In an era of tight public budgets, sources of seed funding for early stage and developmental research projects with potential for commercialization is getting harder to come by. Many state initiatives to support these endeavors are subject to the same budget cuts as other areas, and small firms' interests in the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program are increasing pressure for these already competitive grants.
Each year, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is one of the most competitive for companies seeking federal research funding. The FY 2002 Phase I solicitation proved to be no different as the agency made only 12 award recommendations from the pool of 202 proposals submitted — an award percentage of only 5.94 percent.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced it intends to have almost $200,000 in fiscal year 2003 funds for new awards under the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) Program. Nominations to honor individuals and institutions are invited for the 2003 competition of these annual awards.
Bill Richardson, Governor-elect of New Mexico, has named Rick Homans as secretary of the state's Economic Development Department.
Fritz Bittenbender will become president of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association in December.
Bill Richardson, Governor-elect of New Mexico, has named Rick Homans as secretary of the state's Economic Development Department.
Partisan politics take a back seat when the nation's governors talk about the need for stronger national innovation policies. Ample proof of this is offered policy position statements approved at the two most recent meetings of the Western Governors' Association and the National Governors Association.
The yearly dollar amount of research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit claims grew twice as fast as company and other nonfederally funded R&D expenditures between 1990 and 2001, a new National Science Foundation (NSF) InfoBrief reports. In contrast, direct federal funding for industrial R&D declined through much of the 1990s, both in absolute terms and relative to industry-funded R&D.
As most practitioners know, measuring progress for tech-based economic development efforts can be difficult given the long lead time necessary for most research investments to yield results. Consequently, many programs rely on interim measures to evaluate a policy or program's impact.
Do women shy away from competition? Do men compete too much? In a recent working paper published by the National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER), economists Muriel Niederle and Lise Vesterlund answer yes to both questions after measuring performance and preferences of men and women in a controlled environment.
A community essentially has two options for strategies to diversify its economic base: traditional economic development or technology-based economic development (TBED). The traditional approach of recruiting or inducing companies to relocate to their community from elsewhere creates an atmosphere of competition, rivalry and one-upmanship among cities and regions as they bid to buy firms' location decisions. Often, it is also difficult for small and mid-sized communities to compete on these terms.
Since passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, universities across the country have established transfer technology offices to assist in commercializing academic inventions. Efforts to transfer university inventions to the market continue to be a difficult proposition, with less than a third of disclosed inventions resulting in license. Start-ups garner only one in eight licenses.
While the 2002 election marked the return of Republican control of the U.S. Senate and the departure of a number of governors that had been strong supporters of investing in science and technology (e.g., John Engler of Michigan, Angus King of Maine, and Roy Barnes of Georgia), it may also mark the beginning point of a new group of governors that embrace technology-based economic development as a focal point of their administrations.
Some of the 200-plus ballot measures decided in the 2002 General Election held Tuesday were dedicated to promoting tech-based economic development (TBED). The results were generally mixed, however. Promoters of Michigan's Life Sciences Corridor were pleased with the failure of an initiative that would have dictated the allocation of the state's tobacco settlement funds, including a smaller amount than the state is currently spending on life sciences research.
Biotechnology has enormous potential for North Carolina's future, but the state's economic development strategy must be broader than any single industry and must include growth-from-within strategies, concludes a report published by the Institute for Emerging Issues at North Carolina State University.
An increase in a city's share of college educated workers results in an increase in manufacturing output in that city, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a statistical report on Science and Engineering Doctorate Awards: 2001. The data show trends in science and engineering (S&E) doctorate awards by S&E field and recipient characteristics, institutions awarding doctorates, and postgraduation plans of recipients.
We appreciated hearing from so many of our readers that last week's special Digest issue on innovation indices was particularly timely or useful. As an additional resource on the topic, SSTI has prepared three matrices presenting the common indicators included in the national, state and local indicator reports referenced in the issue.
The Washington Technology Center (WTC), the state's science and technology organization that stimulates growth in the state, is seeking someone to become Federal Program Development Manager. WTC helps Washington companies develop commercially viable technology through statewide programs and services.
Many community and economic development professionals believe the report released last Tuesday should have predated the President's 2006 Budget to consolidate or eliminate 18 federal programs used by most parts of the country to support growth and well-being (see the Feb. 14 issue of the Digest).
Coming off the heels of the state legislature's approval of a new Emerging Technologies Fund (see the June 13 issue of the Digest), Gov. Rick Perry announced last Saturday that Texas would provide a $50 million grant to establish the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM).
Incubators provide an integral and flexible component of many communities' tech-based economic development efforts. When successful, business incubators can provide a focal point for encouraging entrepreneurship in even the smallest cities and metropolitan areas. Ample evidence is presented in the latest survey of incubators supported through the multifaceted $35 million Entrepreneurship Initiative of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
For the second year in a row, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) was the most active source of early-stage or angel capital, according to the July issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
In signing the state budget last Thursday, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle approved spending $5 million for two new programs supporting agricultural and forestry bio-based industrial development. Bio-based industries convert the carbohydrates in plants into fuels, polymers, fabrics, and other chemicals.
As a precursor to a report expected next month from the President's Commission on Tax Reform, the National League of Cities (NLC) recently issued its findings from a survey citing disapproval of how state and federal tax issues are being handled by the Administration, Congress, and state governors and legislatures. NLC outlined recommendations and called on the federal government to convene a national economic summit to address the issues.
Can patent insurance protect innovations from predators? Yes, particularly if innovators insure their innovation before rivals enter the market, according to Financing and the Protection of Innovators, a discussion paper by Gerard Llobet and Javier Suarez from the Centre for Economic Policy Research.