SSTI Digest

The Department of Energy has posted its selections for Phase II awards under the 1999 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The 85 Phase II grants were made to companies in the 23 states listed in the accompanying table. More detailed information for each award can be found on the DOE website: http://sbir.er.doe.gov/sbir State # of Awards State # of Awards Alabama 1 New Mexico 1 Arizona 3 New York 3 California 18 North Carolina 2 Colorado 8 Ohio 4 Connecticut …

In a move to increase Hawaii's technology standing, Governor Ben Cayetano signed legislation last week that will create several new initiatives. Most significant for S&T policy is the planned consolidation of the state's technology-related programs under a new special advisor for technology development. The specific state agencies affected by the legislation were not identified in the Technology Omnibus bill. The technology advisor is to be appointed by the Governor and has nine responsibilities outlined in the legislation which include: developing a plan to reorganize and consolidate "all state high technology agencies;" providing technical assistance and advice to private high technology businesses; coordinating the state's promotion and marketing of high technology industry; and, encouraging the development of educational, training and career programs in high tech industries. A Governor's special advisory council for technology development was also established to assist the new advisor. The council will consist of 11-25 members appointed by the…

While there is no uniform federal policy for conducting peer reviews and no written government-wide definition of peer review, there is general agreement among the agencies and the While House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as to what the term means, according to a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report, Peer Review Practices at Federal Science Agencies Vary. OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget encourage funding of research projects that are peer reviewed over those that are not reviewed through the process. Additionally, GAO found some common criticisms of the peer review process from officials in several agencies. Issues raised included peer review being occasionally elitist (discounting economic considerations over science) and its potential for discouraging the funding of innovative research as peer review practices tend to be conservative. To address these concerns, OSTP is initiating an interagency effort to examine which agencies' peer review practices might better facilitate innovation. OSTP officials participating in the GAO…

The House Committee on Small Business approved a bill to extend the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program until September 30, 2007. H.R. 2392, introduced by Representatives Taalent, Bartlett, Kelly and Velazquez, also was referred to the House Committee on Science for consideration. The ASME International Capitol Update reports a House floor vote on the bill is expected in Mid-July. H.R. 2392 also clarified that companies retain proprietary rights to data developed under the SBIR program for four years following the last federal funding received, which then could include Phase III awards. Other provisions in the bill addressed minor housekeeping issues related to SBA reporting requirements. No other topics of current debate were addressed in the bill, such as whether or not to increase the set-aside percentage from 2.5 percent or to allow agencies to use some portion of the set aside to cover administrative costs. A copy of the bill can be downloaded from http://thomas.loc.gov

Ohio's investment in technology-based economic development will top $50 million in FY 2000 as a result of the biennial budget passed by the Ohio General Assembly this week. Spending for the programs will grow nearly 35 percent from $40.4 million in FY 1999 to $54.4 million in FY 2000. Most of the increase is as a result of the Ohio Technology Actions Grants (TAGs) Program, growing from $1.9 million in FY 1999 to $14.75 million each year for FY 2000 and 2001. The Technology Action Grants (TAGs ) provide funding to companies, universities and collaborative partnerships for projects which: leverage federal and industrial support; provide a potential return on investment to the state's economy; are able to become independent of state funds within a short time period; and, focus on regional or statewide clusters of technology strengths or needs. The TAGs will be administered by the Governor's Office for Science & Technology with staff support from the Department of Development and the Board of Regents. New this year for the TAGs will be a Technology Action…

International collaboration in science and technology through joint research and development projects and activities offers opportunities for the US and foreign governments to leverage research dollars and increase productivity. A recent report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), Federal Research: Information on International Science and Technology Agreements (GAO/RCED-99-108), identifies: 1) the number of international S&T agreements active during fiscal year 1997; and, 2) the number of these agreements that resulted in research projects or other activities. GAO found that in FY 1997, the seven agencies it reviewed participated in 575 international science and technology agreements with 57 countries, 8 international organizations, and 10 groups or organizations and/or countries. More than 90% of the international S&T agreements resulted in research projects or other research-related activities such as consultations among scientists and exchanges of data and personnel. The distribution of agreements by agency was:…

The Computing Research Association (CRA) has released an in-depth look at the information technology (IT) worker situation in the United States, The Supply of Information Technology Workers in the United States. Working with four other professional IT-related societies, CRA conducted a critical review of the information available on the supply of IT workers, the broader definition of an IT worker, traditional and nontraditional sources for IT workers, the long term and short term demand for IT employees, and suggested ways to positively affect the supply of IT workers. One of the surprises in the report is the conclusion that while a preponderance of secondary or circumstantial evidence may suggest a national IT worker shortage exists, there was no conclusive evidence to quantitatively corroborate a worker shortage over a tight labor market. Job-specific shortages, geographically limited availability or temporary increases in demand (e.g., Y2K problems) may exist but the report concludes great fluctuation and fluidity occurs in local, industrial or regional supply…

Research and development (R&D) spending in the United States reached an estimated $220.6 billion in 1998, reflecting an inflation-adjusted increase of 5.3 percent over 1997, reports the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the recently released National Patterns of R&D Resources: 1998. Industry, not government, is responsible for most of the growth, according to the report. Industry has provided the largest share of financial support for U.S. R&D since 1980, found Steven Payson, report author and Senior Science Resources Analyst with NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies. Preliminary 1998 estimates show industry R&D spending increased in real terms 7.7 percent over 1997 to $143.7 billion, or 65.1 percent of the total. Federal support increased 0.8 percent to $66.6 billion, for a record low of 30.2 percent of the total. Payson estimates that nearly all ($140.8 billion) of the industry R&D funds was devoted to R&D performed by industry itself, with the remainder directed toward academic R&D ($1.8 billion) and R&D performed by other nonprofit…

The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Education and Human Resources has released A Report on the Evaluation of the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. The report (NSF 99-115) was prepared under contract by the COSMOS Corporation. Among the report's findings are: The EPSCoR states increased their aggregate share of federal academic R&D awards from 0.25 percent per state in 1980 of total awards to 0.40 percent per state in 1994. In contrast, the non-EPSCoR states' share declined modestly over the same period. A "per state" unit of analysis was used to assess changes in R&D because the number of states participating in the program changed over time as new cohorts of states were added to the program. (See accompanying table) The total share of federal academic R&D expenditures the five states designated as EPSCoR eligible received was 1.25% in 1979. In 1994, the total share the 18 states and 1 territory designated…

The Colorado Advanced Technology Institute (CATI) has been abolished effective June 30, 1999. CATI was the state's lead organization on technology-based economic development since its creation in 1983. Responsibility for CATI programs is being transferred to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. CATI funds appropriated for FY2000 will be split between the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and the recently created Office of Innovation and Technology in the Governor's office, which is expected to focus on communications and information resources within state government. CATI staff have either accepted new positions with CCHE or other organizations or retired.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is seeking candidates for the United States Innovation Partnership (USIP) Fellow. The Fellow will serve a one-year appointment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to help foster science and technology cooperation between the states and the federal government. Specifically, the Fellow will be a technology professional with first-hand knowledge of and experience with state government operations as well as a broad understanding of federal science and technology programs. Among the qualifications necessary for becoming a White House Fellow are: an advanced degree or equivalent work experience; clear understanding of the roles of federal R&D programs and state S&T programs; leadership and organizational skills necessary to direct, manage and coordinate administrative and programmatic activities; and, the ability to discern opportunities for state-federal technology programs and to…

Candidates are sought for a Senior Executive position (Salary $100,000+) to provide visionary and high level leadership for the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, a new statewide technology transfer and commercialization nonprofit organization. Resume and salary requirements must be submitted no later than July 12, 1999. The full description can be found on the SSTI website (http://www.ssti.org) following the "Job Corner" link. [Note: The position is filled]