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U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V has been appointed Director of the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), effective Jan. 5, 2004.

Carol Ann Dykes is the new president of the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers.

The new position of vice president of research and health services at the University of South Carolina will be filled by Harris Pastides.

Although technology sector employment is down slightly from previous years, Washington firms received twice the aggregate amount of venture capital (VC) funding compared to last year, and the state remains above the national average in educational attainment, according to the sixth annual Washington State Index of Innovation and Technology.

Republican members of the House Committee on Science introduced last week three bills designed to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness by improving math and science education and research.

High speed Internet access, global positioning systems and other information and communication technologies have revolutionized urban and regional economic development, both planning and practice. Communities willing and able to make the appropriate investment decisions regarding information improve their abilities to compete.

Perhaps in no field more than biotechnology are the roles of alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and licensing so influential in determining the future success of a start-up firm. Pharmaceuticals are perhaps the best example of this. There aren't hundreds of big pharma companies around the world; there are perhaps a dozen, and, thanks to television advertising for meds, most are practically household names. To make it as a young biopharma business, most plan to be licensed up or bought out.

[Publisher's note: In last week's Digest, we prepared a table showing what I thought was per capita federal R&D spending by state for 2003. Some readers who are more astute than I questioned the data, and in reviewing how I used the NSF data, I discovered that I had done so incorrectly. My apologies to all for this error. We have removed the incorrect table from our website.

By a narrow margin, Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a constitutional amendment that would have permitted the state to issue up to $500 million in bonds over 10 years to fund technology-based economic development projects. Defeated 51 percent to 49 percent, Issue 1 would have made up the final component of Gov. Bob Taft's proposed 10-year, $1.6 billion Third Frontier project. The remaining $1.1 billion is unaffected by Tuesday's vote.

State budget woes will continue into fiscal year 2005, reports the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. According to the five-page A Brief Overview of State Fiscal Conditions and the Effects of Federal Policies on State Budgets, FY05 estimates released by 21 state budget offices project a combined total shortfall of up to $33 billion — or 9 percent of those states' expenditures.

To stimulate business development and job growth in rural areas, officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) signed on Oct. 31 a collaborative agreement to create the Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP). The initiative will allow newly formed venture capital investment companies to leverage private capital funds with government financial assistance and to obtain both government and private grant resources for technical assistance.

Coupling manufacturing's sharp employment drop with the perennial struggles of a rural economy and the current economic downturn can cause massive struggles for many of the country's sparsely populated areas. The closure or significant downsizing of one manufacturing plant can be terminal for a small, rural town.

With the support of Maryland's Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), BrainChild Maryland was launched this week to identify and capitalize on Maryland's most promising new technologies. The for-profit company will identify university and federal lab technologies that have the greatest potential for becoming viable products and services.

The process of registering trademarks in multiple countries became simpler on Nov. 2 when an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) entered into force in the U.S.

Young, single, college-educated people are moving to large metropolitan areas, often to central cities — a trend that defies the general population’s outward migration from the same areas, according to a report based on Census 2000 data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today.

Based on the Census report and accompanying data, SSTI has prepared two summary tables presenting net migration figures for the 1995-2000 for each state and for the 276 Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the U.S. For each table, the jurisdictions are ranked by numerical gain or loss in migration.

The second installment to Walkin' the Tech Talkin' Gov Walk (see the April 17 issue of the Digest) covers the outcomes of the 2006 legislative sessions within four states, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii and Kentucky. Following is a synopsis of bills passed and budget appropriations relevant to tech-based economic development and the priorities outlined in respective gubernatorial addresses at the beginning of 2006.

The annual Earth Day celebrations provide an opportunity for the least environmentally friendly corporations and politicians in America to appear green by sponsoring litter pick-ups or standing in front of hydrogen fueled cars. More often, however, the U.S. policy debate sees a "jobs versus environment" battle, or most recently, cheaper gas versus environmental integrity.

A significant increase in venture-backed exits is signaling a new phase in the evolution of the global venture capital industry, according to a report released May 3 by Ernst & Young. Venture-backed company exits grew in value and number in 2005, as the U.S.

It's probably the case that not all of your travel over the next few months will be for personal vacation. Conference excursions can stimulate new ideas, add to your professional growth, and establish or strengthen opportunities for collaboration. In addition to reserving Oct. 31-Nov. 2 for SSTI's 10th Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, we encourage you to check out our web calendar of events to scan more than 140 additional opportunities for professional development.

With preparations for SSTI's 10th Annual Conference in Oklahoma City on Oct. 31-Nov. 2 well underway, we have received many questions from local, regional and state organizations wanting to host the premier event for the tech-based economic development (TBED) profession in 2007. Because of the increased interest, SSTI has bumped up its schedule for selecting the 2007 site. We are accepting nominations of host organizations and locations for SSTI's 11th Annual Conference until July 30, 2006.

With a $310 million commitment passed by the state legislature and as much as $200 million in additional support from the county government, the California-based Scripps Research Institute has agreed to locate its first branch or satellite office in northwest Palm Beach County, Fla. In return for the financial support, Scripps is to work toward employing as many as 545 workers on the site by 2011.

In 2010, the end of Gov. Mike Round's second term – should South Dakota voters choose to grant him one – residents of the state will have several precise ways to measure whether or not he delivered on his economic development goals. Gov. Round's 2010 Initiative, released Oct. 15 at Mount Rushmore, is built on a few, very specific and quantifiable goals in tourism revenues, entrepreneurship, and R&D. They include:

America has fallen alarmingly behind other industrialized countries in access to and participation in college, which encompasses most education and training beyond high school, according to a study recently released by the Education Commission of the States (ECS).

Does it matter whether a start-up takes money from a large venture firm or a small venture firm? According to the just-released VentureOne Deal Terms Report, the answer is a resounding yes.