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What TBED Approaches are Successful in the Current Economy?

The current fiscal pressures on regional technology-based economic development initiatives have been never greater than they are now. And, as the article above points out, things are going to get worse over 2010 and 2011 before they get better.

Additionally, since local communities became proactive partners with their universities, businesses, tech councils, civic organizations, and states to support economic growth through innovation, the need for local TBED never has been greater. Economists and policy wonks agree: the next economy is being built on innovation and technology.

This year as states were wrestling with significant deficits, several proposals to consolidate TBED initiatives with other units of government emerged. The most recently decided was in Connecticut, where the General Assembly did not move forward with a plan to merge the state's two primary financing agencies, Connecticut Innovations and the Connecticut Development Authority to form a new Connecticut Economic Innovations Authority. Gov. Jodi Rell had proposed the consolidation.

Earlier this month, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved $750 million in financing over the next five years to Argentina's federal government for the country's Technology Innovation Program.

Argentina's R&D intensity as gauged by the ratio of R&D expenditures to GDP has increased in recent years, from 0.4 in 2003 to 0.51 in 2007. However, compared to a R&D intensity of 2.3 percent of GDP for OCED countries, Argentina lags considerably behind.

The Obama administration's interest in directing more federal support to innovation and research was evident very early in the President's first weeks in office with more than $100 billion of the Recovery Act funding going toward innovation, education and research infrastructure. Earlier this week, the National Economic Council and Office of Science & Technology Policy released a brief report presenting the guiding principles and priorities for the administration's innovation agenda.

Companies backed by venture capital grew their revenue and employment numbers at a much higher rate than other businesses in recent years, according to a report from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Between 2006 and 2008, revenue at U.S. venture-backed companies increased by 5.3 percent, while total U.S. business revenues grew by only 3.5 percent. Employment at venture-backed companies grew by 1.6 percent during that same period, compared to 0.2 percent in the overall U.S. private sector. Last year, venture-backed companies accounted for 11 percent of U.S.

The number of U.S. patents per employee decreased in 43 states from 2003 to 2007, as patents per employee for the U.S. as a whole declined by 10.3 percent over the same five-year period. To track this metric, SSTI has prepared a table calculating the number of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) per 100,000 employees for each state. The table also displays the relative ranking of each state from 2003 to 2007, as well as each state's five-year percent change.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities are available at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

Congressional conferees on the FY10 Consolidated Appropriations Act picked the higher funding level between the House and Senate versions of the FY10 budget on many line items of interest to the TBED community. Despite its high-wage job potential, direct support for innovation-based regional growth strategies is not as easy to come by in the federal budget as is money for conventional economic development/infrastructure projects.

The FY10 Consolidated Appropriations Act that passed Congress during the past week includes $124.7 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and $69.9 million for the Technology Innovation Partnership (TIP). Both initiatives are within the National Institute of Standards & Technology. MEP is a nationwide network of centers that strives to make U.S. manufacturers leaner, more competitive and more innovative.

To help train future scientists and support cutting-edge research in health and environmental issues, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell is recommending $109.5 million in the FY11 capital budget for the University of Alaska Life Sciences Facility in Fairbanks. The multi-purpose teaching and research facility would house the Department of Biology and Wildlife and accommodate a wide-range of research programs, reports Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

To keep alive the underground deep science laboratory, a National Science Foundation (NSF) research priority for scientific discovery in geophysics, Gov. Mike Rounds is asking lawmakers to approve $5.4 million in special appropriations for bridge funding through May 2011. During his budget presentation to the legislature last week, Gov. Rounds told lawmakers the $35 million allocated toward the effort in 2004 and 2005 would run out this month and $250 million in anticipated NSF funding would not be available until 2011.

In an effort to spur greentech innovation, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has announced that the next 3,000 green technology patent filings will be eligible for an accelerated review process. About 25,000 pending applications will also be eligible for the pilot program, which could shave as much as a year off the process. Read more at: http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2009/09_33.jsp.

The Kansas Bioscience Authority - Heartland Bio Ventures, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation are jointly recruiting for a federal research funding specialist.

Outlining his budget recommendations for the 2011-12 biennium last week, Gov. Dave Freudenthal asked lawmakers to continue support for research projects funded by the state’s share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. Using $116.1 million available for appropriation in the coming year, the governor recommends $45 million for continuation of carbon sequestration research, $17.4 million to continue operating the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, and $14 million for the Clean Coal Technology matching grant program.

In FY2007, the states in aggregate expended $1.23 billion in funds for research and development, according to recent data released by the National Science Foundation. This is the second year consecutive annual data from the NSF's State Agency Research and Development Expenditures series has been produced. SSTI has prepared a table that shows for both FY07 and FY06 each state's expenditures for R&D from the state government, the state's GDP, and the spending intensity as measured by R&D expenditures per million dollars of GDP.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington, DC think tank, is accepting applications for two positions described below:

• Communications Director: This is a permanent, full-time position reporting to the president of ITIF. It is an exciting opportunity for someone who would like to not only deepen their policy expertise, but also influence the public debate on critical innovation policy issues. Read more…

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced the creation of The Ignite Institute, a nonprofit medical research institute to be housed initially at the Center for Innovative Technology. The state will provide $3 million from the Governor's Opportunity Fund and $22 million in incentive grants, subject to General Assembly approval. The institute expects to draw $200 million in initial financing and create 415 jobs. Read more at: http://www.ignitehealth.org/.

Governors across the nation are trying to find ways to prevent their state finances from falling further in the red as revenues continue to fall while costs for Medicare and unemployment remain high. Deficit-reduction plans announced in two states seek to delay payments and cut funding to biomedical research initiatives that were established to expand the states’ research capacity and generate wealth.

Connecticut

Calling for shared sacrifice among all state agencies, Gov. Haley Barbour outlined his FY11 budget recommendations reducing most agencies by 12 percent below the FY10 appropriation, excluding the Mississippi Development Authority, which would be cut only 5 percent because of its role in job creation. Tech-based economic development programs funded by the Authority are zeroed out in the governor’s proposal, however.

The United Nation’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva recently announced an expansion of its online free searchable patent application database. In addition to containing an existing 1.65 million international patents filed for protection under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) from 30 countries, the database now includes digital information for 1.49 million additional records from the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Israel, South Africa, Singapore, Vietnam, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), and Cuba.

NorTech, the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, seeks applications for a Vice President. Reporting to the president and CEO, and serving as an integral member of the senior management team, the VP will be responsible for the development of several NorTech initiatives including technology commercialization, flexible electronics cluster building, and support on government engagement.

Gov. Donald Carcieri signed legislation last week expanding the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (EDC) board and allowing the state to offer the incoming EDC director a three-year contract that extends past the governor’s term, which ends next January. The changes are expected to boost the agency’s effectiveness and attract better candidates for the state’s top economic development position.

Since the 1990s, Maine has done an excellent job investing in R&D to establish a robust research capacity, but little has been done in terms of building a capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, according to the 2010 Science and Technology Action Plan. The report identifies three main strategies to position the state as a global competitor and create high-paying jobs and economic prosperity.

All eyes are on New Jersey and Virginia as newly elected governors soon will unveil action plans and proposals for their first year in office. During the recent gubernatorial campaigns, Governors-elect Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell both outlined plans to transform their respective states’ economies and create high-paying jobs through targeted investments in renewable energy. The following is an overview of the energy proposals outlined during the campaigns.

New Jersey