SSTI Digest

The transition from finite energy sources such as fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is on. The U.S. government, European Union and China are directing billions into the development of renewable energies. Most states have adopted energy standards to encourage the change. Private investments in renewable energies also have surpassed investments in fossil fuel technologies. Economic opportunities and challenges for regions across the country abound as a result.

Energy issues don't stop at the power plant, whether they are large centralized facilities or distributed at each household or business. With the urgent need to combat climate change and become more globally competitive, decreasing our energy use and pollution byproducts is important in everything and will affect all we do — including how we approach economic development.

After this year's Big Reveal, Wednesday, Sept. 15 at lunch, join practitioners named as best practices in the field of tech-based economic development as they gather during a thought-provoking session to discuss only the most important issues for the TBED community — lessons learned, how to measure impact, and how to communicate success to sustain programs. SSTI is rolling out an entirely new format for the session this year designed to engage audience members through an intimate setting featuring an interview format led by Peggy Shults, President and CEO of Lytmos Group, LLC.

Achieving Excellence in TBED 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Wednesday, September 15

Past Excellence in TBED Award Winners

James & Esther King Biomedical Research Program (2009) Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars® Program (2007) Expanding the Research Capacity

Washington Technology Center Research & Technology Development Program (2009) Maryland Technology Transfer Fund (2008) Georgia Research Alliance VentureLab (2007) Commercializing Research

As an SSTI Conference Sponsor, you have the chance to showcase your organization with the decision makers responsible for crafting and implementing local and state-level policies and programs that directly contribute to the nation's competitiveness. Today's marketplace is about belonging and staying connected. No other event brings together so many of the nation's top players in the TBED community.

SSTI believes conference sponsors deserve to stand out to attendees so exhibits are placed prominently in a highly-visible location. Only a select group of sponsors and host partners are provided with the opportunity to exhibit to avoid that trade show feel.

The conference draws on average more than 350 representatives from 46 states and four countries.

As a conference sponsor you gain:

Crafting a regional TBED strategy is a difficult proposition. First, you figure out where you are. You check the data, conduct surveys and talk to the right people. Then, you figure out where you need to go. You look at other regions, and, again, talk to the right people. Using that information, you try to chart a course from where you are to where you want to be. The path, however, is rarely a straight line. Economic development is a messy business, and regional economies are subject to an unlimited number of factors: global economic trends, state and federal politics, the cultural cache of cities, the work of local researchers, and so on.

TBED has never been more vital to state and regional growth, but there are no easy answers. We are still in the midst of a global economic crisis that has shaken regional economies and state budgets. And there is the potential of more than 30 new governors, each with their own economic agenda.

Want to know more about the Obama Administration's innovation strategy? SSTI is pleased to welcome two key administration officials to this year's conference. Ginger Lew, Senior Counselor to the White House National Economic Council (NEC) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), and Brian McGowan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and COO for the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), will discuss the administration's plans to support innovation.

In her roles at NEC and SBA, Ginger Lew serves as the administration's economic policy advisor on a broad range of matters that impact small businesses. She co-chairs the White House Interagency Group on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and leads the White House Interagency Taskforce on Regional Innovation Clusters.

Recently, the administration has been soliciting input from around the country on the various roles that universities play in regional economic development. Ms. Lew will share some of what the White House has learned from that process, and discuss the administration's current thinking on university commercialization.

Several states recently enacted spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year, which started July 1 for most states. In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law the LA GRAD Act, granting universities more flexibility to raise tuition in return for meeting certain performance goals. Lawmakers in Massachusetts allocated $10 million to continue the state's investment in life sciences, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed a jobs bill providing $8 million for green economy projects, and in Tennessee, an $80 million expansion of TNInvestco, a program that allocates tax credits to create pools of venture capital, was approved.

Louisiana

TBED People Michael Burcham has been named the first president of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Burcham currently serves as a clinical faculty member at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.

Austin Burke, longtime president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, is being nominated secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Burke will replace George Cornelius, who is leaving his post to become the president of Bridgewater College in Virginia.

Former National Science Foundation official Deborah Crawford has been appointed Drexel University's vice provost for research. Crawford will begin her tenure at Drexel in September.

SSTI's interview with Bob Starzynski of Innovation Works' Innovation Adoption Grant Fund, 2009 recipient of the Excellence in TBED Award in the category Improving Competitiveness of Existing Industries, provides an honest, in-depth account of best practices and lessons learned that earned this program national recognition. Click here to listen to the interview and learn more about the program.

Friday March 26, 2010 > Web Version   > Unsubscribe "By setting this up as a grant, we hope to help companies make that leap of faith with their R&D efforts." - Bob Starzynski

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The first three installments are available in the Jan 13, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 Digests.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, State of the State Address, Jan. 20, 2010 "We will create even more jobs by funding construction of two new statewide buildings, the Anchorage crime lab I mentioned earlier and we will construct the Life Sciences building at [the University of Alaska, Fairbanks]. …

"… Where energy is concerned, we will continue reducing dependency on diesel across Alaska. And we are putting $25 million toward more in-state renewable energy projects. …

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell dropped his previous nomination, Robert Sledd, as his secretary for Commerce and Trade and instead nominated businessman James Cheng. Cheng, whose nomination needs to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, was sworn in on January 17.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said that the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary George Cornelius will step down on June 30 to become the president of Bridgewater College in Virginia.

Rick LeFaivre and Tom Clement are joining the UW Center for Commercialization as key deputies to vice provost Linden Rhoads. LeFaive will split his time evenly between the university and his other job as a managing director at OVP Venture Partners, while Clement is expected to work full-time for about 18 months.

In an effort to improve the percentage of city residents with college degrees, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced his administration will be opening an office within City Hall to help potential students considering higher education. The “PhillyGoes2College” office will direct residents to assistance with filling out financial aid forms and applications, preparing for standardized admission tests, and writing college essays. In addition, the first-term mayor stated a goal of attaining up to 1,000 fully funded college scholarships for city students from the region’s universities by the end of 2012, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. More details on the PhillyGoes2College initiative is available at: http://www.phila.gov/residents/education/fafsa.html.