SSTI Digest

A recently released data brief from the National Science Foundation, entitled Six States Account for Half of the Nation's R&D, analyzed the distribution of research and development activity by state and found most of the activity is concentrated in a small number of states.

As the data brief reports, six states—California, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Texas (in decreasing order of magnitude)— account for half of the nation's R&D. California's level of R&D expenditures was $36 billion and represented approximately one-fifth of the $177 billion U.S. total.

The top ten states (adding, in descending order, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio) accounted for nearly two-thirds of the national effort. The 20 highest-ranking states in R&D expenditures accounted for approximately 85 percent of the U.S. total. The lowest 20 states accounted for five percent.

The grand opening on April 9 of a new technology education center in the Seattle area marked a milestone for the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program. The new Northwest Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET) is the second major ATE center NSF has supported in the fields of information technology and telecommunications.

NSF has funded 10 other such ATE programs on a smaller scale around the United States. NSF initiated the ATE Program in 1994 in an effort to meet the education needs of the high- performance workplace through education programs at two-year and community colleges. The ATE program supports projects in instructional materials and curriculum development; laboratory development and enhancement; faculty and teacher enhancement and preparation; and technical experiences for students.

The Illinois 1997 High Tech Yearbook is a first-ever annual report documenting the people, organizations and infrastructure driving the high technology industry in Illinois. The report was recently released by the Illinois Coalition and KPMG Peat Marwick, in cooperation with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago.

The Yearbook is the latest addition to a growing number of states or regions that are developing technology indexes.

The state's science and technology strengths are highlighted in the yearbook through a series of indicators tracked by the Illinois Coalition. The indicators identify and explain the ingredients and dynamics of Illinois' technology economy.

According to the report, in 1984 Illinois was tenth in the U.S. for the size of its technology economy. Today, it is fourth. The following outline some of the key indicators the report highlights:

BUT AGREE MORE INFO, DATA NEEDED ON IT LABOR

The General Accounting Office recently released its comments on a U.S. Department of Commerce study of the availability of information technology workers.

The GAO reviewed the methodology used by Commerce in preparing its 1997 report America's New Deficit: The Shortage of Information Technology Workers, and determined that there were "serious analytical and methodological weaknesses that undermine the credibility of its conclusion that a shortage of IT workers exists."

GAO states that its criticisms "should not necessarily lead to a conclusion that there is no shortage. Instead, as the Commerce report declares, additional information and data are needed to more accurately characterize the IT labor market now and in the future."

A bill that would revise Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) provisions has passed the House Subcommittee on Technology. The amended version of the Technology Transfer Commercialization Act of 1997

(H.R. 2544) now moves to the House Science Committee for further consideration.

The bill would amend the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 by revising the requirements regarding a CRADA. Specifically, the bill would repeal provisions relating to restrictions on the licensing of federally owned inventions and replace them with new provisions which, among other things, would:

*Leverage the existing technology transfer rules by allowing federal laboratories to include already existing patented inventions in a CRADA to enhance chances for commercialization;

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development has produced a publication entitled Guide to Technology Commercialization Assistance for EPA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Awardees. Although designed to assist EPA SBIR award winners, most of the information is relevant to small technology businesses and entrepreneurs.

The commercialization assistance guide presents information on various programs and organizations that offer technical and financial assistance, as well as information and other resources, to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Some of the programs are specific to SBIR awardees, while others are open to any company that qualifies for the assistance.

The programs, organizations, and sources described in the guide fall into the following four categories:

Representative James P. Moran (D-VA) recently introduced a package of five bills that he feels would help address the critical shortage of information technology workers that the United States currently faces. As reported in the January 23, 1998 issue of the Digest, the Information Technology Association of America predicts that there are approximately 346,000 unfilled information technology jobs in the country today due to a shortage of qualified workers.

H.R. 3270, the Regional Skills Training Alliances Act of 1998, is modeled after the Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP). It directs the Secretary of Commerce to make available through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) competitive grants to improve the job skills necessary for employment in specific industries.

Nearly 150 American leaders launched a two-year initiative last week in the hopes of speeding the development of new technology. The initiative is the result of the National Innovation Summit sponsored by the Council on Competitiveness and held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Attendees included Vice President Al Gore, House Science Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, CEOs of numerous corporations, university presidents, labor leaders, and others.

Summit participants agreed that the U.S. talent pool will be the nation's single greatest vulnerability over the next decade. They were similarly concerned about the future of the national research base. However, they were optimistic about the nation's capital availability, market vitality and access to international markets.

The majority members of the House Science Committee released an analysis of the President's R&D budget request. Overall, the report recognizes the real increase in non-defense R&D spending; however, it is critical of the increase being funded by uncertain tax increases. Some of the major conclusions from the report are:

The report finds that except for FY1999, real spending for total R&D investments is less than FY1998 levels in all other years (FY2000-2003). In terms of actual dollars, spending increases significantly in FY1999 and then dips before recovering in FY2002.

In terms of real dollars, there is an increase every year in non-defense R&D. However, there is a decrease in real dollars every year in defense R&D. It is projected that for the first time non-defense R&D will surpass defense R&D by FY2001.

The South Carolina Technology Advisory Council (SCTAC) has released a technology strategy for the state. Creating South Carolina's Future Through Technology: Strategies for Developing a Knowledge-Based Economy grew from a 1995 strategic plan for economic development, Approaching 2000: An Economic Development Vision for South Carolina.

The technology strategy builds on the state's successes in attracting capital investments and jobs from large manufacturing companies. The plan is designed to increase the wealth-generating capacity of South Carolina's economy by making the state more competitive in supporting and expanding its base of high-growth technology companies, new knowledge-based start-up companies, and world-class scientific and engineering operations.

As a result of a recent study on the federal role in economic development, the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is concerned that the current federal statistical system is not meeting the needs of economic development practitioners. EDA has commissioned a web-based survey to assess the usefulness of the data.

The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), in a report commissioned by EDA, noted that state and local development agencies rely heavily on data generated by federal statistical agencies, and by state employment agencies following federal methodologies.

The report suggests that a long-standing lack of coordination among federal agencies, recent cutbacks in funding for federal statistical programs, and the low priority placed on regional data has resulted in a data collection system that cannot supply usable, reliable data of a region's economic activity.

Price Waterhouse recently announced that venture capital investments hit an all-time record in the fourth quarter of 1997. Total investments exceeded $3.7 billion, eclipsing the previous high of $3.5 billion reported in the third quarter of 1997. Compared to the fourth quarter of 1996, investments increased 50%. These findings were released in the Price Waterhouse Venture Capital Survey, a quarterly report of venture capital investments throughout the United States.

The following table shows the amount of venture capital dollars invested by state in the fourth quarter of 1997: