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In the 2008-2009 academic year, nearly 66 percent of all degrees awarded by the State University of New York system were in fields related to the 16 clusters identified as key to the state's future growth, according to a new study — How SUNY Matters: Economic Impacts of the State University of New York. The 64-campus SUNY system is comprised of research universities, university colleges, community colleges and specialized institutions from across the New York state.

Job Corner
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A•P•L•U) is seeking applicants for the position of director of Innovation and Technology Policy. The individual in this position will serve as the director for the APLU Commission on Innovation, Competitiveness and Economic Prosperity as part of his/her responsibilities as a member of the staff of the Office of Research, Innovation and STEM Policy.

The Council on Competitiveness in partnership with Deloitte released Ignite 2.0: Voices of American University Presidents and National Lab Directors on Manufacturing Competiveness, the second installment of a three-part series on improving U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. According to the report, talent-driven innovation, education and advanced skills development coupled with research, science, technology and full life-cycle commercialization are the necessary drivers for a U.S. manufacturing resurgence.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage has nominated George Gervais, the acting commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development as commissioner. His nomination must be reviewed by the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development and confirmed by the Senate.

New Jersey's Economic Development Authority announced the Edison Innovation Green Growth Fund (EIGGF), a new loan program with a performance grant component to grow the state's energy efficiency and Class 1 renewable energy technology companies. The fund offers five-year fixed term loans of up to $1 million to eligible companies that have begun generating commercial revenues and are seeking matching funds (1:1 by the time of loan closing).

Much of the recent economic recovery plans coming from governors across the country have focused on growing and nurturing existing businesses through a regional approach to economic development. The idea is that by identifying and defining the unique needs of a region, policymakers and practitioners can then provide the necessary tools and resources to grow industries likely to succeed within a given region, thus improving the overall economic landscape of the state. This approach is happening both in states and at the local level.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the Bayh-Dole Act does not grant universities the unlimited right to patents resulting from federal research grants. In a 7-2 vote, the Court found that a professor could sign over the right to intellectual property (IP) that resulted from collaborative research with a private company. Stanford University argued that Bayh-Dole granted universities a right to IP that could not be signed away by the inventor.

The number of annual U.S. patents of all types increased from 82,586 in 2005 to 121,179 in 2010, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). After falling in 2007 and 2008, and making only minor gains in 2009, patents jumped by 27.5 percent last year. Overall, the number of patents grew 46.7 percent between 2005 and 2010, while patents per capita increased by 40.6 percent. California continues to have the highest number of annual patents in the country, generating about one quarter of all U.S. patents in 2010.

The Obama administration announced a Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) for a new $33 million public-private initiative focused on supporting and accelerating the growth of regional innovation clusters (RICs) that exhibit high-growth development potential — the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The Obama administration intends for these investments to serve as catalysts for leveraging private capital (e.g., foundations, financial institutions, corporations and other partners) in the selected regions.

To more closely align Georgia's efforts to market and promote strategic industries to existing and potential companies, Georgia's Centers of Innovation (COI) program will be integrated with the programs of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA). The move follows the legislature's decision to transfer funding for GRA's strategic economic development initiatives from the Board of Regents' Research Consortium program to the Department of Economic Development Innovation and Technology Division.

Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Innovation Council launched a new initiative to facilitate business and research collaboration and to provide services to the state's high-tech entrepreneurs. The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) will be connected to Startup Illinois, the first Startup Region to be introduced by the national Startup America Partnership. Read the announcement...

Gov John Hickenlooper recently signed legislation expanding eligibility for Colorado's Innovation Investment Tax Credit (CIITC). The program provides angel investors with an income tax credit equal to 15 percent of their investment in Colorado small businesses that are less than five years old and are involved in research and development. Originally, the program allowed investors to claim the credits for investments made during the 2010 tax year.

From 2000 to 2008, the U.S. ranked 18th out of 30 countries in the growth of government-funded university research, according to a new report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). In University Research Funding: the United States is Behind and Falling, Robert Atkinson and Luke Stewart compared the U.S. government and business funding for public university research against 29 other developed countries.

Compiling SBIR Phase I awards and proposal statistics by state for FY10, SSTI finds the 10 states with the most awards in FY10 were California (851), Massachusetts (517), Virginia (250), Colorado (218), New York (212), Maryland (196), Texas (185), Pennsylvania (184), Ohio (179), and Michigan (125). Colorado moved up two positions to fourth place, dropping New York to fifth place while Maryland fell to sixth place from fifth last year. Pennsylvania edged out Ohio to move up one spot into eighth position, pushing Ohio down one spot from last year to ninth place.

The budget approved by lawmakers for FY12 includes $15 million in research grant money for three Kansas universities to expand programs in emerging industry sectors as proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback and allocates $10.5 million annually for an initiative to enhance engineering education and increase the number of qualified engineers in the state.

Gov. Dave Heineman's proposal to support innovation, research and product development in Nebraska's small businesses and institutions of higher education was passed with unanimous support in the legislature. Lawmakers also approved an angel tax credit for investments in high-tech companies and a measure to create an internship program matching college students with businesses as part of the governor's Talent and Innovation Agenda (see the Jan. 19, 2011 issue of the Digest).

To ensure funding is available in future years for students who complete a more rigorous high school curriculum focused on math and science, the legislature set aside $400 million for performance-based scholarships in the capital budget. The FY12 operating budget also includes $6 million in first-year funding for the program, which will be available to high school students graduating in 2011.

The Slovenian parliament recently approved the Resolution on the Research and Innovation Strategy of Slovenia 2011-2020, a comprehensive strategy to establish "a contemporary research and innovation system that will ensure a higher quality of life within the country." According to the UNESCO Science Report, Slovenia is drastically ahead of their counterparts in Southeastern Europe.

Getting venture capitalists to invest their limited dollars in a particular business is difficult. Entrepreneurs must aggressively pursue potential investors and use every means at their disposal to pitch their business as a future revenue generator. A recent academic article attempts to explain the role that patenting and investment by the entrepreneur's family and friends play in this interplay between investor and investee.

Created as the successor to two longstanding and accomplished tech-based economic development organizations — the Washington Technology Center (WTC) and the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI) — Innovate Washington will serve as the state's primary agency responding to tech transfer needs and strengthening university-industry partnerships. Innovate Washington also will coordinate the state's clean energy initiatives.

Speaking at the U.S. Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Southwest Region Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Albuquerque, N.M., U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez today unveiled a new website to connect Venture Development Organizations (VDO) in America's regions and accelerate economic development efforts that promote growth and job creation. The Regional Innovation Acceleration Network (RIAN) will bring VDOs together to share best practices and leverage resources that will strengthen regional economic ecosystems.

Lawmakers added another five years to the life of a bioscience program established in 2008 to encourage bioscience research and speed technology commercialization (see the May 14, 2008 issue of the Digest). Gov. John Hickenlooper this week signed into law HB 1283 extending the state's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant program through July 2018.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a five-year strategic plan for the agency, focused on education and research impact. Under the goals set in the report, NSF would weigh intellectual merit and the broader impacts of research more heavily when evaluating research proposals. The agency also would increase its use of resources, such as the STAR METRICS project, which provide a clearer assessment of the impact of science investments. Read the plan...

Over the last three years, 87 percent of companies have grown their product portfolio through incremental innovations, according to an Ernst & Young report — Competing for Growth Approximately 75 percent of new products developed are intended for consumers in the established markets of the developed world. Respondents, however, envision the new global shifting its focus away from these established markets towards the emerging markets. Seventy percent of respondents indicated that their companies are becoming more global due to the recession.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program reauthorizations may face a bleak future due to a recent vote on the Senate floor. Senator Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA) said, "Today was our last chance to reauthorize these important programs and provide some continuity to the small businesses that depend on them.