California Governor Gray Davis has appointed Joseph A. Raguso as Deputy Secretary for Strategic Technology for the Trade and Commerce Agency. Mr. Raguso currently serves as President and CEO for the San Diego Regional Technology Alliance (SDRTA), a position he has held since 1997. Mr. Raguso will begin serving in his new capacity on January 31.
NASA has announced the selection of 25 additional 1998 Phase II R&D recipients under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The new awards bring the total for the 1998 NASA SBIR Phase II awards to 128.
The Department of Education has posted 13 white papers presented during its July 1999 Conference on Technology. The conference and papers focused on evaluating the effectiveness of technology in education.
Virginia, through its Office of the Secretary of Technology and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has created a unique collaborative public-private partnership to increase Internet access and e-commerce capabilities for Virginia's businesses. In December, CIT and Virginia Tech launched VirginiaLink, a multi-vendor, broadband telecommunications program providing businesses with inexpensive advanced telecommunications services such as Internet access and voice, data, and video capacity.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued several requests for research proposals during the past month that may be of interest to Digest subscribers and their clients. The following are requests whose deadlines occur during the next two months.
The 18 governors who comprise the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) have agreed to create a Western High Technology Council to serve as a strategic alliance among states, technology firms and universities to advance the region's common interests in the technology-driven and knowledge-based New Economy. Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano, WGA Chairman, proposed the idea at the WGA winter meeting held in Las Vegas during December.
The SSTI Weekly Digest has typically focused on state and federal activities in technology-based economic development. This special issue of the Digest, however, focuses on the important role that foundations can play in technology-based economic development by:
At first glance, the Baltimore-based Abell Foundation’s quiet contribution of almost $25 million over the past ten years to support local economic development may not raise much interest from state and federal technology-based economic development professionals across the country. However, the reaction might be different after learning that most of the investment was to emerging businesses in the form of venture capital.
The Foundation Center is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 1956 with the mission to “foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects.” Audiences include grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.
This decade saw a significant increase in public and private investment in environmental technologies and programs. Confronting environmental issues will remain a challenge for many years to come.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government is offering three funding opportunities that will support new approaches to improving the effectiveness of government at the federal, state, local and international levels.
The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has invited public comments on the draft Statement of Principles for the Government-University Research Partnership.
The complete December 21, 1999 Federal Register notice, including the draft Statement of Principles, may be viewed at the following web address: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/122399t.htm
The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) currently has three positions available: Investment Officer, Consulting Coordinator, and Director of Research & Training.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) will hold a series of workshops in January and February to discuss the goals and priorities of Telecommunications Information and Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), a grant program that funds innovative projects aimed at extending the benefits of advanced telecommunications and information technology to underserved Americans in rural and urban areas. Congress has appropriated $15.5 million for the FY 2000 grant round.
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has released its third annual Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy. The report tracks and explores the implications of 30 performance indicators on the long-term growth and stability of the Massachusetts economy. When statistics are available, Massachusetts is compared to its “leading competitor states” of California, Colorado, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Texas.
The Federal Highway Administration has requested grant applications and research recommendations for the Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot (TCSP) Program.
Colorado Governor Bill Owen has appointed 55 technology executives and public officials to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Science and Technology. The Commission’s purpose is to issue a set of recommendations by late-2000 focused on enhancing Colorado's business climate and creating the technological infrastructure necessary to foster statewide growth of the high technology industry.
Specifically, the group is tasked to:
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fuels Development has issued Supplemental Announcement 04 to provide financial assistance in support of the DOE Biomass Program. The agency anticipates making several cooperative agreements in FY 2000 for 12-month research and development projects advancing new technologies that will increase the efficiency or lower the cost of producing and converting biomass to transportation fuels.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is offering approximately $1 million in financial assistance for the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing Cooperative Research Program (PATH CoRP). PATH encourages the development of innovative housing components and systems, designs, and production methods as well as projects that reduce the amount of time needed to move quality technologies to the market place.
NASA has identified ten government-owned inventions that have been filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and are available for licensing. Invention titles and contact information may be viewed at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/121799t.htm
Arizona Governor Jane Dee Hull has announced the formation of the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy, a 35-member steering committee appointed to purse the following goals:
On February 3, the Department of Defense will be holding a Dual Use Science and Technology (DUS&T) Investment Strategy Conference at the Superdome in New Orleans. The FY 2001 Solicitation, to be released January 18, will have approximately $60 million available to fund industry projects. The deadline for proposals will be April 28, 2000.
AT&T has made a $1 million grant to support the development of technological expertise in 13 institutions of higher education in Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.
The grant was made to the Virtual Institute for Technology Advancement in Education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (VITAE- HBCU). The VITAE-HBCU program is a partnership to foster collaboration between Virginia Tech and the HBCUs.
Beginning January 7, the SSTI Weekly Digest will be distributed only by electronic mail. Fax delivery service will end with the December 31 edition.
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Recent issues of the Federal Register and Commerce Business Daily (CBD) have had a number of research and technology funding announcements. Highlights for the Department of Defense include (date of publication in the CBD is provided in parentheses):