Large industrial or technology firms are often sought by economic development recruiters to serve as anchors for cluster development. Once an anchor is attracted, policymakers often nurture local industrial districts as ways to promote transmission of technical know-how and deepen industrial relationships. Does the strategy work?
Many regions support local knowledge clusters in the hopes that geographic proximity will promote technology diffusion and enhance industrial competitiveness. A working paper from Italy suggests the effectiveness of such clusters or science parks depends upon the nature of the firms and institutions involved.
A recent collection of weekly headlines gathered by the Montana Associated Technology Roundtables brought to our attention the annual world academic rankings compiled by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
For the past two years, the school has identified the world's top 500 academic institutions based on a weighted scale of six indicators:
A bipartisan coalition of more than 50 U.S. Senators support continued funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, according to the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Modernization Forum. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Me) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), co-chairs of the Senate Task Force on Manufacturing, spearheaded a letter to Senate appropriators requesting $110 million in FY 2003 funding for the program.
Georgia Tech topped the nation in its efforts to help state and local agencies with economic development, according to a study released by the Southern Growth Policies Board's Southern Technology Council (STC).
Conducted by Louis Tornatzky and Paul Waugaman, senior fellows at STC, Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy offers comprehensive case descriptions of how national research universities operate in the following areas:
Connecticut-based bioscience research and development (R&D) investment in 2001 totaled $3.6 billion, an 18 percent increase over 2000, according to the Seventh Annual Economic Report of Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), Connecticut's bioscience Cluster.
2001 Gains and Future Opportunities, released last week at Yale University, highlights several economic indicators that demonstrate the growth of the bioscience industry in Connecticut, including:
Small businesses bearing a critical role to the regional economies of upstate New York must overcome several barriers to growth if they are to enjoy future success, suggests a report by the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In SSTI's second look at the 2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Geographic Area Statistics in as many weeks, SSTI highlights more of the report's key findings, including data on such fields as the value added by manufacturers, value of shipments, and average value added per employee.
Areas working to encourage the growth of technology companies and build tech-based economies have a new resource to aid their cause. A new website, the Tech-based Economic Development (TBED) Resource Center (http://www.tbedresourcecenter.org), offers users the chance to learn from others’ experiences and benefit from the latest research on building a tech-based economy.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, State of the State Address, Jan. 10, 2005
Michigan Governor John Engler recently signed Senate Bills 880, 881 and 999 to help make high-speed Internet connections available and affordable to consumers across the state. Almost unanimously approved in the Michigan House and Senate, the Governor’s broadband initiative was supported by a coalition of more than 50 statewide associations, local groups and companies. The bills are as follows:
Responding to the demands of business leaders to close the nation's workforce skills gap, the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) has created the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Voluntary Partnership to represent the telecommunications, computer and information industry sector.
NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology has released an integrated strategy, or blueprint, that suggests developing new technology will lead to a new era of aviation. The strategy, while not completed in time to be reflected in the Administration's 2003 budget request, will be used to guide federal aeronautics investments in research, education and development.
As a means of highlighting the performance and composition of state economies, Harvard's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, led by Dr. Michael Porter, has published profiles on all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Census Bureau report released last week, 2000 Annual Survey of Manufactures, Geographic Area Statistics, provides annual data from 1997 through 2000 on the number of all manufacturing employees, number of production workers, value added by manufacturers, cost of materials, value of shipments, and new capital expenditures for manufacturing establishments by state. The data cover manufacturing industry groups such as food, apparel, lumber, chemicals, computers and transportation equipment.
The U.S. Small Business Administration and My Own Business, Inc., have jointly created a free, online entrepreneurship course for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The announcement was made at the Conference on Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century in Washington, D.C., earlier this week.
The Ohio Department of Development, which works collaboratively with businesses, communities and the Ohio Legislature to develop financial and technical programs, seeks to fill the position, Grants Administration Manager. The position's duties include managing the outside Grant Administration Team, assessing project results and progress, and performing other duties assigned by the Deputy Director of the Technology Division.
Most of the nation's governors use the winter months to publicly lay out their agendas, visions and budget requests for the coming year. The text of State of the State Addresses, Budget Messages and, to a lesser extent, Inaugural Addresses, often reveals each governor's legislative priorities and new initiatives to be pursued over the coming months.
Hoping to combat and reverse job losses in the manufacturing sector, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell outlined his blueprint for recovery last month, entitled "Manufacturing Innovation."
Ah, the difference positive revenue figures make for some states' tech-based economic development (TBED) portfolios! In mid-December, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner introduced an amended 2004-2006 biennial budget that is the most favorable yet during the Warner term for programs to promote economic growth through strategic investments in science and technology.
A December gathering of leaders from many of the nation's largest companies raised what could be considered a battle cry for the U.S. to take more seriously the implications of globalization.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued the detailed statistical tables for Science & Engineering Doctorate awards for 2003. As was done for 2002, 2001 and 2000, SSTI has compiled a 50-state table presenting the number of degrees and rank for each major field of science & engineering. In addition, SSTI has used population in the form of "S&E doctorates awarded per 100,000 residents" to standardize the data to facilitate comparisons across states.
That is the question facing researchers who have innovative ideas that become marketable products. Researchers who file patents to protect intellectual property rights may diminish the value of the research to potential developers due to "knowledge leakage" to competing developers. Instead, a researcher might approach a developer directly to negotiate an exclusive contract in which a researcher receives some immediate compensation and a stake in the licensed, developed product.
Just what makes firms productive? Economists continue to refine their thinking on the interactions that enhance productivity. Knowledge capital and knowledge relatedness play an active role in increasing firm competitiveness, especially in large, high-tech manufacturing sectors, according to a study presented at a recent conference of the Groupe de Recherche en Economie.