Search

Business-led partnerships looking to train workers in high-skill, high-tech occupations may get a boost from a series of instructional conferences to be held later this month and in August. The U.S. Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will hold three conferences in 2003 to assist prospective applicants for its H-1B Technical Skills Training Grants competition, under which approximately $50 million is available for new awards.

Providence was listed among the top 50 cities in the U.S. in which to do business in a June issue of Forbes Magazine. Now, a new initiative to jumpstart economic development in the Rhode Island capital is aimed at solidifying the ranking.

The Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City announced on Monday it will award grants of up to $5 million to 5-7 U.S. universities to make entrepreneurship education a common and accessible campus-wide opportunity. The Foundation works with partners to encourage entrepreneurship across America.

A new book released by the Sierra Business Council (SBC), Investing for Prosperity, suggests new ways for rural regions to achieve long-term prosperity. The 148-page guide brings together many of the latest innovations rural communities across North America are using to grow their economies, improve their towns and build their social capital.

In response to recent requests from SSTI sponsors and affiliates, SSTI has compiled a table summarizing total funding distributed within states in the form of grants and awards by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The table <http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/071103t.htm> includes total amounts and state rankings for NIH awards for each of the years 1998-2002.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could have more money to spend on science and tech initiatives in fiscal year (FY) 2004, thanks to a 63.1 percent increase in R&D funding approved Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives. Approximately $900.4 million – or $348.4 million more than the previous year – will go toward DHS's Science and Technology (S&T) budget in FY04.

South Carolina's three major research universities were awarded a total of $30 million this week to establish the state's first six centers of excellence, according to The State, a Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper.

The Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) has issued a new study showing Maryland continues to underperform in some key areas of innovation while leading competitor states in other areas.

The St. Louis BioBelt announced this week it is well along in launching four new initiatives designed to position the region as a "location of choice" for start-up and evolving plant and life science companies.

A new 225-page report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce examines employer demand for information technology (IT) workers, the IT education and training landscape, and the role of employers and workers in IT education and training. Education and Training for the Information Technology Workforce, mandated by the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000, highlights five broad findings:

The Washington Technology Center (WTC) has created a new program that will make obtaining access to early-stage seed capital easier for companies outside the Puget Sound. WTC is Washington's statewide science and technology organization.

For Texas, the appropriate role for the state to serve in fostering economic development continues to evolve. With the passage of Senate Bill 275 earlier this month, the third organization in seven years will take the lead to encourage economic growth — this time with a strong focus on clusters and technology-based economic development.

Citing inadequate information available to those who oversee technology incubators, yet emphasizing the incubators' significant and measurable impact on communities, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Administration has released a study that highlights 17 of the nation's top incubators. A National Benchmarking Analysis of Technology Business Incubator Performance and Practices details the role business incubators have in technology development strategies.

"The Federal Government has primary responsibility to lead the Nation in developing and implementing a coordinated, effective response to our long-term needs for science and engineering skills in the U.S. workforce in ways unlikely to be addressed by market mechanisms or interventions at the state and local levels," concludes the National Science Board (NSB) in the draft final report of its Task Force on National Workforce Policies for Science and Engineering.

The National Science Foundation has released Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering: Fall 2001, a collection of 54 statistical tables present the distribution of graduate students in science and engineering (S&E) across population segments, fields of science or engineering and by college and state. Overall long-term trends for S&E graduate students from 1975 to 2001 and short-term trends from 1994 to 2001 by detailed fields are presented.

The Fourth of July might just be a paid holiday for New Jersey's tech-based economic development agency after all. Since Governor James McGreevey released his FY 2004 budget request six months ago, the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology has been living under a June 30 death sentence. Facing a deficit forecast in excess of $4 billion, the governor had called for the elimination of the $15 million program.

One of the greatest challenges for university technology transfer offices (TTOs) trying to maximize commercialization of university technologies is convincing faculty researchers to disclose their inventions, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Capital for start-up and early-stage business ventures should become more plentiful in Vermont based on legislation, S. 178, passed in late May. A spokesperson for Governor Jim Douglas appraised the act's total impact as representing a $105 million investment into the state's economy.

On Tuesday, voters in Maine approved Governor John Baldacci's request to issue $60 million in bonds to finance several research infrastructure, economic development and housing related projects. Packaged and marketed as the Jobs Bond, the measure won easily with 60 percent of the vote in this special election. The tech-based economic development portion of the bond will be allocated as follows:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the selection of 97 loan and grant recipients in 24 states that will receive $20.1 million in rural business development funds. The loans and grants are expected to assist in creating or saving nearly 10,000 rural jobs and supports 772 business ventures as part of the Bush Administration's efforts to spur economic development in rural areas.

Following extensive public consultation, the French Ministry for Industry and Research has announced a revamped national strategy to boost support for research and development (R&D) activities in France. The plan, to be implemented in 2004, aims to make financial resources for innovative companies more accessible and to increase France’s appeal to the international R&D community.

Some of the key measures include:

In 2003, the nation's 20 top metropolitan areas will generate $4 trillion in output, or 36 percent of the national economy, according to a new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Conference’s Council for Investment in the New American City. However, overall employment growth this year is predicted to be 0.1 percent in those same metro areas, with nine experiencing either no job growth or continued employment contraction.

U.S. businesses spent $180.4 billion in non-federal funds for research and development in 2000, according to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) annual Survey of Industrial Research and Development. The figure reflects 13 percent growth over 1999 findings and the 47th consecutive year of increases. Federal funding for industrial R&D, however, fell to $19.1 billion in 2000, a 15 percent drop from 1999.

Meeting short-term budget demands are consuming more and more of state, local and academic tech-based economic development practitioners' time. However, keeping an eye on the long-range funding picture is critical for sustained success. One of the most important federal sources for supporting the research enterprise is the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) has begun a review of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) that will examine the program's mission and execution. MEP requested the independent analysis.