With an overall projected reserve of about $1.2 billion at the end of the 2011-13 biennium, North Dakota is well positioned to invest in growing economic sectors during a time when most states across the country are cutting programs to fill massive budget deficits. Gov. Jack Dalrymple outlined a budget for the next two years that would capitalize on the state's institutions of higher education and energy industry.
U.S. students perform just slightly above or below average in the three categories (reading, math and science) of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) according to a new Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report. The report, Highlights From PISA 2009: Performance of U. S. 15-Year-Old Students in Reading, Mathematics, and Science Literacy in an International Context, provides an assessment of students' educational achievement and their ability to apply that knowledge in real world contexts.
An interagency government initiative was launched last week to promote the nation's renewable energy sector, helping to meet the goals of the National Export Initiative and President Obama's challenge to become the leading exporter of clean energy technologies. Seven government agencies, including the Department of Energy, will lead market research and discovery efforts such as identifying U.S. manufactured energy efficiency products likely to be competitive in global markets and exploring the creation of guides for foreign buyers listing technologies and services available from U.S.
The Philadelphia region increased retention of non-native students (students who are not originally from Philadelphia but attended undergraduate or graduate school in region) by 165% from 2004 to 2010 due to an increase in regional involvement opportunities for students (e.g., volunteer opportunities, internships, off-campus work opportunities and local cultural/entertainment activities), according to a new survey by Campus Philly.
The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) is asking for support in its effort to amend the current federal tax bill to extend the bond finance provisions of the Recovery Act. These provisions include the Build America Bonds, the Recovery Zone Bonds, the elimination of the alternative minimum tax on tax-exempt bonds, extending the Federal Home Loan Bank authority to issue letters of credit on tax-exempt non-housing bonds and continuing the relief offered to bank-qualification 501(c)3 bonds. The Senate version of the bill, which did not extend the provisions, passed on Wednesday.
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), Community Innovation Services, is seeking a group manager for research. The EI2 Community Innovation Services team supports communities with economic and community development research, analysis and planning. Projects range from strategic planning to workforce analysis, from fiscal impact analysis of new or expanding firms to sustainable development strategies for communities of all sizes.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama signed the reauthorization of the COMPETES Act, extending the federal competitiveness initiative that provides funding for numerous science, STEM education and commercialization programs. Though the final bill represents a significantly scaled-back version of the legislation passed in May by the House, the final version will allow the programs introduced in the COMPETES Act to continue for another three years.
Connecticut has certified its first fund manager under the state's revised Insurance Reinvestment Tax Credit program, which has now expanded beyond its focus on insurance-related companies to support early stage and high-tech firms. Advantage Capital Partners has raised $72 million to invest under the revamped program. Fund managers may invest in any Connecticut-based business. One quarter of the investments must support green technology firms, and three percent must go toward pre-seed stage projects.
In "Advantage: How American Innovation can Overcome the Asian Challenge," Adam Segal contends the U.S. will continue to maintain a comparative advantage in innovation over Asia due to the "software" of innovation. The "software" of innovation revolves around the political social and institutional factors that move ideas from the lab to the market place. America's cultural values of individualism, social mobility, entrepreneurship, limited barriers to market access and low risk-aversion provide it a significant advantage over our Asian competitors.
Communities that are well-loved by their residents are more likely to experience strong economic growth and long-term prosperity , according to a new Gallup and Knight Foundation study noted by C2ER. Researchers have hypothesized that the relationship is causal, since community attachment can drive residents to make long-term, local investments and pursue other activities that bolster economic growth, such as entrepreneurship.
Ann Arbor SPARK is seeking qualified applicants to become their next CEO. The CEO will be responsible for continuing the momentum and positioning SPARK as a key leader in economic development. The ideal candidate has demonstrated P&L experience, preferably as a CEO; can build and manage a high performance team; has outstanding communication skills; has a strong financial and fundraising skillset and experience base; is able to quickly and effectively develop strong partnerships and relationships.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will convene a special session to focus on job creation proposals centered on her effort to replace the state's Department of Commerce with the public-private partnership she established through executive order last year (see the July 14, 2010 issue of the Digest). Along with legislative approval of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), the governor is calling for $25 million to launch the Arizona Competes Fund, providing tax incentives for businesses locating in the state.
Climbing back from a deep recession without over burdening taxpayers is a main focus of this year's legislative session for many states, leaving little room for bold initiatives needed to position state and regional economies for future growth. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, however, is asking lawmakers to look beyond the state's current conditions and invest in economic sectors he says are likely to create high-quality jobs and enhance the state's "economic momentum."
The Iowa Innovation Council, a 29-member state advisory board, released a strategic plan focused on entrepreneurship and targeted industries (e.g., advanced manufacturing, biosciences and information technology) to grow the state's innovation economy. The council believes this plan will create high-skilled, high-wage jobs through several new initiatives including:
In April, University of Hawaii's President M.R.C. Greenwood appointed an eight-member council to develop a strategy that would increase innovation and technology transfers throughout the university system. The council recently announced a drafted of four recommendations that would help the university system to "achieve a high-value economy in Hawaii." The recommendations build and approve upon the system's existing research capacity. The recommendation also focuses heavily on creating an innovation ecosystem built upon entrepreneurship and university-private partnerships.
Following last week's announcement of the Startup America initiative, the National Economic Council, the Council of Economic Advisors and the Office of Science and Technology Policy have released the details of its innovation strategy.
Vermont Gov. Pete Shumlin has released a jobs package that includes a number of initiatives that could enhance the state's innovation economy. The jobs bill calls for a new creative economy office that would focus on technology efforts, a mentoring program for entrepreneurs, a statewide internship program, and a tax credit for companies that hire STEM graduates. Gov. Shumlin also has renewed his predecessor's pledge to extend full wireless voice and data coverage across the state.
A revamped version of the $8 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) could be used to expand broadband access in underserved areas. On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a plan to redirect the portion of the USF that provides incentives to extend phone service to high-cost areas to instead support high-speed data networks. A new program, the Connect America Fund, would consolidate several USF programs, eliminate some of the programs' inefficiencies and increase the availability of affordable broadband service.
With support from the Greater Cleveland Partnership, NorTech (the Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition) is accepting applications for the two positions below:
Following up on President Barack Obama's State of the Union pledge to focus on American competitiveness and innovation, the White House announced the Startup America initiative, a program to support and celebrate U.S. entrepreneurs. On Monday, a panel of cabinet members, White House officials, executives and economic development leaders provided an outline of the public/private effort, which has already generated $400 million in private commitments.
Focusing on job growth and promoting the state for new business development, Gov. Brian Sandoval announced his plans to reorganize the Commission on Economic Development into a public-private partnership and increase funding for the state's economic development efforts by an additional $2.2 million in general fund appropriations each year. The governor also included in his 2011-13 biennial budget $10 million in FY12 for a proposed Nevada Catalyst Fund designed as a closing fund to bring new businesses to the state.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to award $20 million in grants to support the construction of new or expanded scientific research facilities. The NIST Construction Grant Program (NCGP) provides competitively awarded, cost-shared grants (non-federal cost sharing of at least 20%) to support construction and expansion projects including laboratories, test facilities, measurement facilities, research computing facilities and observatories.
The Technology Innovation Program (TIP), a program within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), released its Three-Year Plan covering proposed grant competition topics through FY 2014. Future TIP grant competitions may target specific research topics within eight areas of critical national need: civil infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, health care, water resources, complex networks and sustainability.
In March, Canada's Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE) will begin a pilot program designed to reduce the time and cost of bringing new information and communications technology (ICT) products, services and protocols to market. The Digital Accelerator for Innovation and Research (DAIR), a virtual research and development environment, will enable small and medium-sized ICT firms to create complex, large-scale products and demonstrate them to customers without building a costly, in-house R&D infrastructure.
President Barack Obama called for a renewed commitment to American innovation, education and infrastructure to restore the country's competitive edge in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday. The administration's "plan to win the future" includes stronger support for research and high-tech businesses in order to maintain leadership in a global economy dominated by technology-intensive industries.