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Michigan state agencies in collaboration with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and several private industries and organizations will offer economic development incentives, startup capital, and support services valued around $3 billion to help grow Michigan-based small businesses in emerging industry sectors. The Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative matches people with resources and strengthens relationships to fuel economic growth, according to a press release.

In the 2008-2009 academic year, nearly 66 percent of all degrees awarded by the State University of New York system were in fields related to the 16 clusters identified as key to the state's future growth, according to a new study — How SUNY Matters: Economic Impacts of the State University of New York. The 64-campus SUNY system is comprised of research universities, university colleges, community colleges and specialized institutions from across the New York state.

Job Corner
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A•P•L•U) is seeking applicants for the position of director of Innovation and Technology Policy. The individual in this position will serve as the director for the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity as part of his/her responsibilities as a member of the staff of the Office of Research, Innovation and STEM Policy.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan recently announced that $67 million will be available for a second round of the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program.

A sluggish economic recovery, mostly due to no sustained upturn in housing activity, combined with pressures from rising commodity costs, supply-chain disruptions, and extreme domestic weather means most U.S. metros can expect only minimal job growth by the end of this year, according to a new report prepared for the United States Conference of Mayors. Job growth in 2011 is expected to reach 1.2 percent and unemployment will not fall below 8 percent until late 2013.

In a report published by United for Medical Research, a consortium of science and research medical organizations, Dr. Everett Ehrlich found that extramural research supported by the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2010 (FY10) led to the creation of 487,900 quality public and private sector jobs and produced over $68 billion in new activity across the country.

Using data from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, SSTI has prepared a table showing how each state (and the District of Columbia) has ranked in business churning from 2004 to 2009. Business churning is a measure of the creation of new companies and the death of existing companies as share of total firms. Churning increases as the number of new start-ups and existing business failures per year increase.

As the cost of a college education continues to rise and good paying jobs are seemingly scarcer than ever before, many Americans are questioning the value of a college degree. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found 57 percent of Americans believe the U.S. fails to provide good value for the money students and their families spend, and about four in ten college presidents say the system is headed in the wrong direction. At the same time, however, studies find the lifetime earnings of college graduates to be much higher than those of high school graduates.

This week, White House officials announced several new initiatives to modernize the U.S. electrical power grid and boost the development of clean energy technologies.The initiatives include $250 million in loans for smart grid technology deployment, a private sector effort to provide consumers with detailed energy usage information and a new White House Renewable Energy Rapid Response Team to speed the review of proposed renewable energy projects.

Lawmakers passed two major jobs bills during the 2011 legislative session; one modifying several economic development programs and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, and the other providing incentives to attract large companies to the state. A proposal dubbed Bioscience Connecticut, centered on renovating and expanding the University of Connecticut Health Center, also won legislative approval.

On June 13, President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness presented their initial "progress report" on their ongoing projects to catalyze short-term job creation in the U.S. Eleven ideas were offered at the meeting, including working with community colleges to train and employ advanced manufacturing workers, building public-private partnerships to graduate and retain 10,000 new engineers, expanding the EB-5 visa-for-entrepreneurs program and simplifying the process for Small Business Administration loans.

In an effort to persuade foreign and domestic companies to set up shop or expand operations in the U.S., President Obama signed an executive order establishing the SelectUSA initiative. A major component of the initiative includes a searchable database of federal programs and services such as information on grants, loans and tax incentives. The website also provides a clickable map of the U.S.

The 2011-13 biennial budget for the Oregon Business Development Department recently approved by lawmakers allocates $16 million for the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC), the same amount as last biennium, but short of the $19 million requested by Gov. John Kitzhaber to broaden research and technology transfer programs.

Whether you are new to the tech-based economic development (TBED) field or a seasoned practitioner, SSTI's podcast interviews with experts in all areas of TBED serves as a useful learning tool. These short and "to the point" interviews delve into questions such as:

Job Corner

The University of Kansas' Center for Technology Commercialization is seeking a director that will be responsible for effectively managing faculty-generated intellectual property across all the University of Kansas campuses and deploying it for the greater social good.

Maria Haley, the executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission passed way Sept. 13 after suffering a brain aneurysm.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration announced Matthew Erskine will join the agency as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and chief operations officer.

Job Corner
The Invest Nebraska Corporation is hiring a CEO to join their team in Lincoln, NE. The CEO will manage Invest Nebraska's programs throughout the State of Nebraska. Invest Nebraska Corporation is a private, nonprofit venture development organization focused on developing high-growth companies in Nebraska and growing the state's economy.

The European Union (EU) launched the Technology Transfer Offices — Connecting Innovation and Research Centers and Laboratories in Europe (European TTO CIRCLE ), a network of tech transfer offices at Europe's 25 largest public research organizations. With the goal of increasing the market and societal impacts of publicly-funded research, the European TTO CIRCLE members already have adopted a set of several initiatives including:

PCAST provides several recommendations that will continue the success of NNI and translate the benefits of investments in nanotechnology to the public. Individual recommendations are given in four categories of key importance: strategic planning, program management, metrics and EHS research. Specific recommendations for 2012 and beyond include, but are not limited to:

New Jersey lawmakers last week approved several bills as part of the "Back to Work NJ" economic development and jobs plan proposed by Democratic legislative leaders. Among the measures approved is The New Jersey Angel Investor Tax Credit Act (S.2454) providing incentives to taxpayers who invest in emerging technology companies. Gov. Chris Christie has yet to take action on the package of the bills, which could cost the state up to $805 million in business subsidies and lost corporate tax revenue in the coming fiscal year, reports New Jersey Newsroom.

A recent Brookings Institution report looks at the nearly 30-year impact of manufacturing's global realignment on US metropolitan areas, finding those with the highest dependence on manufacturing were impacted in several negative ways in addition to the losses in manufacturing. In particular, the resilience of the most manufacturing-centered economies — their ability to transition employment into other sectors — was particularly poor, many experiencing below national average growth in jobs and wages.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), on of the largest public pension funds in the country, plans to invest $80 million in a new "Catalyst Portfolio", intended to create profitable returns from venture investments and to attract the attention of coastal venture firms. SWIB intends to use to funds to invest in one or more venture funds, likely through a firm on the East or West coast. That investment would allow the board to act as a matchmaker between large investors in other states and Wisconsin's investor community.

Maine Governor Paul LePage named Phillip Congdon as the new commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development. Cogndon is a licensed professional engineer who spent more than 20 years with Texas Instruments in Dallas. He replaces Acting Commissioner Thaxter Trafton.