In the 1990s, the dialogue on information technology (IT) centered on dot.coms and e-commerce, and little focus was placed on the effect of IT on the labor market. Richard Freeman addresses this issue in The Labour Market in the New Information Economy, an NBER working paper released this month.
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty committee has suggested that the university provide off-campus facilities to help faculty perform classified public service or research involving the nation’s security. In the Public Interest, a report of the Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Access To and Disclosure of Scientific Information of MIT, presents recommendations for the university in handling classified work in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The economic downturn and continuing state and local fiscal problems are not stopping most efforts to develop tech-based economies. Here are a few examples of recent groundbreakings from around the country.
NASA has selected 45 consortia in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) to receive funding for aerospace workforce development. A total of $3.56 million is being awarded in response to the proposals submitted by the state organizations to NASA's Education Division in the Office of Human Resources and Education at Headquarters in Washington.
Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.
Patrick Jones, executive director of the Biotechnology Association of the Spokane Region, has been named executive director of Eastern Washington University's new Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis.
Peter Jobse has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.
Patrick Jones, executive director of the Biotechnology Association of the Spokane Region, has been named executive director of Eastern Washington University's new Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis.
Dennis Lower of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana is the new leader of the Louisiana Economic Development Council.
Judy McKinney-Cherry is the new director of the Delaware Economic Development Office.
Carl Russell has resigned as president and CEO of Tucson Technology Incubator Inc. Bo Statham, a consultant to UniSource Energy Corp. on new business development and a client adviser at the incubator, has been named interim president.
Dr. Melvyn Schiavelli, senior program officer for the Harrisburg Polytechnic Development Corporation, has been named acting president and CEO, succeeding Dr. Charles Clevenger.
Lt. Gov. Gary Sherrer has left his position as secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing to become executive vice president with GoldBanc Corp. Sherry Brown, who had retired from the department, will return to serve as interim secretary.
Leslie McGranahan, in Unprepared for Boom or Bust: Understanding the Current State Fiscal Crisis, highlights the problems that are inherent in state policy when dealing with the cyclical behavior of the economy.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced 24 awards under the new Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program — an anticipated investment of $240 million over five years in projects to improve the achievement of K-12 students in science and mathematics. The Department of Education is an NSF partner in this effort, co-funding two projects involving state education agencies.
Innovation Philadelphia (IP), the public-private partnership dedicated to enhancing the global innovation economy of Philadelphia through technological leadership, received on Monday a $442,500 investment from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.
Universities and the investment they pour into R&D are "major factors" that contribute to a region's economic growth, concludes a recent report funded by the Ewing Marion Kaufman Foundation, NCOE and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The report's results show the growth occurs in less time than traditionally has been noted and that small firms innovate at a rate almost twice that of large firms.
The continuing layoffs of thousands of workers, particularly in the information and communication tech sectors, creates significant hardships for the affected local and regional economies. For instance, a recent Federal Reserve Bank report noted office vacancy rates in Silicon Valley hovering around 40 percent.
NASA has announced the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA, will team with the National Institute of Aerospace Associates (NIAA), Reston, VA, to create the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) to perform aerospace and atmospheric research, develop new technologies for the nation and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
As the House passed its version of the fiscal year 2006 defense appropriations bill last Monday, "Little R, Big D" once again may describe the country's R&D priorities for the largest component of the federal budget.
With hopes of creating a geographic concentration of academic and private bioscience research and commercialization, the Louisiana legislature ended its 2005 session with passage of a bill creating a new development authority.
Technology commercialization can be a slow and arduous process, often taking years to reap the benefits of the investment. Recognizing that defense technology innovations move too slowly from the lab to the field, Congress created three programs within the Department of Defense (DoD) to speed and enhance the transition.
With SSTI's compilation of the FY 2003 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal and award statistics by state, tech-based economic development programs - specifically SBIR assistance and outreach efforts - now have the requisite data to evaluate conversion trends for most agencies during the four-year period 2001-2004.
The San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative (SATAI) Network, a nonprofit organization, is accepting applications from qualified candidates to fill the position of President and CEO. The SATAI Network seeks someone with strong leadership and team-building skills, as well as experience in linking venture capital to venture creation and cultivating an environment and resources for start-up enterprises.
SSTI's annual conference is already considered by many to be the nation's premier educational and networking experience for the tech-based economic development community. However, the ninth annual conference to be held October 20-21, 2005 - keeping with years past - gives certified economic development professionals even more reason to attend.
Following President Bush's call for the nation to "be aggressive about the deployment of broadband," the Technology Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce recently issued Understanding Broadband Demand — a 25-page paper examining the state of broadband demand and usage in the U.S. and identifying successes, challenges and actions to promote more aggressive uptake.