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Within the last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a slew of awards – 128 in all – for rural tech-based economic development initiatives. Collectively, the awards total $53.7 million, including:

New Jersey is launching a new program to stimulate new investment, business growth and job creation in the biotechnology and life sciences industries through a special fund to be established through the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP).

To transform the nation’s medical research capabilities and speed the movement of research discoveries from the bench to the bedside, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) laid out on Monday a series of initiatives collectively known as the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research.

Secures State as Pilot Site for FastTrac™

Coming soon to an island near you — business development services. That could be the sales pitch for a new development within the High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Hawaii's lead tech-based economic development agency.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius made public on Wednesday the details of a statewide economic revitalization plan designed to stimulate and strengthen the Kansas economy. Included in the plan are several items that could help boost tech-based economic development (TBED) in the state:

Policy measures aimed at the development of clusters must take into account which development stage the cluster is currently in. One of the central processes involved in cluster development is that of firm foundings, states Co-Development of Firm Foundings and Regional Clusters, a working paper written by Dirk Fornahl and Max-Peter Menzel.

The Chronicle of Higher Education annually provides in its Almanac an accessible state-by-state snapshot of a variety of statistics useful in measuring the magnitude and health of higher education. The 2002-2003 Almanac of Higher Education, released recently in print and online, is no exception.

Yes, only 10 open seats remain for SSTI’s 7th Annual Conference, Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice. With nearly three weeks remaining before the October 21-22 event in Seattle, SSTI anticipates it will have to close registration in the coming days based on the phenomenal response to this year’s great slate of 24 breakout sessions, great plenary sessions and wonderful location. If you are planning to attend, we encourage you to register as soon as possible.

Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have emerged out of the conference committee for consideration and final approval by Congress — one of three budget bills likely to be passed before the fiscal year ends next Tuesday.

The President wants $87 billion for the war in Iraq. Congress is looking at a month-long continuing resolution for the budget since final approval on most appropriation bills is at least that far in the future. Meanwhile, the persistence of the recession, the restructuring of U.S. manufacturing due in part to globalization, and the continued hemorrhaging of tax revenues has led several governors, state legislatures and community leaders to begin rethinking their economic development strategies.

Study Hints at Why TBED Is Good National Investment

More than 700 of America's institutions of higher education couldn't claim to be vegetarian based on the record amount of pork they ate from the 2003 federal budget, according to the cover story of this week's Chronicle of Higher Education. The dollar value of college earmarks reached a record $2.013 billion in the current fiscal year's budget, 10 percent more than the previous high mark of $1.837 billion captured in FY 2002.

Sloan Foundation exec says no

At several intervals during the past 50 years, various reports have argued that the U.S. was or would soon be confronted with a shortage of scientists and engineers in various fields. If a crisis did arise, it could play havoc on local and state technology-based economic development efforts dependent on a technologically skilled workforce for innovation and growth. But is there a real risk?

SSTI's 7th Annual Conference, to be held in Seattle on Oct. 21-22, is now less than one month away. If you are planning to join 300 of your colleagues from more than 40 states at Building Tech-based Economies: From Policy to Practice, here are a few tips to save your organization a little money:

The Association of American Universities (AAU) seeks qualified candidates to fill the position of director of federal relations.

Gov. Jim Doyle last week unveiled his plan to jumpstart the Wisconsin economy. The plan, "Grow Wisconsin," calls for a series of executive actions, private sector partnerships and legislative steps to create high-wage jobs and achieve other goals. Some of the tech-based economic development items outlined in "Grow Wisconsin" are:

Gov. Mitt Romney outlined a legislative package on Monday totaling $125 million designed to create more jobs. Many elements of the package target the science and technology communities.

Investments in science and technology (S&T) – from higher education to industry research and development (R&D) – are the decisive factors in creating a sustainable economic future, a new study finds.

Gaining an understanding of the real and potential economic impact of government investments in research and development (R&D) has suffered for decades from a lack of rigorous but broadly applicable methodologies for the assessment. To advance the field toward a more appropriate degree of uniformity, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a primer on economic impact analysis of government R&D programs.

A new strategic plan focusing on the North Carolina Department of Commerce's four cornerstones of economic development success – a globally competitive workforce, investment in science and technology, a competitive business climate, and attractive communities prepared for economic development – has been released by the state's Economic Development Board.

With the passage of HB 675, the FY 03-04 Capitol Budget Bill, the Ohio Legislature approved funding for a $100 million Innovation Ohio Revolving Loan Fund and a second $50 million installment for the Wright Brothers Capital Fund. Both measures are key components of Ohio's $1.6 billion 10-year Third Frontier Project — the state's largest-ever commitment to expanding high tech research capabilities and promoting start-up companies to build high wage jobs.

Nearly $1.5 million in grants from the OneGeorgia Authority will go toward specific initiatives promoting technology-based economic development in Georgia. The awards are part of almost $7.5 million in grants and loans being awarded to 16 of the state's most economically distressed communities.

Since reaching a high point of almost 27,300 in 1998, the number of science and engineering (S&E) doctorates has dropped by 7 percent to just over 25,500 in 2001, reports a 2001 nationwide survey conducted for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The decline since 1998 has led to a rollback of total Ph.D.s to pre-1994 levels, the report states.