SSTI Digest

As part of a review of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) ordered by Commerce Secretary William Daley, public input is being sought on the operations and direction of the program. The outcome of the review is to be incorporated in the Department's recommendations to the Secretary on possible program modifications. The department is particularly interested in receiving comments on specific questions in four topic areas. The four topics and some of the questions are: Company participation Should large companies only participate as members of joint ventures? What are the appropriate criteria to judge whether greater benefit would accrue by extending an existing focused program or by initiating a new one? Private Capital Markets What are the possible sources of private funding available for such projects and how could those sources be made available to potential program applicants? Regional Distribution of Awards Are there mechanisms that should be explored to foster high quality proposals from companies in states that lack…

The House Committee on Science recently submitted its budget recom-endations to the House Budget Com-mittee. The recommendations call for a three percent total spending increase for federal research and development over FY 1997. The Administration's budget calls for a one percent increase for the civilian science and technology programs that are under the House Science Committee's jurisdiction. Those programs include NASA, FEMA, DOE, EPA, NOAA, NIST, and the Department of Commerce's Technology Administration. The budget proposal, entitled "Views and Estimates of the Committee on Science for Fiscal Year 1998," was signed by a majority of Republicans and Democrats on the committee. "Views and Estimates" reports are required from each of the House Committees and are used by the House Budget Committee in formulating the Budget Resolution. Precise dollar figures were not included in the report. However, in addition to the recommendation of a three percent increase, the committee presented a list of five criteria which it believes programs must meet or exceed to receive authorization for…

A newly formed panel will work with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Energy to provide recommendations on how to ensure the U.S. energy R&D program addresses the economic, environmental and national security needs of the nation for the next century. The panel will review current and projected U.S. energy R&D programs. The panel will also make recommendations on federal support for energy research and development, incentives for private sector investments in energy research and development, and U.S. commitments to international cooperation in energy research and development. The panel was created under the auspices of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). It is chaired by John Holdren, the Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The panel is expected to report its findings by October, 1997.

Increasing spending on education and research and development (R&D) was cited as the best means for the federal government to increase the long-term economic growth rate of the country, according to a recent Wall Street Journal survey of academic economists. This option was selected by more economists, 43 percent, than any of the other nine offered. The next closest option, "reduce government spending as share of GDP" was selected by 10 percent. The Journal surveyed 1,500 economists randomly chosen from faculties of "100 leading U.S. economics departments and 10 major business schools." In all, 320 responded. The results appeared in the March 6 edition of the Journal.

In what is touted as the first major national study of the economic impact of a research university, BankBoston recently reported on the economic impact of companies founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The report, MIT: The Impact of Innovation, "is a case study of the significant effect that research universities have on the economies of the nation and its 50 states." Graduates of MIT have founded some 4,000 currently active companies, according to the report. Worldwide, these companies account for annual revenues of almost $232 billion. Compared with foreign countries, MIT-related companies would rank 24th largest in the world -- just behind South Africa and ahead of Thailand. The total employment of the companies exceeds 1.1 million. Within the U.S., the MIT-related companies employed 733,000 people at more than 8,500 offices and plants in the 50 states. According to the report, the five states benefitting most from MIT-related jobs are California (162,000), Massachusetts (125,000), Texas (84,000), New Jersey (34,000), and Pennsylvania (21,000).…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) has released information on the status of Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) for fiscal years 1990 through 1996. The report, Update of Information on SBA's Small Business Investment Company Programs, provides data on the performance of the programs and related investment activities. The SBIC program was created to help small businesses obtain financing. SBICs, licensed by the Small Business Administration, are privately organized and privately managed investment firms. With a combination of their own capital and funds borrowed at favorable rates through SBA, SBICs provide venture capital and loans to small businesses. A specialized SBIC (SSBIC) program was also established to provide funding to socially or economically disadvantaged small business owners. GAO data for fiscal years 1990 through 1996 show that: the total number of SBICs and SSBICs decreased from 383 to 282 127 SBICs and SSBICs entered liquidation from 1990 to 1996 the number of SBICs and SSBICs with more than $10 million in private capital and SBA funding…

Pittsburg State University in Kansas is seeking a person to serve as the executive director of its Business & Technology Institute (BTI) and as Director of the Center for Design, Development, and Production. BTI is the primary economic development unit of the university. Its mission is to serve as interface between education, technology, business and industry by providing management, finance, and technological services. Review of applications will begin on April 28. A full description of the position can be obtained from SSTI's home page (http://www.ssti.org) or by calling SSTI at 614/421-7784.

The Coopers & Lybrand Money Tree Report, reported on in the March 7 issue of the Digest, inadvertently omitted Ohio from its list of the top states receiving venture capital investments in 1996. The Survey should have ranked Ohio tenth with $279.0 million in investments. This revised information drops Virginia to 11th with $275.7 million, New Jersey to 12th with $264.3 million, and Tennessee to 13th with $261.5 million.

The present organizational structure for science and technology advice in the White House should be retained and its operations fine-tuned to better serve the needs of the President, according to recommendations of the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government. The Commission suggests integrating the various S&T advisory organizations more fully into the operations of the White House and Executive Office and to focus the S&T advice on presidential priorities and initiatives. For example, the Commission recommends that the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology should give primary attention to serving the President and should play a policy and advisory role similar to that of other Assistants to the President. The Commission's recommendations include: The appointment of a chief of staff for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), so the Director of OSTP will have more time to perform the duties of Assistant to the President. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) should concentrate its resources on a small…

NASA selected the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston to lead a consortium for its new National Space Biomedical Research Institute. The space agency started the selection process last spring when it announced its intent to establish science institutes as a means of maintaining the scientific excellence of its applied biomedical research through greater involvement of the scientific community in NASA's overall research program. (SSTI Weekly Digest, May 3, 1996). The National Space Biomedical Research Institute is the first such organization to be formed. The Institute will conduct biomedical research to support human health in the exploration and development of space, with the support of the Johnson Space Center. It will define and direct the required basic and applied research to ensure the overall health and performance of crew members involved in long-duration space flight. The Institute will also focus on how the technologies and techniques it develops may be applied to earth health care issues. The specific objectives of the Institute include: Implementation of a…

New York Governor George Pataki amended his proposed FY 1997-98 budget to restore funding for the state's technology programs. Pataki's revised budget calls for more than $20 million for technology programs, almost twice what was originally submitted to the legislature in January. The new request calls for more than $16 million for university-industry projects, including Centers for Advanced Technology (CATs). Funding was also restored for the Industrial Technology Extension Service (ITES) and the Technology Development Organizations (TDOs) which operate New York's Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP). ITES and the TDOs had been eliminated from the Governor's Executive Budget. Under New York law, the governor submits his proposed state budget at the start of the legislative session, but has an additional 30 days to amend the budget before its consideration by the legislature. Even if the legislature accepts the governor's amendments, the $20.4 million proposal would be a 10 percent decrease from FY 1996-97 funding for similar programs. In recent years, however, the New York legislature…

Results are in from a new nationwide survey of 2,000 manufacturing executives conducted by the National Association of Manufacturing (NAM). Nearly two-thirds of the respondents to the 1997 Survey on Economic Growth believe that a lack of skilled workers is hindering their ability to grow. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed report that a significant number of their entry level employees do not have the skills needed to help increase productivity and growth. NAM also reports that 65 percent of the respondents invest between one and five percent of annual payroll in worker education and training. Eleven percent invested between six and ten percent of payroll while twenty-two percent spend less than one percent of annual payroll on worker development. When asked what three federal government initiatives have the greatest positive impact on their companies, the respondents indicated comprehensive regulatory reform (54 percent) and less restrictive monetary policy (54 percent). The top vote-getter (57 percent) was "Other" than the nine choices provided in the survey. "Measures to increase the…