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To better formulate technology and telecommunications policy, U.S.

In these tight state fiscal times, many government functions would view level funding with the previous year as very good news. Since tech-based economic development (TBED) programs are investments toward economic prosperity, conventional wisdom would hold that legislatures would shield these types of investments from deep cuts.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recently unveiled a plan to help make Minnesota a leader in biosciences. Governor Pawlenty says the state's history, expertise and economic infrastructure make it better prepared than most other states to capitalize on the bioscience industry.

The Wisconsin Venture Network (WVN) in Milwaukee has folded into the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) Foundation in Madison, and the combined WIN entity has become a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

A higher rate of entrepreneurial activity is strongly connected with faster growth of a local economy, the U.S. Census Bureau reports in Endogenous Growth and Entrepreneurial Activity in Cities. The recent working paper, prepared by the Bureau's Center for Economic Studies, examines the connection between knowledge spillover and economic growth in a regional economy.

Despite an economic slowdown, the Twin Cities is more competitive than it was a year ago, according to a study released by the Great North Alliance, a regional civic leadership organization. Conducted annually, the Great North Opportunity Forecast uses regional productivity and innovation to predict future competitiveness and opportunity.

Earlier this week U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Don Evans announced the Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI) would be piloted in Senegal, a democratic secular nation in which 94 percent of the population is Muslim. DFI is designed to promote economic growth by transferring the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the developing world.

The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education recently released The Rising Price of Higher Education, which documents the rising costs of public education in the U.S. Using the data found in the report, SSTI has constructed a 50-state table presenting a comparison of the cost of tuition and fees at 2- and 4-year public institutions in 2001-02 vs 2002-03.

House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) recently introduced legislation that would authorize a multi-agency national nanotechnology research initiative. Nanotechnology is one of the top interagency priorities in the Administration's fiscal 2004 proposed budget for non-medical, civilian scientific and technological research and development.

Policymakers must understand the ways in which the information technology (IT) revolution is transforming business operations across both new and traditional industries, according to Paul Sommers and Daniel Carlson, the authors of What the IT Revolution Means for Regional Economic Development, a discussion paper prepared for the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.

Several recent project announcements highlight communities using incubators and research parks, some of the tools for technology-based economic development, in specialized formats to capitalize on existing strengths and nurture additional growth of clusters of related tech firms. Such targeted approaches can help to focus other TBED activities for additional benefits.

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) drafted and approved four reports in 2002. Three of those reports are now available online at http://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/pcast2002rpt.html. Each report was submitted to President Bush and is briefly synopsized below.

The federal role in early-stage technology development (ESTD) is much more important than may be suggested by collective R&D statistics, suggests Between Invention and Innovation: An Analysis of Funding for Early-Stage Technology Development, a report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

During the past week, SSTI has made several additions to its website <http://www.ssti.org> that readers may want to note:

Editor's note: Few federal programs that fund research have undergone as much independent review and outside scrutiny as the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology and come out with high marks nearly every time. Yet two more independent papers described briefly below find that ATP funds make a positive difference for spurring innovation and commercializing technology.

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) has provided the state an 8:1 return on its $78 million investment since 1993, according to From Concept to Commercialization, a new OCAST impact report, and accompanying press release. The state's leading organization for building a tech-based economy finds its client companies also have enjoyed a 90 percent survival rate.

No region of the world encapsulates the aspirations of many metro and regional technology-based economic development programs as Silicon Valley, particularly to the benefits of having a cluster of technology companies feeding off of each other to the mutual benefit of all. The Valley was the global tech leader during the heyday of the IT boom, but is undergoing a tremendous structural shift since the dot-com bubble burst.

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney recently announced a plan to spur job growth in the state by tapping the expertise of area business, community and education leaders through Regional Competitiveness Councils. Six such councils will represent the Berkshires, Cape and Islands, Central, Northeast, Pioneer Valley and the Southeast regions of the state.

Community buy-in to building a technology-based economy is vital for TBED success. Establishing a strong private sector commitment to science and technology can make a significant difference, particularly as elected officials are deciding what to cut or trim from the budget. TBED organizations use different approaches to get the buy-in. In states such as Massachusetts (see story in this Digest), the top-down direction from the Governor could provide the group critical access.

More than $4.7 billion of venture capital was invested in 524 private companies, according to Growthink Private Equity Funding Reports for the Fourth Quarter 2002. Companies securing investments numbered 30 less than the previous quarter.

The U.S economy experienced a turbulent year in 2001. However, small businesses demonstrated resilience and strength according to the Small Business Economic Indicators for 2001, a report released by the SBA Office of Advocacy. The February 2003 report states that although economic activity was sluggish in the months leading up to September 2001, economic output grew for the year as a whole.

Congress Finished FY 2003 Budget Last Night

In SSTI's final look at the 2003 State of the State Addresses and Inaugural Addresses, we find the importance of building technology-based economies continues to be emphasized by governors across the country, despite – or because of – the down economy. Below are excerpts from speeches given in Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Texas.

State budget gaps have grown by 50 percent in the last two months and state policymakers will work to resolve unprecedented budget shortfalls for the next 15 months, according to findings from the latest budget survey released by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

With nearly $1 billion in federal R&D funding proposed for the new Department of Homeland Security, many states, universities and companies are exploring ways to be actively involved as R&D partners. Already home to several military and intelligence research activities, with proximity to Washington, D.C. in its favor, Virginia recently announced an effort to further strengthen its competitive position in the funding race.