Search

Innovation, flexibility, speed to market, and closeness to the customer are the common characteristics shared by successful small and medium manufacturers (SMMs), says a new report from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The report reveals 15 best practices that are followed by successful SMMs and identifies challenges faced by manufacturers in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released Geographic Area Statistics: 2004, a report that details manufacturing statistics collected from the 2004 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). The report provides data on the number of all manufacturing employees, number of production workers, all employees payroll, value-added by manufactures, cost of materials, and value of shipments by state.

It only seems natural that SSTI celebrate a decade of convening the premiere professional development event for the nation's tech-based economic development community in a state that, for nearly 20 years, has been a pioneer for innovative approaches to transform regional economies — Oklahoma. SSTI's 10th annual conference and pre-conference intensive workshops will be held at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

With China and India on the doorstep and U.S. universities facing an attrition of science and math students, America must do more if it wishes to produce the well trained scientific and technical workforce necessary to remain competitive in world markets. That is the overarching theme of a new national education and innovation initiative proposed by the Association of American Universities (AAU).

While it is safe to say that new medicines, electronics, educational tools and other inventions have improved the lives of countless people, a new project by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) describes more than 100 such breakthroughs that probably would not exist if not for the practice of technology transfer.

Innovation and tech entrepreneurship take money — different amounts at different stages with different strings. As a result, increasing access to capital is an objective of many state and local technology-based economic development programs.

Approximately $350 million in grants recently awarded by one of the nation's leading biodefense research agencies are intended to lessen the effects of any future bioterror attack. Administered by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the funding will be spread over five years for establishing eight Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCEs).

Specialization may be the key to successful economic development strategies based on the life sciences, suggests the September issue of the fedgazette, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. This month's entire e-zine focuses on two issues of importance to many state and local tech-based economic development professionals — biotechnology and clusters.

The availability and use of equity capital for early-stage investments varies greatly across the country. Seen as an integral component of most tech-based economic development, access to venture capital (VC) is on the agendas of several states — but several different approaches are used to address the problem. Recent announcements in four states illustrate the point:

A new study examining the post-Sept. 11 economy of New York argues the city's traditional approach to economic development, one which has banked on a few favored sectors such as financial and business services, is outdated and should be reconceived.

Nineteen projects figure to share in the $23 million awarded last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for biomass research, development and demonstration activities.

Two new grants, each greater than $1 million, have been awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the societal implications of nanotechnology — the emerging discipline that seeks to control and manipulate matter on a molecular scale. The grants are the largest awards the foundation has ever devoted exclusively to research in societal implications.

Tight budgets are causing many state and local tech-based economic development (TBED) programs to delay new initiatives, even forcing some to scale back on the services already provided. But mottos like "getting more bang for the buck" and "doing more with less" are fast becoming tired, transparent clichés.

Through an editorial glitch between browsers, the two external links were inoperable in the lead story in last week's issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest, "President Wants Point Person on Manufacturing." Corrected links are available below and on the Web version of last week's issue (http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2003/090503.htm).

For the second year in a row, Florida cities dominate the Milken Institute's top 200 largest U.S. metropolitan areas in the ability to create and sustain jobs. The top performer, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, moved up 31 places from last year and is followed by last year's top scorer, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, and Naples-Marco Island, respectively.

To further accommodate and cater to fledgling biotechnology, high-tech and start-up companies, the University of Pennsylvania Science Center in Philadelphia recently announced plans to add 1.85 million sq. ft. through the construction of six new buildings with retail and parking components.

On Friday, the National Science Foundation (NSF) released Science & Engineering Indicators 2006, an update for the nation's most significant, quantitative and neutral assessment of the health of the U.S. and international science and engineering communities.

National R&D spending increased by $10.1 billion in fiscal year 2003, according to a recent National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief. The increase followed an $8.1 billion decrease in FY 2002 expenditures over the FY 2001 level, the data show.

Sometimes, the economic advantages of consolidating state and local initiatives addressing different elements of building tech-based economies outweighs any potential dilution of specific efforts. Other times, the addition of an entirely new entity is required to provide concentrated focus on specific needs or activities. Here are a few of the most recent examples of the realignment of the TBED community:

The National Governors Association (NGA) seeks a senior policy analyst with substantial expertise in technology-based economic development and the role state governments can play in promoting it.

President Bush announced on Monday that he has told Commerce Secretary Don Evans that he wants him to appoint an assistant secretary “to focus on the needs of manufacturers, to make sure our manufacturing job base is strong and vibrant.”  The President made the announcement saying, “I understand for a full recovery, to make sure people can find work, that manufacturing must do better...We’ve lost thousands of jobs in manufacturing, some of it because of productivity gains...but some of i

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $106.6 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) for FY 2004, according to the Modernization Forum. The Bush Administration had proposed funding MEP at $12.6 million, effectively eliminating the national program.

Manufacturers continue to shed thousands of American jobs — at a rate of 80,000 per month over the past three years, according to the New York Times. The realities of globalization are settling in as small and mid-sized manufacturers are hit hard with competition from around the world.

States cut aid to cities and towns by a total of $2.3 billion in the current fiscal year, according to a new report from the National League of Cities (NLC). Comparing 2004 to 2003 figures, the $2.3 billion in state cuts represents a 9.2 percent decline in state revenues for cities.

In a move to integrate technology and traditional learning, New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson introduced on Tuesday a four-year pilot program to bring laptop computers into classrooms. The program, Technology Promoting Student Excellence, is intended to provide wireless connectivity to all 7th-grade students and teachers from selected schools.