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Factors such as globalization, trade liberalization and consumer preferences have changed the way agricultural research is conducted, and advances in biotechnology and genomics, ecosystem science and social science have altered the overall agricultural landscape. However, the United States' leading agricultural research service is not quite ready to adapt to this changing environment with its traditional organizational structure, states a new report published by the National Academies.

A technically-skilled workforce is one of the elements required for a tech-based economy, so the issue of stopping the brain drain is of critical importance to some regions and states.  The choice for some states, it has been observed, is to turn into retirement homes or to retain their college graduates; in short, to avoid losing their minds.  Maine, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are just a few of the states that have been looking at the issue.

A recent study by the Council for Education Policy, Research and Improvement finds that State University System Centers and Institutes (C&Is) in Florida are cost-effective and creative settings for scientific discovery, technological innovation, policy development, teaching and instruction and public outreach activities.

The legal ban on non-compete contracts may have played a role in and continues to affect the development of the high tech sector in California. This is the conclusion of Rob Valletta, Research Advisor, in the August 16, 2002, edition of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter. The article, On the Move: California Employment Law and High-Tech Development analyzes the relationship between high tech development and states that do not legally allow non-compete contracts.

Arizona was one of the first states to embrace cluster-based economic development in the early 1990s. While the formal clusters have had varying degrees of success since then, one of the challenges of a cluster-based approach to technology-based economic development is the fractionalized focus across sectors. Because of this, clusters can end up competing against each other for limited public resources, making cross-sector strategies difficult to identify or implement.

The Environmental Protection Agency has posted its selections for the FY 2002 Phase I solicitation of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.

The Council on Competitiveness, a non-profit, Washington-based organization, is seeking an executive director for its new National Center on Regional Innovation and Competitiveness. The new center will identify and advance innovation-based regional development strategies, conduct regional workshops, and disseminate best practices in managing regional innovation.

Charlotte A. Hayes, president of DCTech, the Washington DC Technology Council, has resigned to return to the private sector. John Sanders has been named interim president, while the council seeks a permanent replacement.

Jim Hayes is serving as interim president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama as the group works to fill the position. Hayes was a former director of the Alabama Development Office.

Charlotte A. Hayes, president of DCTech, the Washington DC Technology Council, has resigned to return to the private sector. John Sanders has been named interim president, while the council seeks a permanent replacement.

Jim Hayes is serving as interim president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama as the group works to fill the position. Hayes was a former director of the Alabama Development Office.

William Parsons is serving as acting executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Parsons is the vice president of operations.

Correction: Lara Vande Walle is the director of membership and business development for the Maryland Technology Council, not Maryland's TEDCO as was previously reported.

The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, invites applications for the position of Associate Director for Research.

Temi Bova is the new director of Union College's U-start technology business incubator in Schenectady, N.Y.

The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.

Temi Bova is the new director of Union College's U-start technology business incubator in Schenectady, N.Y.

The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.

Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.

The Wright Center of Innovation for Advanced Data Management and Analysis changed its name to daytaOhio and named Paul Cashen as its new president.

Former Lansing Community College president Paula Cunningham is the new director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

Dan Curran is the new director of the Business Development Division of the Nebraska Department of Development.

Ted Ford, former president and CEO of the Edison Welding Institute, recently was named president and CEO of TECHColumbus.

Sandy Johnson, interim CEO of the Mid-American Manufacturing Technology Center, was appointed to the position on a permanent basis.

Roger Kilmer was appointed director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Kilmer served as acting director since Kevin Carr's departure last June.

Sean O'Kane, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, is resigning from the position at the end of his two-year term in March to return to the private sector.

BioFlorida President Diana Robinson is leaving to join a private venture capital company once her replacement is selected.