Last week, Gov. Eliot Spitzer gave New York’s first ever “State of the Upstate” address in Buffalo, outlining his administration’s $1 billion Upstate Revitalization Fund. Among the components intended to encourage economic growth in the northern part of the state are:
With a budget management plan for the current fiscal year making its way through the state legislature, Gov. Janet Napolitano announced increased funding and borrowing for university programs and research initiatives in her fiscal year 2009 budget recommendation.
Funding for several TBED-focused initiatives aimed at increasing the state’s biotech portfolio is prominent in Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal year 2009 budget proposal. Under the recommendation, stem cell research, biotechnology and nanotechnology are targeted for investments to grow the state’s economy, building on the actions of the 2007 legislative session (see the April 16, 2007 issue of the Digest).
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius delivered her State of the State Address last week proposing new initiatives and continued funding for several TBED programs emphasizing education and innovation as key to the state’s future economy.
Highlights from State of the State addresses delivered in Alaska and Hawaii are included in the third installment of the Tech Talkin’ series.
Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin, State of the State Address, Jan. 15, 2008
Although the national venture capital investment continues to expand, many parts of the country still lack access to reliable sources of business capital. Even in states that rank in the top tier for venture investment, there are often insufficient capital resources to support businesses at every stage of development.
While many universities offer business plan competitions and programs in entrepreneurship and commercialization, fewer opportunities are available to learn about the capital side of the equation. Last week, however, two major conferences invited students to learn more about venture capital (VC) investment and emerging trends in the venture industry.
Each year, the National Science Foundation releases updated information for their Federal Funds for Research and Development series. SSTI has prepared a table illustrating the amount of federal R&D obligations provided to industry in each state from 2000 to 2004, the most recent years for which statistics are available. Additionally, the relative ranking of each state is displayed for every year in this period.
Tom Ballard was named director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Partnerships Directorate, formerly known as Technology Transfer and Economic Development. Ballard had been serving as the organization's interim director since August 2007.
The Howard County Economic Development Authority appointed Larry Collins as a new technology manager and as executive director of the new Howard Technology Council.
Tom Ballard was named director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Partnerships Directorate, formerly known as Technology Transfer and Economic Development. Ballard had been serving as the organization's interim director since August 2007.
The Howard County Economic Development Authority appointed Larry Collins as a new technology manager and as executive director of the new Howard Technology Council.
The Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest hired Diane Durance as its new executive director, succeeding Art DeMonte, now a full-time business consultant. Durance formerly was president of the Ann Arbor IT Zone.
William "Chip" Farmer was named interim director of the Greater Richmond Technology Council. Farmer replaces Robert Stolle, who left in December 2007 to join Core Consulting, a business and information technology consulting firm.
The Indiana Business Incubator Society announced its plans to become a formal organization.
The Illinois Technology Development Alliance (ITDA) this week promoted John Noel to become ITDA's permanent president. Noel had been serving as interim president over the past 15 months.
Lisa Porter was named the first director of the new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. Porter, NASA's associate administrator of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, said she will leave the agency in February.
Karen Sievewright is the new director of research and analysis at the Toronto Region Research Alliance. Sievewright replaces George Tolomiczenko, who left to become the executive director of research and scientific liaison at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada.
Brenda Wyland will join the Research & Technology Park Inc. at North Dakota State University as the incubator manager, effective Feb. 1, 2008.
Deal’s Impact on Texas Operations Remains Unclear
If you follow college sports, you know all how strong rivalries can be between certain schools. Bragging rights after a football game spill over into competitions over everything. Those that cross neighboring state borders seem to have even more edge sometimes.
While legislators did not agree to all of Gov. Linda Lingle’s Innovation Initiative – including a $100 million innovation fund - some of the governor’s original concepts emerged from several other bills at the close of the 2007 legislative session last week.
In an era in which many companies maintain a web presence before their first technology hits the market, broadband access has become an essential ingredient for high-tech business and growth. In many states, however, the need for broadband access has widened the high-tech achievement gap between urban and rural areas.
Region Looks to Broadband Access and IT Usage
The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) lacks the access, awareness and affordability of broadband Internet service – a direct bearing on the region’s ability to participate successfully in the national and global economies, a new report from DRA and the Southern Growth Policies Board finds.
A continuing concern of many TBED organizations is the departure of university graduates from their communities, leaving at various stages of their lives and taking their talent and education with them. The resulting "brain drain" from this exodus leaves many states with the frustration of paying the costs to educate its citizens, but not reaping the benefits of an educated workforce.
Manufacturing firms come in all shapes and sizes. Little ones. Big ones. Ones that need more labor from their employees to assemble components. Ones that need more R&D from their employees to design products.
Last week’s release by the National Science Foundation (NSF) of the results of the 2005 survey of academic R&D expenditures reveals the nation’s investment in research through its universities and colleges rose 5.8 percent in fiscal year 2005. Academic research expenditures for FY 2005 totaled $45.75 billion.