The same benefits of higher education to society and individuals found on a national level also are evident at the individual state level and need to be taken into account in state policy discussions, including those on state funding, says a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
Funding research and development (R&D) is risky business. Using the popular baseball analogies, venture capitalists count on one home run to make up for all of the strikeouts and pop flies. Public support for R&D in private firms, then, could be considered a gamble if policymakers are not patient or understanding of that risk. These programs also must be well managed, with an eye on the market or business aspect of any resulting technologies, to minimize the public's risk.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) data on the top 100 cities for NIH awards in FY 2003 indicates Boston reasserted its leadership over New York for the top spot by increasing its spread by $401 million. Philadelphia and Baltimore remain in third and fourth place for the second year.
The University of Toledo and its partners are seeking a director for the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor. The Corridor is an initiative to enhance the region's innovation-based economy through investments that promote linkages and collaboration among academic institutions, business industries and government entities.
Buffalo
The Buffalo News reports InfoNiagara, a technology council serving 230 IT companies, has signed a reciprocal membership with the Amherst Chamber of Commerce to increase the benefits offered to both organizations' members. The chamber's 2,300 members gain access to InfoNiagara's training and professional development programs, according to the paper, while the tech council is able to offer its members a variety of insurance programs the chamber has in place.
After holding steady in late 2001, the amount of venture capital investment continued its two-year decline in the first quarter of 2002, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey. Total investments fell to $6.2 billion — a 24 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2001. A total of 787 companies received venture backing, or 207 fewer than the prior quarter.
Ohio Proposes to Join Race With the growing need to identify cleaner sources of power, coupled with recent advances in alternative energy technologies, many states are targeting science and technology investments toward fuel cells. California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York all have made investments in fuel cell research demonstration or commercialization projects through energy related research funds.
The Spring 2002 edition of the Isuma, the quarterly Canadian Journal of Policy Research, is dedicated to issues surrounding the New Economy. Many of the 16 papers in the free, online issue will be of interest to readers of SSTI's Weekly Digest, including:
The 2002 Special Session of the Louisiana State Legislature has yielded a series of tax credits that aim to benefit biotechnology companies in Louisiana, promote commercialization of technology, encourage R&D investments, and make the state more competitive in information technology. The tax credits are as follows:
The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C.
Larry Kline has resigned as president of the Wisconsin Technology Council to take a position as chief financial officer and vice president for business development with a biotech firm.
The president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp, Alan DeLisle, is leaving to become director of the Office of Economic and Employment Development in Durham, N.C.
Larry Kline has resigned as president of the Wisconsin Technology Council to take a position as chief financial officer and vice president for business development with a biotech firm.
Jeffrey Skolnick has been named executive director of the new Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics based at the University of Buffalo. In introducing Skolnick, Governor Pataki confirmed the new state budget includes $50 million for the center, according to the May 10 issue of the Buffalo News.
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin signed last week legislation establishing the Department of Commerce and streamlining the support operations for the state’s economic development efforts. Senate Bill 1002, approved during the recent special session of the West Virginia Legislature, renamed the Bureau of Commerce the Department of Commerce.
The latest in SSTI's annual "Tech Talkin' Govs" series. Five earlier installments of this 2005 review of governors' legislative priorities concerning tech-based economic development are available through the Digest online: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm
Michigan
As the only state to have a net job loss in 2004, Michigan's political leadership recognizes something must change. The state's shifting economy, from one defined principally by its manufacturing sector to one that derives growth equally from knowledge-based industries, is at the center of the matter. Michigan policymakers are challenged to create innovative proposals that preserve one facet of the economy while broadening the other.
A recent proposal by Senate Republicans in Iowa to eliminate the state income tax for residents under the age of thirty has brought the issue of the out-migration of young, educated adults once again to the forefront.
To spur job creation in Ontario, the provincial government recently announced two initiatives focusing on innovation and regional economic growth -- the new Fuel Cell Innovation Program and the newly refocused Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).
Statewide efforts addressing all of higher education's public purposes are needed to combat the increasing competition and privatization sweeping the nation's public colleges and universities, says a new report from the Futures Project, Correcting Course: How We Can Restore the Ideals of Public Higher Education in a Market-Driven Era.
Creativity and curiosity are key ingredients for innovation, so it is not too surprising that many communities are looking for ways to increase the creative spirit among their residents and businesses. The how-to of nurturing creativity does not follow a simple recipe for easy replication across the country, but a recent World Bank working paper provides a broad platform of key ingredients.
The Special Federal Budget Issue of SSTI's Weekly Digest, published electronically in three parts on Feb. 10, is now available for download as a 25-page PDF. As readers are aware, the Administration's budget request proposes significant changes to the federal government's role in supporting economic development, research, investment and community development.
Members of the House Science Committee introduced legislation this week that would place the National Science Foundation (NSF) on a track to double the agency's budget in five years. The bill, H.R. 4664, authorizes a 15 percent increase for NSF for each of the next three years.
SSTI has compiled the 2001 statistics from the ten federal agencies participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program to help states gear up for the next round of competition for the Federal and State Technology Partnership and Rural Outreach Programs (FAST and ROP, respectively). SBIR statistics are also used by several states as one measure or indicator for innovation indices and S&T report cards.
Earlier this week, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan Business Roundtable released a benchmarking study that used 140 indicators across seven areas to compare the state's competitiveness with 17 other states.