When it comes to managing a portfolio of programs, do you know what really works to ensure they will have the most impact for building a tech-based economy? "Maximizing Impact: Evaluating Science and Technology Programs," one of four full-day pre-conference workshops to be held at SSTI's 9th Annual conference on Oct. 19-21, 2005, strives to answer the question.
There is increasing speculation that China's surge in the global economy is unsustainable, in part, because of its debt (see the Aug. 22, 2005 issue of Business Week). Closer to home, others point out, with the addition of the recent record U.S. budget deficits, America’s national debt will be too burdensome on generations X and Y and whatever letter comes next.
If the innovation powerhouse that represents the U.S. economy for the past century were a cinder block foundation of a house, then China and India would present two of the more significant cracks. These two great nations may grab the headlines, but the improved innovation and research capacities of any country provide new challenges for continued U.S. domination of the world's economy. As this week's article on the Czech Republic and Singapore reveals, these are just two more blocks in the U.S.
A comprehensive survey of 12,000 departments within 591 institutions of higher education in the U.S. reveals that, in 2003, graduate student enrollment in S&E programs increased by 4 percent over the previous year and 9 percent over the past decade. Foreign student enrollment, however, decreased 8 percent in 2003 after falling 6 percent the year before.
While the U.S. commitment to science is threatened by flattening federal R&D investments, two more countries demonstrate their shared belief that the way to economic prosperity is through science and innovation.
Should policymakers focus on urban core centers as keys to economic growth or seek greater economic equity in the less developed periphery? A new study on regional policy and economic geography suggest policies should be directed toward core growth.
SSTI is pleased to give regular Digest readers the first peek at a PDF version of the brochure for SSTI's 9th annual conference, Investing in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-based Economies, to be held in Atlanta on October 19-21, 2005.
Expressing concern over the nation's ability to sustain its scientific and technological superiority throughout the 21st Century, 15 leading business organizations have released an action plan that aims to double the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates by 2015.
Following defeat at the polls two years ago, Ohio's state legislature has agreed nearly unanimously to again have voters decide on whether or not the state can issue bonds in support of the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's tech-based economic development strategy -- Ohio's Third Frontier Initiative.
The year-long battle between Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) and competitors BellSouth Louisiana and Cox Communications over the utility company's proposed Fiber for the Future project came to an end last month when voters approved the $125 million fiber optics plan by a vote of 62 percent to 38 percent.
Increasing and modernizing university research capacity is a priority for many states. Contrary to programmatic or operational appropriations being required annually, funding for such construction projects can be phased over decades as part of a state's larger capital budget/bond programs. Recent research from the National Science Foundation (NSF) documents the results of the increased importance placed in university research building programs.
While local workforce boards are using substantial funds for worker training under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), little is known on a national level about the outcomes of those trained, says a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
A partnership between U.S. universities, research centers, private sector corporations, and Indian institutions recently was formed to improve engineering education in India and offer U.S. faculty the opportunity to collaborate with Indian researchers.
Partisan politics take a back seat when the nation's governors talk about the need for stronger national innovation policies. Ample proof of this is offered policy position statements approved at the two most recent meetings of the Western Governors' Association and the National Governors Association.
The yearly dollar amount of research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit claims grew twice as fast as company and other nonfederally funded R&D expenditures between 1990 and 2001, a new National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief reports. In contrast, direct federal funding for industrial R&D declined through much of the 1990s, both in absolute terms and relative to industry-funded R&D.
As most practitioners know, measuring progress for tech-based economic development efforts can be difficult given the long lead time necessary for most research investments to yield results. Consequently, many programs rely on interim measures to evaluate a policy or program's impact.
Do women shy away from competition? Do men compete too much? In a recent working paper published by the National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER), economists Muriel Niederle and Lise Vesterlund answer yes to both questions after measuring performance and preferences of men and women in a controlled environment.
A community essentially has two options for strategies to diversify its economic base: traditional economic development or technology-based economic development (TBED). The traditional approach of recruiting or inducing companies to relocate to their community from elsewhere creates an atmosphere of competition, rivalry and one-upmanship among cities and regions as they bid to buy firms' location decisions. Often, it is also difficult for small and mid-sized communities to compete on these terms.
Since passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, universities across the country have established transfer technology offices to assist in commercializing academic inventions. Efforts to transfer university inventions to the market continue to be a difficult proposition, with less than a third of disclosed inventions resulting in license. Start-ups garner only one in eight licenses.
Many community and economic development professionals believe the report released last Tuesday should have predated the President's 2006 Budget to consolidate or eliminate 18 federal programs used by most parts of the country to support growth and well-being (see the Feb. 14 issue of the Digest).
Coming off the heels of the state legislature's approval of a new Emerging Technologies Fund (see the June 13 issue of the Digest), Gov. Rick Perry announced last Saturday that Texas would provide a $50 million grant to establish the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM).
Incubators provide an integral and flexible component of many communities' tech-based economic development efforts. When successful, business incubators can provide a focal point for encouraging entrepreneurship in even the smallest cities and metropolitan areas. Ample evidence is presented in the latest survey of incubators supported through the multifaceted $35 million Entrepreneurship Initiative of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
For the second year in a row, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) was the most active source of early-stage or angel capital, according to the July issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
In signing the state budget last Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle approved spending $5 million for two new programs supporting agricultural and forestry bio-based industrial development. Bio-based industries convert the carbohydrates in plants into fuels, polymers, fabrics, and other chemicals.
As a precursor to a report expected next month from the President's Commission on Tax Reform, the National League of Cities (NLC) recently issued its findings from a survey citing disapproval of how state and federal tax issues are being handled by the Administration, Congress, and state governors and legislatures. NLC outlined recommendations and called on the federal government to convene a national economic summit to address the issues.