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SSTI Digest
People
Norman Y. Mineta has been confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Gary Bachula has joined Internet2 as Vice President for External Relations where he will focus on strengthening and enhancing relationships with government and not-for-profit organizations working to advance Internet technology.
Joel Bauman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Southern Technology Council, is leaving to attend the University of Texas - Austin. Joel has been a great resource for SSTI over the past few years and we wish him success in business school.
People
Norman Y. Mineta has been confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
People
Gary Bachula has joined Internet2 as Vice President for External Relations where he will focus on strengthening and enhancing relationships with government and not-for-profit organizations working to advance Internet technology.
People
Joel Bauman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Southern Technology Council, is leaving to attend the University of Texas - Austin. Joel has been a great resource for SSTI over the past few years and we wish him success in business school
Digest Publication Schedule Changes
While many state legislatures are in recess, the federal fiscal year draws to a close (resulting in few new R&D funding opportunities to report), and SSTI staff focus more activities on our 4th Annual conference -- Beyond the Hype: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, the SSTI Weekly Digest will go to a biweekly schedule during the month of August. As a result, the next two issues will be released on August 11 and August 25. We apologize for any inconvenience this may present. Weekly publication will resume in September.
More information on Beyond the Hype, including a registration form, can be found on our web site: http://www.ssti.org/Conf00/conf--00.htm
Senate Passes SBIR Reauthorization; FAST Intact
Wednesday evening, the bill to reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program until the end of FY 2008 passed the full Senate by unanimous consent. The Senate version of H.R. 2392 varies greatly from the original bill passed by the House of Representatives last fall; however, months of negotiations between the House and Senate have reconciled the differences with the intent of expediting House passage of the modified bill before the SBIR program sunsets September 30, 2000.
Tools for Growth Released by PPI
A series of legislative recommendations to expand the "winners' circle" of the New Economy has been released by the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) New Economy Task Force.
Tools for Growth: A Legislative Agenda for the New Economy defines four key New Economy policy areas: research and technological innovation; education and skills; e-commerce; and fostering digital opportunity. The 21-page document also gives eight, specific legislative recommendations that address the changes of the New Economy on a micro level, including the following:
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
Innovation is the driving force behind economic growth. Congress needs to affirm a bipartisan understanding that government support for basic and applied research is an investment in a public good with large payoffs for society.
Michigan Develops Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Strategy
Concerned that it currently lacks the “critical mass” required to be a leader in biotechnology, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) has prepared the Michigan Life Sciences Strategy, which outlines a plan to develop its universities, industries, and infrastructure to nurture biotechnology entrepreneurship over the next decade.
In developing the strategy, MEDC conducted three studies: a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis; a comparative analysis of competitor states and best practices in public biotech programs; and a situational analysis of Michigan's current portfolio of programs and activities related to life sciences. The best practices and comparison analysis are drawn from Maryland and North Carolina.
Specific policy recommendations are presented across four broad vision strategies for Michigan, including:
Office of Technology Policy Releases States’ S&T Indicators
With the goal of assembling “a consistent set of state-level data that approximates the ‘technology infrastructure’ of the states,” the Office of Technology Policy (OTP) has released on the web, The Dynamics of Technology-based Economic Development: State Science and Technology Indicators. OTP, part of the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, cautions repeatedly throughout the report that no attempt is made or intended to analyze, benchmark, or assess any state’s performance along any of the 37metrics included. Dynamics is meant to serve as a reference guide for policymakers and researchers to use as they develop, implement, and evaluate state science and technology policies and programs. Data has been normalized and ranked for ease of comparison or understanding a state’s relative position, however.
Profile of Today's College Graduates
The latest issue of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship's E-News brought our attention to survey results revealing that, despite the media and Wall Street attention given to dot-coms, only 13.1 percent of recent college graduates would like to work for the start-up, Internet-based businesses given a choice. Fortune 500 companies were the preferred choice for 42.2 percent of the survey respondents, while 24.7 percent opted for small businesses (specifically not dot-coms). One-in-five respondents wanted to work for their own companies. Released in June, the survey was conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
Database of IT Workforce Programs Available
The Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce has prepared a web-based database of public, private, and educational programs and activities dedicated to developing the information technology workforce. The site is searchable geographically, by program type, by sponsor, or by keyword. Entities are invited to add information for additional programs and initiatives to the site as well. More information is available at: http://www.go4it.gov
Our thanks to Keecia James at the Southern Technology Council for making us aware of this resource.
NGA Announces Ten States for Entrepreneurship Academy
The National Governors’ Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, with support from the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (KCEL), will convene an 18-month policy academy this fall to help officials from ten states to develop strategies governors can use to support entrepreneurship. Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were selected to participate in the policy academy project.
"The policy academy will involve a high level commitment by the states to achieve demonstrable results," said incoming Center Board Chair, Michigan Governor John Engler. "Governors will appoint teams of eight to ten senior staff, cabinet officials and entrepreneurs who will work together as a state team, led by a Governor’s policy advisor. Each team will share information and gain perspective from similar teams representing other states."