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In the face of the spiraling unemployment in Greece and Spain, the European Union (EU) received encouraging news regarding the economic recovery of firms across its 27-member states.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has nominated Deputy Director William Parsons to lead the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed J. Bruce Bugg, Jr. as president and chairman of the Texas Economic Development Corp.

Gov.-elect Steve Bullock tapped Meg O'Leary to be the Montana Commerce Department director.

Recent research on the evolving role of universities finds the emergence of an entrepreneurial society has contributed to a broader and more fundamental role for universities — that is to provide thinking, leadership and activity to enhance entrepreneurship capital. University-based entrepreneurship programs and initiatives seem to have gained steam following the recession with federal support for programs to enhance entrepreneurial efforts in states and regions and increased interest from students and out-of-work individuals.

Sharp decreases in the price of domestic natural gas have challenged growth in the U.S. renewable energy industry. In response, the White House, with support from national business leaders, has re-focused public-private investment toward smart grid technology — efforts focused on developing the infrastructure for decentralized power networks that communicate and coordinate information between energy producers and consumers.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) announced that it is accepting submissions of success stories for its 2013 edition of Federal Laboratories & State and Local Governments: Partners for Technology Transfer Success — a publication highlighting outstanding partnerships between federal research laboratories and city, state or regional government entities across the country to support tech-based economic development. All content must be submitted by June 3 to be eligible for the 2013 edition.

President Obama nominated Ernest Moniz as the next secretary of Energy, Gina McCarthy as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Sylvia Mathews Burwell as director of the Office of Management and Budget. The nominations require confirmation by the Senate.

Draper Triangle Ventures is opening a Columbus, OH, office. Will Indest, formerly of TechColumbus, has been named managing director.

Measuring impact is critical to the success and sustainability of any economic development initiative, and as the national debate over fiscal austerity and taxpayer spending continues, TBED organizations can expect increased scrutiny and accountability for their investments.

Over the past thirty years, state research and development (R&D) tax credits have become one of the most common state tools to boost their local technology economy. Few studies, however, have attempted to provide a comprehensive evaluation of their effectiveness. In this article, SSTI provides an overview of the literature on state R&D credits, examining why states introduce these incentives and whether or not tax credits are an effective policy tool to promote high-tech businesses and jobs.

In his first speech as secretary of State, John Kerry declared that U.S. economic competitiveness should be the centerpiece of American foreign policy. In the weeks following his appointment, the U.S. government has signaled a push to work with international partners to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and protect tech innovation at home. Two key elements of this strategy include continued harmonization of global antitrust laws and new efforts to protect American intellectual property from theft.

A new strategy report from the Washington Economic Development Commission offers a roadmap for the state to differentiate itself and attract new investment by focusing on the long-term goal of becoming a world-class innovation system. The proposals, which are not dependent on new funding, call on state and local leaders to focus on five key drivers of competitiveness: talent, entrepreneurship, infrastructure, smart regulation and global exports. Download the report...

Invention is a driver of economic growth. That is the assertion of Brookings latest report on U.S. patenting and its effect on the country's economic prosperity entitled Patenting Prosperity: Invention and Economic Performance in the United States and its Metropolitan Areas. The U.S.'s innovative capacity and activity has increased steadily, but other nations are catching up and the U.S. must identify the implications of this fact to remain competitive.

Several reports, assessments, and plans have been released related to energy development — particularly clean energy. On March 15, both President Obama's Blueprint for a Clean and Secure Energy Future and the Government Accountability Office's review of the Department of Energy's loan programs were released. In addition, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation published their report on recent trends in federal investment in clean energy, specifically from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

After a lengthy legal process, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) — an incentive fund for science and technology businesses — violated a state constitutional requirement that bills address only a single subject. According to a Kansas City Star article, the judges upheld a ruling by a Cole County, MO, judge that lawmakers illegally included a clause making the fund contingent upon passage of a separate proposal overhauling the state's tax credit programs.

The Obama administration announced the $40 million "Make it in America" Challenge to accelerate the growing trend of reshoring, attract more foreign direct investments (FDI) and create well-paying domestic jobs. The multiagency competition will award up to 15 grants to regions from across the country to develop and implement regional economic development strategies that encourage reshoring, foster increased FDI, incentivize companies to expand U.S. operations and establish industry-focused training programs. U.S.

Two important and timely topics for regional innovation strategies will be the topics explored through a series of hour-long webinars SSTI will be offering in April: 1) improving the partnership between regional innovation programs and the nation's foundation community; and 2) the role the private/nonprofit accelerator model plays in tech-based economic development. Participation in these and selected other SSTI webinars to be announced in the coming weeks will be free thanks to generous funding from the U.S.

Recent national strategies for innovation investment have been publicized by the governing parties in Brazil and Australia, highlighting both a growing global focus on national innovation as well as a growing global divide over how public investments are paid for.

SBA and the Department of Commerce launched Startup University in response to a series of roundtables with accelerators and universities that highlighted the need for a forum to share best practices and build connections between universities and startups. Users can post and comment on specific programs or general ideas that foster these positive relationships. Many programs listed in the forum will be presented at this week's NCET2 Conference. Explore the online forum here...

Rebecca Blank, the acting U.S. secretary of Commerce, is expected to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the recommendation April 5.

From the earliest days of technology-based economic development in the 1980s, and through its formitive years in the 1990s, women leaders have played an integral role in the development of the field. As Women's History Month draws to a close, this week's special issue of the Digest pays tribute to those women and takes a closer look at the opportunities and challenges that face women in TBED today.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it is accepting applications for the establishment of Innovation Corps (I-Corps) teams and sites. These programs are intended to provide additional funding and other services to help researchers commercialize NSF-funded scientific discoveries at institutions of higher education.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced a new public-private partnership that will establish the Salt Lake City region as a top ten center for technology jobs and businesses. To achieve this goal, the state plans to undertake a statewide planning process to identify and build on current successes and create greater collaboration in Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.

The old adage "change is inevitable" rings especially true for economic development practitioners who must not only adapt to changes, but anticipate them and employ the best methods to capitalize on new opportunities. SSTI's conference session, Re-Orienting Your Organization for Today's Economy, pulls together three organizations at the local, state and federal level to examine how they have re-oriented their work to reflect the changing economy and the needs of their clients.

Governors and policymakers working toward economic development reform are in a unique position to propose critical changes that would not have been feasible in the past and gain broad support for transforming economic development agencies to better meet the needs of businesses, according to a new white paper from the National Governors Association (NGA). NGA has identified three major challenges states are facing and three foundational strategies to increase effectiveness of state economic development agencies.

As U.S. politicians turn their eyes towards this year's election season, governments around the world continue to focus their efforts on increasing national global competitiveness. Over the past couple months, Australia, China and New Zealand have announced government initiatives to spur innovation, revitalize domestic manufacturing and support R&D.

The Obama administration announced the winners of the third round of the i6 Challenge, a national competition to support proof of concept centers at universities and research consortiums across the country.