SSTI Digest

SSTI bids a warm farewell to Deb Tharp, who has accepted a full-time position with Battelle Memorial Institute in the Technology Partnership Practice group.

Governor Christie Whitman has announced New Jersey Jobs for a New Economy, a multi-million dollar package of technology-related initiatives to make New Jersey more competitive in the creation of high technology jobs.  Among the plan's proposals are the following technology-related investments:  $15 million for excellence grants to enable New Jersey's colleges and universities to develop nationally recognized programs of technology in the following fields: computer science and information technology; physical life and health sciences; engineering and engineering technology; and, science and math teacher education. $10 million for matching challenge grants to the universities to attract federal research projects in the same four areas listed above. According to Governor Whitman, New Jersey currently ranks 44th in securing federal R&D funding. $10 million in state matching funds to leverage $30 million from private sources for venture capital investments in high technology firms. $3 million in funds from the WorkFirst New Jersey program to provide computer…

Effective Monday, January 24, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin accepting funding applications under the new Rural Business Opportunity Grants Program (RBOG). The program was authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill to fund sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. RBOG funding may be used to support the following types of technical assistance for business development and economic development planning: Identify and analyze business opportunities that use local materials or human resources; Identify, train and provide technical assistance to existing or prospective rural entrepreneurs and managers; Establish business support centers to provide business assistance such as counseling, business planning, training, management assistance, marketing information, and locating financing for business operations. The centers may be located outside rural areas, but must provide assistance to rural businesses; Conduct local community or multi-county economic development planning; Establish centers for training, technology, and trade that will…

With the start of the new year, a number of state legislatures are reconvening. Quite a few states have significant research, science, and technology issues on their legislative calendar, including the following: Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has proposed the creation of a tax credit for a variety of industries, including R&D firms, to encourage job creation, higher wages and investment in rural Nebraska. The plan would offer an income tax credit equal to five percent of the compensation paid for new employment and an additional income tax credit equal to ten percent of the new investment. While development projects in the entire state are eligible, those projects in the most distressed areas would have to meet lower investment or job creation thresholds to receive the credit. New York Governor George Pataki has proposed the establishment of Upstate High Technology Enterprise Zones to encourage technology-based economic development in those areas where job growth is below the state average. The plan includes a series of tax credits for research and development…

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. The Mission coordinates the activities of three usually disparate approaches -- a large state center of excellence, an education and training program, and an industrial inducement program -- under a single, unified technology-based economic development strategy and office. On a smaller scale, the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse, a $13.2 million initiative focusing on high definition video and systems-on-a-chip technology, represents another example of this new model for state science and technology policy (see the 7/23/99 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/1999/072399.htm) Research Five Georgia institutions currently…

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. The forecast also projects U.S. industry will continue to emphasize partnering and collaborative research projects, including relationships with federal labs, other industry, and foreign companies. Industrial-academic research…

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. With Mr Raguso’s appointment, the SDRTA is seeking a new President and CEO of the 501 c(3). The SDRTA's mission is to promote technology-based economic development in San Diego County, with a particular focus on increasing the participation of the region's citizens in the New Economy. Focus programs include entrepreneur assistance, analysis regarding San Diego's high-tech economy, and partnerships to broaden citizen's access to technology.  The organization receives funding from local and state…

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  

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, 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. VirginiaLink is a new approach for a state science and technology program to take to overcome the issue of inequities in Internet access. In concept, VirginiaLink is a twist on the farmers' cooperatives formed to increase the economies of scale and selling…

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…

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…