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Since the start of the recession, the strongest performing metropolitan areas are located in the southern midsection of the U.S., especially in Texas, and around upstate New York and the Missouri River Valley, according to the most recent edition of the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor series. The brief examines each of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. using 3Q 2009 data gauging changes in employment levels, unemployment rates, gross metro products, and housing prices.

U.S. venture capital fundraising and venture-backed exits improved marginally in the fourth quarter of 2009, despite having a very slow year overall, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Venture fundraising increased to $3.8 billion in the last quarter, an 82.6 percent increase over the previous quarter but still far short of fundraising levels in recent years. While investors expect activity to grow in 2010, most predict that the industry will remain smaller than its scale in the 1990s and 2000s, with fewer firms and increasing focus on late-stage deals.

Give a star academic researcher a full year to reflect on what the world understands so far about regional innovation and city-region dynamics and to offer suggestions to guide future economic development initiatives to encourage growth and the results are valuable for both his homeland of Canada and its southern neighbor, the U.S. The Conference Board of Canada named University of Toronto professor David A. Wolfe its 2009 CIBC Scholar in Residence in May of 2008.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The first three installments are available in the Jan 13, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 Digests.

Replenishing the Innovation Incentive Fund and investing in space industry, public research, and green energy technologies are among Gov. Charlie Crist's FY11 budget recommendations to grow the state's innovation economy and establish Florida as a pre-eminent global hub. The governor's budget includes $100 million for the Innovation Incentive Fund, which was established in 2006 to attract R&D companies and create high-wage jobs. The fund was depleted in 2008 (see the May 7, 2008 issue of the Digest).

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is among a list of 16 state agencies slated for consolidation in Gov. Brad Henry's budget proposal, which he says will result in cost savings of $5.3 million. Under the proposal, OCAST would be moved to the Department of Commerce, along with Aeronautics, Indian Affairs and the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. Funding for OCAST would be reduced by 3 percent, for a total $19.8 million in FY11. OCAST provides funding and resources to help businesses develop and commercialize technologies.

Gov. Jodi Rell last week unveiled her FY11 midterm budget adjustments, eliminating or reducing funding for several TBED initiatives in the second year of the biennium. At the same time, the governor proposed an economic recovery package that includes a lending program for small businesses, a student loan forgiveness program to retain green collar workers, and a sales tax exemption for green energy industries.

International patent filings fell by 4.5 percent in 2009 with sharper than average declines experienced by some industrialized countries and growth in a number of East Asian countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. With 45,790 applications, the U.S. filing rate dropped 11.4 percent in 2009, but maintained its top ranking by filing just under a third of all international applications.

Despite the depth of the economic recession, preliminary estimates by the National Science Foundation indicate that U.S. R&D expenditures totaled $397.6 billion in 2008, up from $372.5 billion in 2007. This increase in overall national R&D performance represented growth in 2008 of 6.7 percent over the 2007 level. It also substantially exceeded the pace of growth in U.S. gross domestic product over the same year, which was 3.3 percent.

On the heels of his State of the Union announcement that the administration would push aggressively to drive clean energy innovation, President Barack Obama unveiled a three-part action plan to accelerate the development of biofuels and clean coal technology. The plan includes new rules concerning the national renewable fuel standard, incentives for biomass production and the creation of an interagency group to devise a federal strategy on carbon capture and storage.

Arden Bement, head of the National Science Foundation since his appointment as acting director in early 2004 and permanent director in November of that year, will become director of the new Global Policy Research Institute at Purdue University, effective June 1. Bement served as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 2001 to 2004.

NSF directorships are Presidential appointments with six-year terms. Bement's term would have expired in November, 2010. The White House has yet to name Bement's successor.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking qualified applicants for the director of the Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The director will serve as the executive responsible for managing and leading this critical program for NIST. The TIP was established as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L.

Sandy Baruah has been selected to become the president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, effective March 15.

John Collar, the chief executive officer and president of the Colorado BioScience Association, resigned this week to pursue other business opportunities. Denise Brown has been selected serve as the organization's interim executive director while a search is conducted for Collar's replacement.

As in any budget there are winners and losers, but for the tech-based economic development community, there are far more winners than losers in the Obama Administration's FY11 budget proposal. Percentages referenced in this summary reflect the change from FY10 appropriations.

Download the report in pdf format.

Among the winners:

Tech Talkin' Govs, Part V
The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Tennessee. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 13, Jan. 20, Jan. 27, and Feb. 10 Digests.

Charged with developing a replicable and sustainable model for coordinated federal and regional efforts that foster and use regional innovation clusters, a group of federal agencies announced its first pilot project anchored around a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded Innovation Hub. The project, called the Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative, will develop, expand, and commercialize innovative energy efficient building systems technologies, designs, and best practices for national and international distribution.

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Tennessee. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 13, Jan. 20, Jan. 27, and Feb. 10 Digests.

While nearly all of the economic indicators for the country were falling rapidly, the commercialization of university-generated technologies quietly continued to move into the market place at an increasing pace, according to the latest survey conducted by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). Highlights from the AUTM U.S. Licensing Activity Survey Summary: FY2008 include:

Internet search giant Google has announced that the company is planning to build and test extremely high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations in the U.S. Participating communities would have access to fiber-to-the-home connections similar to those that connect many research universities. Google plans to consider communities for the pilot program based on a number of factors, including the level of community support, local resources and regulatory issues and the current level of broadband services available.

Last week the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) released its strategic agenda for accelerating the growth of the state's green economy, distributing action items among four topical groupings: advanced manufacturing, energy efficiency, innovation cultivation, and wind power. A Roadmap for Advancing the Green Economy in Rhode Island was produced from a series of roundtables over the past year with 120 representatives from state government, universities, industry, labor, and other economic development nonprofit entities.

Two bills aiming to consolidate state agencies and establish incentives for job creation were introduced last week by Gov. Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray. Gov. Patrick's bill would merge the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation with the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation and the Economic Stabilization Trust to form a new Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation funded by a $25 million capital bond authorization and $15 million from the Emerging Technology Fund.

Development of a new graduate energy sciences and engineering program at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) that intends to create 200 faculty appointments for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers is underway following near unanimous passage of a higher education bill last month during a special legislative session. The measure was approved 32-0 in the Senate and 93-2 in the House. In support of the new program, Gov.

The National Economic Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) are asking for public input for a new initiative intended to address the challenges of the 21st century. The initiative, which would be similar to the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering program, would help catalyze innovations to spur economic growth, encourage multidisciplinary collaborations and improve STEM education. Responses are needed to help identify specific challenges, potential partners and models for the program.

A plan to provide loans and specialized training to foster entrepreneurship recently was announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The two-pronged, $43 million strategy consists of a loan partnership between credit unions and Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers with specialized training provided through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's FastTrac NewVenture Program.

Nearly all components of a comprehensive legislative package set forth by Gov. Bob McDonnell that would provide tax credits for green jobs, invest in renewable energy R&D, and support the biotechnology and life sciences industries have passed at least one chamber in the legislature at this point. The governor also introduced amendments to the 2010-12 budget proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine that would provide an additional $50 million for economic development initiatives.