While Silicon Valley lost jobs last year — the first decline since 1992 — value added per employee, a measure of productivity, increased 4.6 percent to $170,000 compared to $56,000 nationally, according to the Index of Silicon Valley 2002 released in January by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network.
Last week, Governor Gray Davis announced the award of three grants to support the creation of new Regional Technology Alliances (RTA) for the Inland Empire, San Joaquin Valley, and Sacramento/Capital regions. The three new non-profit organizations join existing RTAs in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay area to provide decentralized business support services for innovative, California-based technology firms.
High school courses for advanced study in mathematics and science should focus on helping students acquire in-depth understanding rather than the more superficial knowledge that comes from covering too much material too quickly, according to a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council.
An economic diversification package recently approved by officials in Orange County, Florida, is intended to offset some of the post-September 11 difficulties experienced by the local economy.
More than $1 million for the Orange County Economic Stimulus Package was approved in late January by the Board of County Commissioners. The initiative provides funding for five measures, including:
This is the final installment in this year's coverage of the Governors' State of the State and Budget Addresses highlighting issues of importance to the tech-based economic development community.
Illinois
President Bush has nominated Major General Charles F. Bolden, U.S. Marine Corps to serve as NASA's next Deputy Administrator. A former astronaut, Bolden currently serves as the Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Last week, David Allen began his tenure as Assistant Vice President for Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. Allen was the Assistant Vice President for Technology Partnerships at the Ohio State University.
On April 1, Jerry McGuire becomes the first director of technology transfer for the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. McGuire currently is the director of technology transfer and licensing for the University of Buffalo.
Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
We read a lot of e-mail for the Digest. A lot of e-mail. We know that e-mail boxes are getting fuller all the time, so even thinking of recommending that you increase your reading load takes a lot of nerve, or a very good reason. This one is the latter.
The number of states reporting cost overruns, budget cuts and use of their fiscal reserves has grown significantly over the last three months, according to a report released last week by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
Royalty payback requirements and expanding roles for universities are among the changes outlined by the U.S. Department of Commerce in The Advanced Technology Program: Reform with a Purpose. With goals of improving the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and providing "stability" — making the program more palatable to its perennial Congressional detractors — the Department of Commerce has identified six structural changes within ATP.
Earlier this week, Governor Don Sundquist and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp. (TTDC) released the New Economy Strategy, a broad plan to improve the state's economic viability through science and technology. The strategy encompasses many new initiatives to complement TTDC's existing portfolio of tech-based economic development efforts.
The San Diego Work Force Partnership recently released four strategic plans as a blueprint to prepare San Diego's workforce to compete in the changing global economy. Initiated as part of a broader Regional Workforce Development Strategic Planning Initiative, the plans reflect the concerns of area businesses for developing and maintaining skilled workers.
The Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) and the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) recently presented the first part of a two-phase study by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies entitled The Genealogy of Maryland Entrepreneurs.
Leaders of Central Indiana's top research, academic and economic development organizations announced on Wednesday an effort to develop the region as a world-class center for the life sciences industry.
This is the fifth installment in the "Tech-talkin' Govs" series which provides highlights of programs, policies, and issues included in the Governors' addresses related to tech-based economic development.
Connecticut
John G. Rowland, Budget Address, February 6, 2002
Two independent surveys of venture capital investments made during the fourth quarter of FY 2001 suggest an end to downward trends in the flow of money and number of VC placements.
MoneyTree™ Survey
Whether it is explicitly stated or implicitly understood, one of the distinctions between technology-based economic development (TBED) and more traditional economic development functions is TBED's goal of encouraging the creation of high-skill, high-wage jobs to raise the standard of living for the state or region's residents. An area's income levels and its positive change over time could be considered measures of success toward that goal.
It may not be getting much attention from the White House or Congress, but encouraging innovation and technology-based economic development through coordinated national strategies and initiatives is very much on the legislative agenda of many other countries around the world. Recent highlights from the past few weeks include (all dollar figures are for U.S. equivalencies):
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.
Even with record participation from 165 U.S. universities and 32 research hospitals, the 13th annual licensing survey conducted by the Association of University of Technology Managers (AUTM) reveals a 6.7 percent drop in the number of start-up companies created with technology licensed from the responding schools.
For many university tech transfer operations, the need to generate revenues to support the office and attempt to meet the often pie-in-the-sky expectations of school administrators can force licensing efforts toward only the biggest deals. Thanks to a large donation to serve as an endowment, the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering will be able to count on $1 million in interest income to support its technology transfer activities.
On the heels of a report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) urging reform for interdisciplinary research, Congress gave its final approval of a bill designed to effectively promote collaborative research among universities and the public and private sectors.