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SSTI Digest
New Approaches to State S&T: Georgia's Yamacraw Mission
One year ago this month, in the midst of a booming economy, Georgia Governor Roy Barnes announced a new $100 million, five-year initiative to advance the state’s position in the research and production of key components of the global economy. The Yamacraw Mission, named after one of the state’s first colonial settlements, focuses on research, education, and economic development in microchip design and high-bandwidth communications.
R&D Spending to Grow in 2000
R&D expenditures are expected to increase by more than eight percent this year to a total of $266 billion, according to the latest Battelle-R&D Magazine research and development forecast. The report predicts increases in R&D funding by industry, universities, and other non-profit organizations, while federal research funding is expected to remain static.
Buoyed by the strong economy, industrial commitment to R&D is expected to lead all other sectors in growth, increasing by more than ten percent in 2000. Industrial R&D is anticipated to total $187 billion in 2000, comprising 66 percent of the nation’s total research investment. With $66 billion in expenditures, federal R&D will account for 29 percent of the total. The balance of $12.6 billion, or 5 percent of the total, will be provided by universities and other nonprofit organizations.
California Governor Names S&T Chief
California Governor Gray Davis has appointed Joseph A. Raguso as Deputy Secretary for Strategic Technology for the Trade and Commerce Agency. Mr. Raguso currently serves as President and CEO for the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (SDRTA), a position he has held since 1997. Mr. Raguso will begin serving in his new capacity on January 31.
From 1996 to 1997, Mr. Raguso was manager of the Science and Technology Policy and Projects for the University of California, San Diego. From 1994 to 1996, he served as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for the United States Department of Commerce.
Additional NASA SBIR Phase II Awards Granted
NASA has announced the selection of 25 additional 1998 Phase II R&D recipients under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The new awards bring the total for the 1998 NASA SBIR Phase II awards to 128.
Twenty-five firms in 12 states were selected for the new awards. Four of the companies selected are considered disadvantaged firms and three are women-owned firms. Each project may receive up to $600,000 over a two-year period.
The state distribution of these new awards is available on the NASA SBIR Website: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov/SBIR/sbir98/98ph2/add98state.html
Technology and Education Studies Available Online
The Department of Education has posted 13 white papers presented during its July 1999 Conference on Technology. The conference and papers focused on evaluating the effectiveness of technology in education. Among the titles are two covering the experiences of Idaho and West Virginia: "The Idaho Technology Initiative: An Accountability Report to the Idaho Legislature on the Effects of Monies Spent through the Idaho Council for Technology in Learning" and "WEST VIRGINIA STORY: Achievement Gains from a Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program." The papers, conference agenda and "spotlight schools" can be viewed at: http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/
Virginia Offers Unique Web Access Service
Virginia, through its Office of the Secretary of Technology and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has created a unique collaborative public-private partnership to increase Internet access and e-commerce capabilities for Virginia's businesses. In December, CIT and Virginia Tech launched VirginiaLink, a multi-vendor, broadband telecommunications program providing businesses with inexpensive advanced telecommunications services such as Internet access and voice, data, and video capacity.
To participate in VirginiaLink, businesses must join the VirginiaLink Consortium, a cooperative permitting individual small companies to bundle their purchases to take advantage of volume discounts available to larger buyers. Companies particularly expected to benefit from the program are smaller firms in rural parts of the Commonwealth.
Environmental Research Proposals Requested
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.”
Western Governors Create High Technology Council
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.
Editor’s Note
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:
- Examining opportunities presented by foundations’ use of “program-related investments,”
- Suggesting resources for identifying foundations that may be effective S&T
partners, - Providing an example of foundations’ activities in one sector – the
environment, and - Announcing a funding opportunity currently available from one foundation.
Foundations as S&T Partners
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.
Wealth of Information Offered by The Foundation Center
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.
The Foundation Center's extensive online library of the country’s largest 10,000 philanthropic organizations is available by monthly subscription. A CD Rom directory of 50,000 philanthropies, as well as several other directory and guides, are also offered. The Center provides several additional publications, grant writing workshops, and research tools for prospective grant recipients.
Foundations Seeking to Make a Difference in Environment
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.
Many philanthropic foundations are focusing their grants and investments toward environmental concerns. From areas of interest as diverse as sustainable agriculture to eliminating industrial hazardous waste, foundations are funding a variety of environmental programs and projects.
State-funded environmental science and technology initiatives, and in some cases, their client technology businesses, are eligible to apply for many different foundation giving programs. The following are two examples with links for obtaining more information.