Preliminary findings from an annual survey conducted by the National League of Cities (NLC) reveal economic and fiscal conditions are worsening in many of America's cities and towns. A large segment of those surveyed by NLC also reported improvements in areas such as the vitality of their downtowns, increased efficiency in service delivery, and preparedness for emergencies and homeland security.
Two new programs from the U.S. Small Business Administration are designed to infuse new capital into economically disadvantaged rural and inner city areas and strengthen existing businesses through technical expertise and mentoring.
Editor's Note: The fifth installment in our review of the Governors' inaugural addresses, state of the state addresses, and budget messages for 2001. The first four articles in the series were over the past four weeks. Those issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest and all other previous editions are available on our website: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2001/headlines01.htm
With President Bush announcing the creation of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, some analysts and practitioners are pondering the implications for economic local and state development efforts.
Do faith-based organizations have a role in ED?
There is so much happening in state and local tech-based economic development across the country that we’re adding a new Digest feature: the Regional Roundup. Our goal is to provide 1-2 sentence coverage of news stories, reports and resources demonstrating the variety of activities underway to build a stronger tech-based economy. Of course, whenever possible, we’ll include a link or contact for more information.
It is widely argued in the tech-based economic development community that New Economy businesses, specifically computers and information technology, account for the tremendous economic growth of the last half of the 1990s. But does the data support this?
Many tech-based economic development programs recognize the importance of having seed and venture capital accessible to their start up tech firms and entrepreneurs. Some practitioners, though, see a challenge in encouraging equity investment in more conservative, risk adverse regions and localities. The dot-com “correction” of last year probably did not help.
Arizona taxpayers paid at least $100 million for the TGen Institute. The east coast version of Scripps cost Florida a cool $500-plus million. How much should Kansas City expect to pay the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to double the size of its 600,000 sq. ft. research facility instead of locating a second campus elsewhere?
Not a dime.
California's Treasurer Phil Angelides called earlier this month for the nation's largest and third largest pension funds to invest at least $1.5 billion into environmental technologies and environmentally responsible companies.
The Fund for Our Economic Future, a new collaboration of Northeast Ohio private, community and corporate foundations to support regional economic development, has secured more than $22 million in commitments and is expected to grow to $30 million. Launched last week, the fund is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic collaboration of its kind in the U.S.
As promised in her 2004 State of the State Address, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner released a New Economy Initiative last week that includes several new elements to encourage economic growth in Delaware. The $34 million package is expected to generate at least $16 million more in federal and private match. Many of the elements of the plan were recommended by the governor's Strategic Economic Council.
Advanced research grants and equity financing are just two items slated for funding in Maine Gov. John Baldacci's $120 million revenue bond package, unveiled last week. The tech-based economic development (TBED) items would receive a combined $7 million in funding. The largest portion of the governor's package, $65 million, is dedicated to land conservation and parks. Other elements address housing, health and environmental issues.
"We cannot be satisfied with simply passing stem cell research legislation."
A new plan to grow North Carolina's biotech industry to 48,000 jobs by 2013 and 125,000 by 2023 was released earlier this month by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, a state-supported nonprofit organization. If implemented, the 108-page plan would cost up to $650 million over five years. That figure does not include the "to be determined" cost for 15 of the plan's 54 recommendations.
The 54 action steps span a variety of objectives:
Addressing the Digital Divide, workforce development, and technology deployment in education are among the highest priorities of the nation’s mayors, according to Priorities for the New American City, the 2001 action agenda of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
With as much emphasis on accessing and applying technology as on creating it, the final report of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE) outlines several recommendations to improve Arizona’s position and performance in a tech-based economy.
Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of excerpts from recent speeches and budget proposals demonstrating the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education.
The Economic Development Administration (EDA) seeks nominations for the second annual Award for Excellence in Economic Development. EDA established this award to recognize outstanding economic development activities of national importance.
NIST has opened the fiscal year 2001 competitions for funding under 13 different research grant programs: Precision Measurement Grants; the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (known as SURF) in six NIST laboratories (Building and Fire Research, Chemical Science and Technology, Information Technology, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics); the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory Grants Program; the Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory Grants Program; the Fir
The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program is recruiting a technology transfer and commercialization project manager with a proven track record in related disciplines from the private and/or public sector.
Science policy and tech-based economic development have taken center stage in Idaho with last week’s release of the Idaho Science and Technology Strategy and the supporting new initiatives included in Governor Dirk Kempthorne’s recent budget message.
Editor's Note: The third installment of SSTI's look at recent speeches and budget proposals to demonstrate the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education.
Georgia
Governor Roy Barnes, FY2002 Budget Address, January 11, 2001
– new and increased funding
With his past efforts to strengthen the state’s position in the tech-based economy, new Texas Governor Rick Perry’s budget priorities — $251 million in new spending for college scholarships and math & science programs — should come as no surprise.
An initiative to provide computer training to local teenagers to help jumpstart their information technology careers was launched earlier this month in Minneapolis. The Community IT Learning Center is the result of a partnership involving a North Minneapolis-based youth development organization, two local technology training companies, and Microsoft.
A new resource for tech-based businesses in rural Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia was launched last week. The Appalachian Regional Entrepreneurship Initiative (AREI) is expanding its efforts to support growth of a technology-based entrepreneurial economy in Appalachia Ohio and neighboring states through a new website, http://www.bizfirststop.com