as a strategic alliance among states, technology firms and universities to advance the region's common interests in the technology-driven and knowledge-based New Economy. Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano, WGA Chairman, proposed the idea at the WGA winter meeting held in Las Vegas during December.



The governors asked Intel, Silicon Graphics, and other interested companies to work with university partners and WGA staff to develop a business plan for the proposed council. A concept paper prepared for the governors' discussion suggested the Council's membership initially include 15 to 20 high-level representatives from information, health, and biotechnology industries and leaders from academia and the public sector.



The paper also suggests that the council form broad-based work groups comprised of stakeholders and academia to develop recommendations on specific issues. Any council recommendations developed in the next six months would be reviewed by the governors at their annual meeting to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, June 11-13, 2000.



The concept paper listed several issues the council could consider related to: privacy and security of information; ethics; workforce development; appropriate protection of intellectual property rights; and, trade and international competitiveness. The council's actions would be expected to advance both economic and social goals. One key goal would be the development of a working partnership between the public and private sector to ensure technology and the "high-tech culture" benefits both rural and metropolitan areas throughout the Western states.



The governors also discussed Arizona's strategic approach for supporting clusters of businesses as a successful strategy for focusing state economic development efforts. The WGA website suggests regional cluster analysis will serve an integral role in the development of specific strategies or recommendations for the Council.



More information, including the concept paper, can be found at the Western Governors' Association website: http://www.westgov.org/ 

The SSTI Weekly Digest has typically focused on state and federal activities in technology-based economic development. This special issue of the Digest, however, focuses on the important role that foundations can play in technology-based economic development by:

At first glance, the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation’s quiet contribution of almost $25 million over the past ten years to support local economic development may not raise much interest from state and federal technology-based economic development professionals across the country. However, the reaction might be different after learning that most of the investment was to emerging businesses in the form of venture capital.

The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

This decade saw a significant increase in public and private investment in environmental technologies and programs. Confronting environmental issues will remain a challenge for many years to come.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government is offering three funding opportunities that will support new approaches to improving the effectiveness of government at the federal, state, local and international levels.

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has invited public comments on the draft Statement of Principles for the Government-University Research Partnership.

The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) currently has three positions available: Investment Officer, Consulting Coordinator, and Director of Research & Training. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) will hold a series of workshops in January and February to discuss the goals and priorities of Telecommunications Information and Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), a grant program that funds innovative projects aimed at extending the benefits of advanced telecommunications and information technology to underserved Americans in rural and urban areas. Congress has appropriated $15.5 million for the FY 2000 grant round. The Notice of Availability of Funds announcing the upcoming competition will be published in the Federal Register in early January.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has released its third annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. The report tracks and explores the implications of 30 performance indicators on the long-term growth and stability of the Massachusetts economy. When statistics are available, Massachusetts is compared to its “leading competitor states” of California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.

The Federal Highway Administration has requested grant applications and research recommendations for the Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot (TCSP) Program. Proposals will be accepted for FY 2001 projects to develop, implement and evaluate transportation strategies which improve the efficiency of transportation systems, reduce environmental impacts of transportation, reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments, ensure efficient access to jobs, services and centers of trade, and examine development patterns which achieve these goals.