Activities to address the digital divide and the S&T workforce shortage have increased recently. The following are a sampling of efforts underway to understand and address the growing inequalities in technology access and assimilation.
The National Academy Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit organization, and President Clinton have announced the selection of 12 public high schools to pilot the Academy of Information Technology program. The program is intended to prepare predominantly at-risk high school students for careers in information technology fields. The program will provide a ninth-through-twelfth-grade curriculum with opportunities to partner with community colleges, universities, and businesses.
Governor Parris Glendening, the Speaker of the Maryland House, and the President of the Maryland Senate have proposed a 12-point technology plan with the goal of making “Maryland the leading e-commerce and digital state in the nation.” The proposals include:
Spawning 132 new companies over thirteen years is just one of the impressive statistics cited in the latest annual report for the Utah Centers of Excellence Program (COEP). The 1998-1999 report highlights the program’s accomplishments and economic impact since its inception in 1986. Each year, COEP staff document the program’s contributions to the Utah economy through statistical data and anecdotal success stories.
NASA has selected eight research proposals for negotiation of Phase II contract awards for the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Each project may receive up to $500,000 for a two-year performance period. The program requires small businesses to conduct cooperative research and development by partnering with a research institution. A total of 23 Phase II proposals were submitted by the 1998 class of NASA STTR Phase I recipients.
The Air Force and the National Institutes of Health have announced the availability of five government-owned inventions for licensing in the United States. Abstracts and/or contact information for each invention may be viewed on the following SSTI web page: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/012800t.htm
New York Governor Pataki has nominated Dr. Russell Bessette to serve as the Executive Director of the New York Office of Science and Technology (NYSTAR). His appointment is subject to confirmation of the New York State Senate. Dr.
New York Governor Pataki has nominated Dr. Russell Bessette to serve as the Executive Director of the New York Office of Science and Technology (NYSTAR). His appointment is subject to confirmation of the New York State Senate. Dr.
Governor Pataki appointed Dr. Roland Schmitt, president emeritus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as chairman of the NYSTAR advisory board.
Dr. Paul Hale has been named the Executive Director of the Vermont Technology Council. Among other tasks, Dr. Hale is working on the state’s EPSCoT award in cooperation with the Vermont EPSCoR Program.
SSTI bids a warm farewell to Deb Tharp, who has accepted a full-time position with Battelle Memorial Institute in the Technology Partnership Practice group.
Governor Christie Whitman has announced New Jersey Jobs for a New Economy, a multi-million dollar package of technology-related initiatives to make New Jersey more competitive in the creation of high technology jobs.
Among the plan's proposals are the following technology-related investments:
Effective Monday, January 24, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin accepting funding applications under the new Rural Business Opportunity Grants Program (RBOG). The program was authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill to fund sustainable economic development in rural communities with exceptional needs. RBOG funding may be used to support the following types of technical assistance for business development and economic development planning:
With the start of the new year, a number of state legislatures are reconvening. Quite a few states have significant research, science, and technology issues on their legislative calendar, including the following:
One year ago this month, in the midst of a booming economy, Georgia Governor Roy Barnes announced a new $100 million, five-year initiative to advance the state’s position in the research and production of key components of the global economy. The Yamacraw Mission, named after one of the state’s first colonial settlements, focuses on research, education, and economic development in microchip design and high-bandwidth communications.
R&D expenditures are expected to increase by more than eight percent this year to a total of $266 billion, according to the latest Battelle-R&D Magazine research and development forecast. The report predicts increases in R&D funding by industry, universities, and other non-profit organizations, while federal research funding is expected to remain static.
California Governor Gray Davis has appointed Joseph A. Raguso as Deputy Secretary for Strategic Technology for the Trade and Commerce Agency. Mr. Raguso currently serves as President and CEO for the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (SDRTA), a position he has held since 1997. Mr. Raguso will begin serving in his new capacity on January 31.
NASA has announced the selection of 25 additional 1998 Phase II R&D recipients under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The new awards bring the total for the 1998 NASA SBIR Phase II awards to 128.
The Department of Education has posted 13 white papers presented during its July 1999 Conference on Technology. The conference and papers focused on evaluating the effectiveness of technology in education.
Virginia, through its Office of the Secretary of Technology and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has created a unique collaborative public-private partnership to increase Internet access and e-commerce capabilities for Virginia's businesses. In December, CIT and Virginia Tech launched VirginiaLink, a multi-vendor, broadband telecommunications program providing businesses with inexpensive advanced telecommunications services such as Internet access and voice, data, and video capacity.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued several requests for research proposals during the past month that may be of interest to Digest subscribers and their clients. The following are requests whose deadlines occur during the next two months.
The 18 governors who comprise the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) have agreed to create a Western High Technology Council to serve as a strategic alliance among states, technology firms and universities to advance the region's common interests in the technology-driven and knowledge-based New Economy. Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano, WGA Chairman, proposed the idea at the WGA winter meeting held in Las Vegas during December.
The SSTI Weekly Digest has typically focused on state and federal activities in technology-based economic development. This special issue of the Digest, however, focuses on the important role that foundations can play in technology-based economic development by:
At first glance, the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation’s quiet contribution of almost $25 million over the past ten years to support local economic development may not raise much interest from state and federal technology-based economic development professionals across the country. However, the reaction might be different after learning that most of the investment was to emerging businesses in the form of venture capital.
The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.