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The state technology-based economic development community is losing one of its most dynamic and longest-serving leaders by the end of the year. Jamie Kenworthy, executive director of the Alaska Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF), has announced his retirement effective December 1.

Enterprise Florida has named Darrell Kelley as its new president and chief executive officer effective August 5. Kelley currently is the president of the defense-related technology incubator, MILCOM Technologies.

Enterprise Florida has named Darrell Kelley as its new president and chief executive officer effective August 5. Kelley currently is the president of the defense-related technology incubator, MILCOM Technologies.

Two of North Carolina's state-created non-profit science and technology centers announced new leaders last week. David Rizzo is the new president and chief executive officer of MCNC. and Leslie Alexandre will serve in the same position for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

Matthew McClorey is the new president and chief executive officer of Kansas Innovation Corp. McClorey formerly served as vice president for business development & portfolio management at KTEC, a position now filled by Michael Peck.

In honor of Independence Day, no SSTI Weekly Digest will be published July 5.

SSTI, like other organizations, found few S&T winners in the Administration's FY 2006 federal budget proposal (download SSTI's special budget issue at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2005/FY06_Federal_Budget.pdf). Now, two organizations are sounding the alarm that the U.S.'s standing as the world leader in innovation is in danger of slipping, if it has not already begun.

An initiative aimed at creating 2,500 new jobs throughout New Hampshire will offer low-interest loans to companies who commit to creating new jobs or expanding their current employment base in the state.

Gov. Sonny Perdue recently announced the creation of the state's fourth Center of Innovation. Located in Augusta, the Life Sciences Innovation Center (LSIC) will assist with business incubation and securing matching grants for applied R&D with industry partners through the Georgia Research Alliance.

While wider market opportunities have led to increased exporting and lower costs for business operations in some Minnesota companies, others are facing difficult operational challenges as a result of the rapid integration of global business practices, according to a new Issue Brief from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Minnesota Technology, Inc.

The same benefits of higher education to society and individuals found on a national level also are evident at the individual state level and need to be taken into account in state policy discussions, including those on state funding, says a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).

Funding research and development (R&D) is risky business. Using the popular baseball analogies, venture capitalists count on one home run to make up for all of the strikeouts and pop flies. Public support for R&D in private firms, then, could be considered a gamble if policymakers are not patient or understanding of that risk. These programs also must be well managed, with an eye on the market or business aspect of any resulting technologies, to minimize the public's risk.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) data on the top 100 cities for NIH awards in FY 2003 indicates Boston reasserted its leadership over New York for the top spot by increasing its spread by $401 million. Philadelphia and Baltimore remain in third and fourth place for the second year.

The University of Toledo and its partners are seeking a director for the Toledo Science and Technology Corridor. The Corridor is an initiative to enhance the region's innovation-based economy through investments that promote linkages and collaboration among academic institutions, business industries and government entities.

While tight state budgets have slowed the number of tech-based economic development programs being created by states, Kentucky and Oregon have both approved new laws designed to encourage the growth of technology companies.

Publisher's Note: While more than 40 states are working to encourage the creation and growth of biotechnology companies, as we have said over the years, the U.S. is competing in a global economy. This is just as true in technology as in textiles. The fact that the recently concluded BIO annual conference was held in Toronto only underscores the point. Over the years, the SSTI Weekly Digest has featured selected international initiatives as a gentle reminder to policymakers that the U.S.

A study released by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University in Boston is one of the more recent efforts to examine all aspects of U.S. states and their economies. Entitled State Competitiveness Report 2001, the study defines competitiveness as the ability to ensure and sustain a high level of per capita income and its continued growth.

Videoconferencing, videotelephony, Internet-based audio and video entertainment, local wireless data services and telecommuting — all are part of the "last mile" broadband services that Charles Ferguson assesses in a recent working paper for The Brookings Institution.

The National Science Foundation has released a new set of statistical tables that show research and development (R&D) funding levels, reported by 31 federal agencies for the last three fiscal years.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Tenants of the Sante Fe Business Incubator have seen their one-story building increase from 10,000 sq. ft. to 30,000 sq. ft., according to a story by the Albuquerque Journal. The expansion is part of a $2.5 million project funded by the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Regional Development Corporation and other agencies.

The latest in SSTI's annual "Tech Talkin' Govs" series. Five earlier installments of this 2005 review of governors' legislative priorities concerning tech-based economic development are available through the Digest online: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/digest.htm

Michigan

As the only state to have a net job loss in 2004, Michigan's political leadership recognizes something must change. The state's shifting economy, from one defined principally by its manufacturing sector to one that derives growth equally from knowledge-based industries, is at the center of the matter. Michigan policymakers are challenged to create innovative proposals that preserve one facet of the economy while broadening the other.

A recent proposal by Senate Republicans in Iowa to eliminate the state income tax for residents under the age of thirty has brought the issue of the out-migration of young, educated adults once again to the forefront.

To spur job creation in Ontario, the provincial government recently announced two initiatives focusing on innovation and regional economic growth -- the new Fuel Cell Innovation Program and the newly refocused Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).