The first-ever Mississippi Innovation Index was released Wednesday by the Mississippi Technology Alliance.
Targeting technology-based economic development in Mississippi, the Index groups baseline data into eight categories and establishes a data collection process for 24 science- and technology-related indicators. Initial analyses suggest:
Kansas, Inc., a nonpartisan public-private organization, recently released the findings and recommendations of its team of economic development consultants and more than 1,100 Kansans as a comprehensive update to Kansas' economic development strategic plan.
Again, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State addresses.
Utah
Michael Leavitt, State of the State, January 28, 2002
http://www.utah.gov/governor/stateofstate.html
Rick Kovar, executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council for the past two years, resigned from his position. The 242-member Council is beginning the search for a new director.
To give environmental technology entrepreneurs the chance to have their business plans analyzed by experts and win money for it, the National Environmental Technology (NET) Incubator in Wilberforce, Ohio, is hosting the first annual National Business Plan Competition.
Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of the Governor's Council on Science and Biotechnology Development. The Council will strive to create a seamless system of innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace in rapidly developing areas of biotechnology — such as biopharmaceutical development, bioinformatics, genomics and nanotechnology.
Total R&D expenditures in the U.S. are expected to increase about 3.5 percent to $285.6 billion in 2002, according to the annual Battelle-R&D Magazine research and development forecast.
In his fourth State of the State Address, Governor Jeb Bush outlined a new $100 million university-based initiative focused on nanotechnology and biotechnology.
The following item was prepared by Bill Noxon of the National Science Foundation.
Yesterday's Providence Journal-Bulletin reports the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) has reduced by merger the number of Slater Centers. With the goal of increasing the impact of the state's annual $3 million investment, the restructuring from six to four centers is intended to reduce overhead and administrative costs, allowing more of each resulting center's funding to flow into emerging businesses.
Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.
The third part in a series, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State and Budget addresses.
California
Gray Davis, 2002-2003 Budget proposal, January 2002
http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/Budget02-03/00_toc.htm
Lincoln, Nebraska
Two of SSTI's sponsoring organizations, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp (KTEC) and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, are looking for strong candidates to fill two critical positions. A brief description of each opportunity is provided below. More detailed information is available on SSTI's website at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm
In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.
Commercialized research and Oregon's first signature research center are among those initiatives slated for funding in the governor's 2005-07 proposed biennial budget for the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department (OECDD). Gov. Ted Kulongoski's recommended budget, the "Oregon Principles," is centered around six core principles for targeted investments to deliver a strong return on taxpayer dollars.
Tight restrictions on student visas for foreign graduate students will hasten the erosion of America's global dominance in innovation, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder study.
Massachusetts' innovation indicators may be strong, but the conversion of innovation into new high tech jobs is lagging and the state’s median household income continues to dip, according to the latest Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.
Public policies should seek ways to promote entrepreneurship in order to boost economic growth, according to a review of existing research by David Audretsch of Indiana University.
Foundations and philanthropists are playing increasingly important financial roles for many academic and regional technology-based economic development (TBED) efforts. The latest issue of Philanthropy News Digest, the weekly electronic newsletter of the FoundationCenter, highlights three recent announcements that provide examples of the size, scope and opportunity presented by these types of awards. The announcements are summarized below.
Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Arizona's Future, a 50-page report released by the Morrison Institute of Public Policy, details five key trends that could harm the state's future if they are not well managed.
Yesterday's edition of USA Today reported "the Commerce Department's Manufacturing Extension Program [sic], funded this year at $107 million...would be eliminated [in FY 2003] because the White House says they should be financed by the private sector."
With biotechnology taking center stage on several occasions during the past year, President Bush has appointed an 18-member Council of Bioethics to address some of the more controversial aspects of the field. Policy suggestions to emerge from the council are likely to impact the activities of the significant investments many states and localities are making for biotechnology research and seed capital.
The nation faces social and economic crisis unless America succeeds in promoting and taking advantage of racial and ethnic diversity, according to a report released last week by the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF).
This week, the SSTI Weekly Digest continues its series on governors' State of the State addresses, highlighting those portions concerning programs, policies and issues immediately affecting the tech-based economic development community.