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Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100 million New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries. Three foundations, Ford, Kellogg and Kresge – each created from the personal fortunes made by some of the founders from the state’s historic economic bases – have contributed $25 million toward the effort. Additional support ranging from $1.5 million to $10 million is being provided by seven other community foundations.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House of Representatives approved patent reform legislation that would represent the most significant reform of the U.S. patent system since the Bayh-Dole Act. The Patent Reform Act of 2007 (HR 1908) would move the U.S. to a first-to-file patent system rather than the first-to-invent system that has long made the U.S. an international outlier in intellectual property (IP) protection.

Public universities in most states compete with other state priorities for appropriations each year or two-year budget cycle. With the state’s fiscal year ending Sept. 30, no new budget passed by the legislature and a projected state revenue deficit of more than $1.5 billion for 2008, universities in Michigan may feel greater pressure to assert their importance to the state’s economy.

Virginia could capitalize on its strong energy R&D foundation of universities, federal laboratories and businesses through coordination among research activities and by creating a consistent funding stream for federal R&D funding and technology commercialization, finds a new state energy plan released last week.

 

As with every public policy or program to promote economic development, TBED initiatives can fall victim to critics’ concerns regarding the value of these approaches if performance measurement is not an integral component of your efforts. Fair assessment of impact, though, remains a thorny issue for many TBED strategies because of the early stage of investment (e.g. support for university research, entrepreneurship education or even seed capital).

 

Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors Southern initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region through its Innovator Awards. The Awards are presented annually to one organization in each of Southern Growth’s member states ­ Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Congress may be able to use a Continuing Resolution to keep most of the federal government open after the fiscal year ends Sept. 30, but the Technology Administration (TA) will be closing forever this Sunday.

 

Fans of sound public policy may have celebrated last year’s complete elimination of congressional earmarks on the FY 2007 budget. With the rapid growth over the past decade in the percent of discretionary federal spending arriving with strings attached, the idea there would be no more multi-million-dollar bridges to nowhere, indoor rainforests on the great plains and other gems seemed too good to be true. And it was, apparently, as draft FY08 budget bills surfacing in both chambers reveal.

 

With the first round of state funding not expected until April 2008, private foundations have stepped in to provide a jumpstart for the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF). Last week, six Washington-based research teams were awarded more than $4.5 million in private funding to support projects that improve health care quality and capitalize on economic development opportunities within the state.

 

Last year, nearly 17 million international passengers passed through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Many of those passengers were businesspeople who rely on convenient access to international flights to keep their companies in touch with partners, customers, divisions and markets all over the world. International flights out of LAX have played a key role in positioning the Los Angeles region as the largest manufacturing center in the U.S. and as a national high-tech leader.

The Trent Lott National Center of Excellence for Economic Development & Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce its inaugural Excellence in Technology Based Economic Development Research award will be made to Dr. Edward Feser on Oct. 19, 2007, at the SSTI 11th Annual Conference in Baltimore.

 

Early registration is nearly over and the conference hotel is full, but you still have the opportunity to join representatives from 47 states and Canadian provinces at SSTI's 11th Annual Conference in Baltimore, Oct. 18-19, 2007 -- the nation's premier gathering for the tech-based economic development field.

Only a dozen seats remain available for new registrations to attend SSTI's 11th Annual Conference, which will be held Oct. 18-19 in Baltimore's fun-packed Inner Harbor. That's 12 seats, not a baker's dozen of 13. Given the two-week lead time before the event, SSTI strongly anticipates we will not be able to accommodate walk-in registrations the day of the conference. We encourage those of you making arrangements or planning to attend to register as soon as possible.

Just a few short months ago, many states were wrapping up their 2007 legislative sessions and preparing for the start of a new fiscal year. Laying the groundwork for a successful 2008 session, two governors recently announced major TBED initiatives that will be presented to lawmakers in the coming months.