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Friday's issue of the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter brought to our attention two announcements from the SBA regarding the SBIR Program. Proposed changes for the program were included in the Dec. 3 online issue of the Federal Register. We reprint an extended excerpt of the text from the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter verbatim below, with our great appreciation for the work of Dr. Chris Busch, consultant to the University of Idaho EPSCoR Program, and Dr. Jean'ne Shreeve, Idaho EPSCoR/IDeA project director.

Boise Gains First Angel Investor Network

The Boise Angel Alliance, the city's first angel investor network, was launched in June drawing about 50 investors to its first session, The Idaho Statesman reported. The Idaho Office of Science & Technology and the venture capital committee of the Boise Metro Economic Development Council, which together formed the alliance, said they expect to run the network on their own. A screening committee reviews the plans set forth by companies that must then make a 10-minute presentation at the angel meetings, followed by a five-minute question-and-answer session. Investors may privately contact the companies afterwards if they are interested.

The Acting Director for the Idaho Department of Commerce is Roger Madsen. Madsen also is serving as director of the state Department of Labor.

LaMoyne Hyde, director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, also announced he will resign his position by the end of the year.

John Kotek, formerly with Argonne National Laboratory-West, has been named deputy manager of the Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office. The office oversees the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

Idaho Falls businessman LaMoyne Hyde was appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to serve as Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce.

Laurence Gebhardt has been selected to serve as the first director of Idaho's TechConnect East.

Governor Dirk Kempthorne has announced the creation of TechConnect East, a regional science and technology office to be located at the Idaho State University Incubation Center in Pocatello, Idaho.

Building Entrepreneurial Networks, a major report on how and why networks of entrepreneurs nurture economic growth in communities across the country, was released Wednesday by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE). 



To illustrate the importance of entrepreneurial networks, NCOE’s seventh report profiles five organizations in Idaho, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas that have succeeded in developing unique entrepreneurial networks. 



The report notes that regions which have developed strong entrepreneurial economies tend to possess several key ingredients — well-organized local networks along with strong universities, access to equity capital, and an advanced public infrastructure. Similarly, regions with strong networks tend to have high rates of new start-ups and fast-growing companies. 



The report also suggests local entrepreneurs and policymakers working to spur home-grown entrepreneurship should consider policies and initiatives to develop and support entrepreneurial networks. Case studies are provided for the five organizations which have developed model entrepreneurial networks:

Bill Shipp has been promoted to president and general manager of the Idaho National Engineering & Environmental Laboratory. Currently laboratory director, Shipp will take his new position August 1. Mr. Shipp also serves as Science & Technology Advisor to Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne.

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.