With economic development at a crossroads, SSTI's Annual Conference will re-examine every facet of the field. This year's conference will offer breakout sessions in four thematic tracks: strategic direction, universities in economic development, investment & capital and from theory to practice. Participate in the track that most suits your interest, or mix-and-match to create a unique conference experience.

Conference tracks include:

Following the highly anticipated unveiling of 2012 award recipients during a special ceremony on October 29, the winners will meet with attendees for one-on-one interaction to share stories and offer advice. True to roundtable format, this session moves you around the room to promote dialogue and exposure to different viewpoints in the tech-based economic development field.

Beautifully adorned to capture the spirit of the ocean, the Arctic Room at the Georgia Aquarium is your starting point to re- connect with colleagues, experience close encounters with majestic beluga whales, and simply enjoy an evening among friends. This lively event provides a wonderful pre-conference opportunity to network with conference attendees and our local hosts, Invest Atlanta and Clark Atlanta University, over drinks and light hors d'oeuvres by Wolfgang Puck Catering. The event begins at 6:00 PM on Sunday, October 29.

SSTI's conference is packed with timely and thought-provoking workshops, discussion groups and networking opportunities certain to keep you busy during your Atlanta stay. But to fill the gaps in between and maximize your experience, we've arranged some exciting activities geared toward improving your overall wellness and better connecting you to the people you most want to meet and share ideas.

Steven Chu, Secretary of the Department of Energy, announced $2 million in available funding for the National University Clean Energy Business Challenge — a nationwide network of regional university-based clean energy business creation competitions.

Gov. Pat Quinn this week signed into law two bills in support of tech-based companies and student entrepreneurs. SB 107 builds on the state's Technology Development Account, which allows the state to invest up to 1 percent of its investment portfolio in venture capital firms that in turn invest in technology-based businesses. The new law increases the amount to 2 percent. Companies may use the funding for R&D, marketing new products and workforce expansion. Another bill signed by Gov.

Michigan's InvestMichigan! Mezzanine Fund is slated to become the Small Business Administration's (SBA) first licensed Impact Investment Fund through the agency's new Impact Investment Initiative. The SBA initiative, which is part of the White House's Startup America initiative, uses the existing infrastructure of the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to encourage small business growth. Participating funds must make place-based investments in small businesses in underserved areas, or investments in the clean energy and education sectors.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded a five-year, $10 million grant to the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP) to create a national center for entrepreneurship engineering. STVP will partner with the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) to develop resources for undergraduate entrepreneurship programs at engineering schools across the country. Read the announcement...

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper unveiled the Colorado Blueprint: A Bottom-up Approach to Economic Development, "a document that responds to outlines the steps that will be taken by the Hickenlooper Administration over the next few years to support and promote economic development across Colorado. "The plan consists of six focus areas and 24 action items to spur the state's economic development. The six areas are:

• Making Colorado more business friendly;
• Recruiting and retaining businesses;

The diversity and scope of a federal laboratory's mission, congressional support and oversight, and the centralization/decentralization of technology transfer functions at the agency and laboratory levels are among the factors that affect technology transfer and commercialization at federal laboratories, according to a recent report sponsored by the Department of Commerce. Findings are based on literature review and discussions with technology transfer personnel at federal agencies and laboratories.

About 60 percent of U.S. academic R&D spending support research in the life sciences, according to data released by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Engineering R&D, the second largest target of spending, accounted for 15.7 percent of total academic research expenditures. While California leads the country in total spending in every science and engineering field, the District of Columbia leads in per capita spending in life sciences, physical sciences, psychology and social sciences.

The High Technology Development Corporation, an agency of the State of Hawaii, is responsible for promoting and advancing technology-based economic development in Hawaii. They are currently seeking applicants for two positions:

JobsOhio, the private, nonprofit corporation authorized to replace Ohio's economic development system, would administer state funded programs and services that have a direct, high-impact on job creation such as business loans, infrastructure grants and deal-closing funds, according to a report to the Ohio General Assembly. At the same time, a newly named Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA) would focus on programs with a more indirect impact on job creation, including federally funded programs and services geared toward communities and individuals.

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Bill Hagerty announced the state will commit up to $2.25 million for the Jobs4TN Regional Entrepreneurial Accelerators program. The grants will award up to $250,000 to a regional entrepreneurial accelerator in each of the state's nine economic development regions.

The Obama Administration has announced that it is extending the comment period for public input on the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Strong Cities, Strong Communities Visioning Challenge (see the July 13, 2011 and

Governors in the Southern states were presented with findings from a new report on the growing gap in middle-skill jobs and urged to adopt a three-part policy framework for reversing the trend during the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting last week in Asheville, NC. The report found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region's jobs today, but only about 43 percent of the region's workers are currently trained at this level.

The U.S. stands at "moment of truth" regarding its manufacturing sector, according to a new study by Booz & Co. and the University of Michigan's Tauber Institute for Global Operations, Manufacturing's Wake-up Call. If neglected, the sector's output could fall by half in the coming years. If "a series of identifiable smart actions and choices" are made, U.S. manufacturing could produce 95 percent of all product consumed by the nation. The study points out three significant findings regarding the current and future state of U.S.

Educational attainment rates in the U.S. rose in both 2007 and 2008, after falling in 2005 and 2006, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Despite the mid-decade dip, the overall trend over the past few decades has been toward higher rates of attainment at the high school, Bachelor's and advanced degree levels. As of 2008, about 85 percent of the U.S. population had completed high school, up from 80.4 percent in 2000 and 75.2 in 1990. About 27.7 percent of U.S.

The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council seeks to hire a program manager to oversee activities of the RI Research Alliance.

SSTI is pleased to announce that John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary for Economic Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce, will participate in a plenary session on the changing role of the federal government in TBED at this year's Annual Conference. SSTI's Annual Conference is the only economic development conference this fall with the senior leaders of the Economic Development Administration (EDA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) speaking.

Governors in several states are bringing lawmakers back into session this fall with a more focused agenda on job creation. During a one-day special session on Friday, lawmakers in Mississippi approved a $175 million incentive package to bring two high-tech manufacturing facilities to the state. Meanwhile, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will try again to enact the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) to support science and tech companies and the Compete Missouri Initiative, both which failed to pass during the regular session.

Temple launched the Pennsylvania Math Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) initiative designed to increase the number of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematics (STEM)-related professionals graduating from two- or four-year institutions and to build a diverse, national STEM workforce necessary to compete economically in a global environment.

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices invites applications from U.S. states to participate in a Policy Academy on "Making" our Future: Encouraging Growth Opportunities in Manufacturing through Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Investment to Assist States in Developing and Implementing Economic Development Strategies aimed at spurring innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that encourage the growth of advanced manufacturing industries.

Even through the enduring global economic downturn, nations across the world have targeted technology-based economic development initiatives to build their respective country's science and technology (S&T) sectors. The governments contend that building their respective country's Next Economy is necessary to compete in a globalizing world and increase quality of living for their citizens. Canada, India and the European Union have announced initiatives that could help grow their respective countries S&T sectors.

The University of Kansas' Center for Technology Commercialization is seeking a director that will be responsible for effectively managing faculty-generated intellectual property across all the University of Kansas campuses and deploying it for the greater social good.