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Whether it is explicitly stated or implicitly understood, one of the distinctions between technology-based economic development (TBED) and more traditional economic development functions is TBED's goal of encouraging the creation of high-skill, high-wage jobs to raise the standard of living for the state or region's residents. An area's income levels and its positive change over time could be considered measures of success toward that goal.

It may not be getting much attention from the White House or Congress, but encouraging innovation and technology-based economic development through coordinated national strategies and initiatives is very much on the legislative agenda of many other countries around the world. Recent highlights from the past few weeks include (all dollar figures are for U.S. equivalencies):

Friday's issue of the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter brought to our attention two announcements from the SBA regarding the SBIR Program. Proposed changes for the program were included in the Dec. 3 online issue of the Federal Register. We reprint an extended excerpt of the text from the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter verbatim below, with our great appreciation for the work of Dr.

Even with record participation from 165 U.S. universities and 32 research hospitals, the 13th annual licensing survey conducted by the Association of University of Technology Managers (AUTM) reveals a 6.7 percent drop in the number of start-up companies created with technology licensed from the responding schools.

For many university tech transfer operations, the need to generate revenues to support the office and attempt to meet the often pie-in-the-sky expectations of school administrators can force licensing efforts toward only the biggest deals. Thanks to a large donation to serve as an endowment, the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering will be able to count on $1 million in interest income to support its technology transfer activities.

On the heels of a report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) urging reform for interdisciplinary research, Congress gave its final approval of a bill designed to effectively promote collaborative research among universities and the public and private sectors.

Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Arizona's Future, a 50-page report released by the Morrison Institute of Public Policy, details five key trends that could harm the state's future if they are not well managed.

Yesterday's edition of USA Today reported "the Commerce Department's Manufacturing Extension Program [sic], funded this year at $107 million...would be eliminated [in FY 2003] because the White House says they should be financed by the private sector."

With biotechnology taking center stage on several occasions during the past year, President Bush has appointed an 18-member Council of Bioethics to address some of the more controversial aspects of the field. Policy suggestions to emerge from the council are likely to impact the activities of the significant investments many states and localities are making for biotechnology research and seed capital.

The nation faces social and economic crisis unless America succeeds in promoting and taking advantage of racial and ethnic diversity, according to a report released last week by the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF).

This week, the SSTI Weekly Digest continues its series on governors' State of the State addresses, highlighting those portions concerning programs, policies and issues immediately affecting the tech-based economic development community.

Describing Maine as making "modest progress" in strengthening its capacity for innovation-driven economic growth, the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) released on Tuesday The Maine Innovation Index 2002, a report on Maine's performance in the new economy.

Three Texas cities, Dallas, Houston and Austin, top the second annual Affordibility Index prepared by techies.com, a technology workforce placement company. The study tracks which cities offer the best combination of top salary and low cost of living for information technology professionals.

Salt Lake City, Atlanta, the DC/Baltimore corridor, Seattle and Phoenix round out the top eight metro areas.

AEA, formerly the American Electronics Association, in conjunciton with the Nasdaq stock market, has released CyberEducation 2002, a compendium and comparative analysis of several trends and educational statistics from across the country.

Each year, SSTI looks at the various addresses given by the nation's governors at the beginning of the year. While the aftermath of September 11 weighs heavily in the content of this year's State of the State addresses, the important role tech-based economic development plays for strengthening state and local economies during a recession has not been overlooked by many governors.

While 2002 marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, it also may be remembered as the first time an agency successfully finagled its way out of SBIR's requirement that 2.5 percent of extramural R&D be awarded to small technology companies.

Some of the biggest tourist destinations in the U.S. — Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, Orlando and Honolulu — and the biggest cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — will suffer heavy job losses as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a new study from the Milken Institute.

Against a backdrop of futuristic vehicles at the Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and executives of Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler announced a new cooperative automotive research partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR).

A student’s opportunity to gain access to and afford a college education varies significantly from state to state, according to a report recently issued by Lumina Foundation for Education.

Two reports released lated in 2001 by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) highlight challenges presently faced by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Many minority population groups are historically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. This is particularly true of the country's Latino population, one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S workforce. As a result, several state and regional tech-based economic development programs are looking for ways to broaden participation in STEM fields. A recent evaluation of a Texas program finds encouraging results, perhaps suggesting a model for others to replicate.

Led by the Fort Myers-Cape Coral metro area, a burgeoning retirement and tourist destination on the state’s southwest coast, Florida landed seven of the top 15 metros in Milken Institute’s 2004 Best Performing Cities Index released last week. The others are West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (4th), Daytona Beach (5th), Sarasota-Bradenton (6th), Fort Lauderdale (9th), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (12th) and Naples (15th).

Using data from its 2004 Best Performing Cities Index, Milken has generated a comprehensive table ranking cities by one- and five-year measurements of job growth, wages and salaries, and relative high tech gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and other measurements.

The omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress over the weekend provides $109 million in fiscal year 2005 funds to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, according to the American Small Manufacturers Coalition (ASMC). Of the total, $3 million is directed to help small and rural states advance outreach to manufacturers, ASMC states in its most recent legislative update.

Just as SSTI and other post-election analysts predicted, California’s recent passage of a $3 billion commitment to stem cell research is triggering responses from across the country. Wisconsin is the first to outline a specific, strategic reaction to the California referendum in an effort to retain or regain momentum in the race to encourage bio-based economic growth.