New and re-elected Governors gave inaugural addresses in Alabama, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas during the past 10 days. Additionally, State of the State addresses were made in Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. Building tech-based economies remains a high priority for many Governors, as evidenced in the following:
Nevada
Many states and communities are focusing their limited technology-based economic development funds toward cluster development, concentrating on those sectors in which some assemblage already exists within the jurisdiction. Proponents of the approach suggest the public sector is able to maximize its investments in those areas already showing some strength.
Whether the reason is to spur more innovation among students, fight the brain drain of graduates or simply help to build tech-based economies, many states, communities and universities are targeting a portion of their efforts toward encouraging tech-based entrepreneurship among their young residents and college students.
More rigorous evaluations of local economic development programs and policies are feasible argues a recently released working paper by Timothy Bartik, a senior economist at The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Evaluating the Impacts of Local Economic Development Policies On Local Economic Outcomes: What Has Been Done and What Is Doable? stresses the importance of evaluation in local economic development.
Midwest Angel Network Association Launched in Illinois
Todd Bankofier has been appointed president of the Arizona Technology Council.
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has named Edgar Blatchford, a journalism professor at the University of Alaska, to serve as commissioner for the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Todd Bankofier has been appointed president of the Arizona Technology Council.
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski has named Edgar Blatchford, a journalism professor at the University of Alaska, to serve as commissioner for the Department of Community and Economic Development.
John Harrison is Governor Bob Riley's pick to serve as director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Harrison was the Mayor of Luverne, Alabama for the past 14 years.
Ellen Hemmerly has been named president of the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks.
David Iannucci is the new head of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano named Gilbert Jimenez to lead the Department of Commerce and has asked Gail Howard to serve as her policy advisor on economic development. Jimenez was Bank One International's Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Mexico/Latin America. Howard comes to the administration from Arizona State University, where she has served since 1990 as the University's Director of Economic Development and Constituent Outreach.
Charles W. Steger, President of Virginia Tech. has been elected chairman of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Paula S. Gulak, Founding Partner of SyCom Technologies, is the new Vice Chairman.
Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, is Governor Ed Rendell's pick to serve as Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Central California's Regional Technology Alliance has changed its name to the Inland Empire techSOURCE.
The TBED community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Thomas Friedman for his 2005 book, The World is Flat. Friedman has helped elevate the issue of innovation, competitiveness, and the U.S. standing therein to the New York Times bestseller list, the Sunday talk shows, and scads of press coverage. Friedman has helped convince pundits and policymakers that the world is flat and the challenges to the U.S. are more serious than ever and are only increasing.
The early bird registration and hotel room block for Investing in a Brighter Future: Building Tech-based Economies, SSTI's Ninth Annual Conference, ends on Tuesday, September 20. To register for the conference, which is October 20 and 21, you can visit the conference website at http://www.ssti.org/conference05.htm and select the registration form.
Two years ago, Kannapolis, N.C., was reeling from the announcement that Pillowtex Corp, a major textile manufacturer, was filing for bankruptcy. Pillowtex's failure resulted in more than 4,500 jobs lost in just two North Carolina counties and thousands more in the Southeast U.S.
Maryland has a new program to provide loans to early stage technology-oriented companies that are affiliated with the incubation network, Governor Robert Ehrlich announced earlier this month. The $500,000 Working Capital Loan Fund, administered by the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), will offer low-interest, flexible term loans of between $15,000 and $50,000 to companies in underserved parts of Maryland.
The growth rates of female sole proprietors in the numbers of businesses, gross receipts, and net income were more than double that of their male counterparts between 1985-2000. However, sole proprietorships were still male-dominated, with male sole proprietors having a larger share of the total number, receipts, and net income, according to a working paper from the Small Business Administration.
Nominations for the 2006 National Medal of Technology can be made up until September 30. The President of the U.S. presents the prestigious National Medal of Technology to individuals, teams of individuals, or companies who have improved the American economy and quality of life by their outstanding contributions through technology.
Nearly $1.5 million in grants from the OneGeorgia Authority will go toward specific initiatives promoting technology-based economic development in Georgia. The awards are part of almost $7.5 million in grants and loans being awarded to 16 of the state's most economically distressed communities.
Since reaching a high point of almost 27,300 in 1998, the number of science and engineering (S&E) doctorates has dropped by 7 percent to just over 25,500 in 2001, reports a 2001 nationwide survey conducted for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The decline since 1998 has led to a rollback of total Ph.D.s to pre-1994 levels, the report states.
Cluster-based economic development has grown in popularity, but this has not always translated well for rural regions. Many rural areas do not possess the infrastructure necessary for many high-technology industries, and most areas face two major disadvantages — an inability to achieve economies of scale and possess or create a specialized division of labor; and the relocation of the labor force away from rural areas.
Many organizations are wondering if, when and how severe their budgets could be impacted by the economy and the continuing fiscal crises in the states. While foundation endowments also have taken a hit by the stock market slump, several are increasing their contributions in building local or statewide technology-based economies. Two recent examples highlight the trend and point toward a funding path few TBED efforts have fully tapped.