Gov. Dirk Kempthorne recently received some good news about his future when President Bush nominated him to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior. The news was not as rosy on the home front for Idaho's economic future, however, as the state legislature in late March rejected the governor's plans for Idaho to take a more proactive role toward building a tech-based economy.
Just as bread won't rise without yeast, the key knowledge-building ingredients for many state tech-based economic development strategies - increasing investments in university-based research, emphasizing workforce development and science and math education, and identifying clusters of co-located firms in related industry sectors - won't lead to the spillovers of knowledge critical to sustaining growth without an active reagent.
The on/off binary fundamental of information and communication technology (ICT) could just as well describe the U.S. position in the field. For the third time in five years, the U.S. leads all nations on the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) contained in the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2005-2006.
Gov. Jim Doyle last week unveiled his plan to jumpstart the Wisconsin economy. The plan, "Grow Wisconsin," calls for a series of executive actions, private sector partnerships and legislative steps to create high-wage jobs and achieve other goals. Some of the tech-based economic development items outlined in "Grow Wisconsin" are:
Gov. Mitt Romney outlined a legislative package on Monday totaling $125 million designed to create more jobs. Many elements of the package target the science and technology communities.
Investments in science and technology (S&T) – from higher education to industry research and development (R&D) – are the decisive factors in creating a sustainable economic future, a new study finds.
Gaining an understanding of the real and potential economic impact of government investments in research and development (R&D) has suffered for decades from a lack of rigorous but broadly applicable methodologies for the assessment. To advance the field toward a more appropriate degree of uniformity, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a primer on economic impact analysis of government R&D programs.
An educated workforce is one of the elements required for a knowledge economy, but not all of the critical jobs require a Ph.D. or even a B.A. Few would dispute, though, the importance of successfully completing high school.
Seats Available for Developing Angel Organizations, Financing TBED Workshops
Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.
Randy Burge has announced his resignation as director of the New Mexico Department of Economic Development's Office of Science and Technology. Mike Orshan will serve as acting director beginning Sept. 29.
Donald Jakeway will be the new president and CEO for the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Joseph James is the new chief operating officer for the South Carolina Department of Commerce.
The Florida Venture Forum named Robin Kovaleski as the first executive director for the organization.
Former U.S. Congresswoman Connie Morella has been sworn in as the US Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
SSTI extends its sympathies to the family of Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon. During his interrupted term in office, Gov. O'Bannon proved to be a strong friend of tech-based economic development efforts in the state.
Numbers Remain Below 2003 Levels
Graduate applications from international students increased 11 percent from 2005 to 2006, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) recently reported. This growth follows a two-year cumulative decline of 32 percent.
While many states will lay out strategic plans with quantifiable goals to measure success, South Dakota in 2003 was one of the first SSTI noticed to use a specific target for its gross state product (GSP) as one of the measures. According to the latest annual review, South Dakota officials feel they are making significant strides in its goal of adding $10 billion to its GSP by 2010.
Regardless of their potentially arbitrary nature, the political lines separating jurisdictions can wreak havoc on a region's ability to support innovation. Whether it's a boundary between two communities, two states or two countries, these imaginary lines define real rules of commerce (e.g. by the taxes levied, property values, etc.) as well as intangible concerns and perceptions.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released its 2004 annual statistical report on science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards. Report data show trends in doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients.
The first four installments of SSTI's look at how tech-based economic development (TBED) will play in the 2006 legislative priorities of the governors can be found in the Digest archives at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm
Louisiana
Approximately $350 million in grants recently awarded by one of the nation's leading biodefense research agencies are intended to lessen the effects of any future bioterror attack. Administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the funding will be spread over five years for establishing eight Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCEs).
The availability and use of equity capital for early-stage investments varies greatly across the country. Seen as an integral component of most tech-based economic development, access to venture capital (VC) is on the agendas of several states — but several different approaches are used to address the problem. Recent announcements in four states illustrate the point:
A new study examining the post-Sept. 11 economy of New York argues the city's traditional approach to economic development, one which has banked on a few favored sectors such as financial and business services, is outdated and should be reconceived.
Nineteen projects figure to share in the $23 million awarded last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for biomass research, development and demonstration activities.