Search

I am encouraged by the Administration’s sudden interest in science funding. Over the last seven years, overall science budgets, which include both defense and civilian R&D, when indexed for inflation, have been flat or decreasing. Science needs a boost.

As more states settle into their 2003 legislative sessions, fewer Governors are giving Inaugural or State-of-the-State addresses. During the past 10 days, the Governors of Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont and Wisconsin offered outlines of their priorities for the coming year(s). The following excerpts are directly relevant to building a technology-based economy.

Georgia

Buoyed by a strong national economy, venture capital firms have invested at an all-time during the 2nd quarter of 1999, according to the latest quarterly survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. At $7.61 billion for the quarter, venture capital investments were more than double the total reported only one year ago. The current survey reflects the investment activity of 684 venture capital firms.

Last week, Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon named the Board of Directors to oversee the design and administration of the new 21st Century Research & Technology Fund. By law, the Lieutenant Governor serves as chairman for the board.

Small companies' interests in developing environmental technologies appear to growing. Between 1998 and 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saw a 64 percent increase in the number of SBIR Phase I proposals submitted. The number of awards made by the agency was unable to keep pace, growing by only 30 percent. As a result, EPA was able to fund less than 9 percent of the 535 SBIR Phase I proposals received in 1999. In 1998, more than 11 percent of the proposals were funded.

Taratec Corporation of Columbus, Ohio has been awarded a $44,500 contract from the Department of Commerce's Office of Technology Policy (OTP) to prepare a report of science & technology indicators for all 50 states. The indicators are intended to assist Commerce in evaluating the impact and outcome of projects funded by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) as well as other OTP programmatic improvements.

The September 3, 1999 issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest contained some errors in the SBIR tables. The correct information is below. Revised tables are available for review on our website at:  http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/090399t.htm

U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary William Daley has labeled as Amisleading@ a press release issued by the House Science Committee regarding the proposal review and selection criteria of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). [See August 27, 1999 issue of SSTI Weekly Digest.] In the release, Rep. Sensenbrenner, the Chairman of the Committee, questioned the program's commitment to ensuring federal grants were not displacing private capital.

The Kentucky Science and Technology Corp. (KSTC) has released Kentucky's Science and Technology Strategy, a plan outlining ten specific recommendations in four strategic areas to guide the Commonwealth's future R&D investments. If implemented, the recommendations are expected to have significant impact in just a few years.

NASA has announced the selection of 103 R&D projects to share approximately $62 million as Phase II recipients under the agency's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The 103 awards were chosen from 319 proposals submitted by promising NASA 1998 SBIR Phase I recipients.

Ninety firms in 27 states won the 103 Phase II awards. Each project may receive up to $600,000 over two years to support their Phase II efforts.

The U.S. Department of Education's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program has announced approximately $3.2 million has been awarded through the 1999 SBIR solicitation. The agency funded 40 Phase I projects, totaling nearly $2 million, from 208 proposals received from companies across 40 states. An additional $1.2 million was awarded to ten Phase II projects selected from a pool of 34 proposals. The accompanying table presents the distribution of proposals and awards by state.

Despite, or because of, the continuing fiscal crises facing nearly every state, technology-based economic development remains high on the agendas of most governors, as demonstrated in their recent speeches. Those excerpts pertaining to state efforts to build tech-based economies are provided below.

Before Congress left for its August break, the House voted 217-210 to pass the Commerce-State-Justice Appropriation Bill. Among other items, the Bill (H.R. 2670) eliminates all funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP). With this zeroing-out of funding for ATP, NIST’s total appropriation would be $436.7 million, $300.3 million below the request of $735.0 million, and $210.5 million below FY1999 funding of $647.2 million.

This year’s second attempt to pass legislation establishing a state-funded seed capital program in Missouri was successful during the waning hours of the 1999 session of the Missouri General Assembly. SB 518, the Missouri New Enterprise Creation Act, authorizes the creation of up to four seed capital funds at the state’s innovation centers to support new technology-based companies in the state.

NASA has named 20 companies from 13 states as recipients of the agency’s 1999 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Phase I solicitation. NASA received 82 proposals from 59 companies in this year’s competition.



Each selected project will receive a fixed-price, one-year contract with NASA for up to $100,000. Successful Phase I recipients may compete for two-year Phase II contracts of up to $500,000 next year.

Vice President Gore has announced the creation of an interagency task force to recommend ways to strengthen the U.S. manufacturing sector for the 21st century. Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council, will lead the group, charged with presenting specific recommendations on how government policies and programs can preserve and enhance American manufacturing.

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Committee on Technology has called for issue papers to identify top priorities and outline ideas for reforming federal support of science and technology. The agency is seeking papers as a contribution to the development of a long-term action plan for improving federal policies, regulations, and programs to foster science and technology innovation.

President Clinton has issued an Executive Order to develop and promote biobased products and bioenergy as economically viable alternatives to fossil fuel-based production and energy generation. The order calls for the development of a national strategy that includes research, development, and private sector incentives to stimulate the creation and early adoption of technologies needed to make biobased products and bioenergy cost competitive.

The Markle Foundation has announced plans to give away $100 million -- more than half of the Foundation's current endowment -- over the next five years for projects and programs to improve public benefit from the Internet. Recipients will include non-profit organizations as well as for-profit companies.



Awards are concentrated in four areas:

The following people in the S&T field have announced or made career changes over the past few months:



Phil Singerman, the head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Adminstration, has been named president of the new Maryland Technology Economic Development Corporation.



Catherine Renault, managing director of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, has accepted a position with Advantage Consulting.

Phil Singerman, the head of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Adminstration, was named president of the new Maryland Technology Economic Development Corporation.