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.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the 20 winners of the $37 million Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. The multi-agency competition will support cluster-based, regional initiatives to spur job creation and economic growth. Descriptions of all 20 winning projects are available on the EDA site. Read the announcement...

North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell has announced credit services group Credit Suisse will serve as manager of the state's new $230 million innovation fund. The fund, drawn from public pension dollars, will invest in North Carolina-based technology businesses over the next five years. Though full investment guidelines have not yet been developed, investments will be aimed towards high-growth industries, including life sciences, clean energy and other high-tech industries.

Milwaukee's Public Policy Forum finds that the city has a stronger lean manufacturing/high-tech workforce than many of its peer cities, but still faces challenges in new high-tech business starts and patent generation. The study used benchmarks from six other metropolitan areas, including Austin, Kansas City, Portland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Minneapolis. The report recommends new efforts to improve patent activity, resident educational attainment and number of SBIR awards.

SSTI's interview with Peggy Shults of the James and Esther King Biomedical Research program, 2009 recipient of the Excellence in TBED Award in the category Expanding the Research Infrastructure, provides an honest, in-depth account of best practices and lessons learned that earned this program national recognition. Click here to listen to the interview and learn more about the program.

2010 could be your organization's year to capture national recognition for excellence in technology-based economic development. SSTI will solicit nominations for the 2010 Excellence in TBED Awards beginning April 6 with an open call for applications. Awards are presented to organizations demonstrating successful local, state and regional efforts across six categories. For more information and a list of previous winners, please visit: http://www.ssti.org/Awards/index.shtml

Arizona Center for Innovation is currently seeking an experienced candidate to fill the position of director. The director is responsible for the daily operations of the incubator that include: administration, budgeting, financial management, fundraising, client recruitment and services, marketing and outreach activities.

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Now is the time to highlight your organization's impact and gain high-profile exposure as a recipient of SSTI's national award for excellence in technology-based economic development (TBED).

Recipients of this coveted award are showcased as best practices throughout the TBED community and promoted for their exceptional achievements in approaches to building tech-based economies and demonstration of outstanding results.

SSTI invites applications for the 2010 Excellence in TBED Awards in the following categories:

The $29.3 billion total spending plan for FY11 outlined last week by Gov. Chris Christie eliminates or significantly reduces funding for business incentive programs, including InvestNJ and funding for high-tech business tax credits. In place of the programs, the New Jersey Partnership for Action would be established as a new one-stop-shop to assist businesses in relocation, retention and incentive development.

Between 2003 and 2007 R&D spending at U.S. small businesses increased by 38.8 percent, according to a recent National Science Foundation InfoBrief. During that period the share of U.S. R&D done by firms with fewer than 500 employees increased from 17.9 percent to 18.7 percent. R&D intensity at small firms also increased from 3.1 percent of company sales revenues to 8.6 percent. Read the NSF InfoBrief "Indicators of U.S.

Gov. Chet Culver last week signed legislation creating the Iowa Innovation Council to advise the state's Department of Economic Development on policies that enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in high-growth industries such as advanced manufacturing, bioscience, and information technology. The council will be led by a group of volunteer private business leaders with expertise in the targeted industry sectors and charged with creating a strategic plan for implementing specific policies and coordinating state government applications for federal funds related to R&D.

For the first time in more than a decade, U.S. patent activity did not increase in 2008 over the previous year, according to IEEE Spectrum's Patent Power rankings. The annual report, which ranks companies, universities and research institutions by the quality of their U.S. patent portfolio, also finds that the number of U.S.-based organizations that placed within the top tier of IEEE's rankings-by-industry had fallen by 30 percent.

The Governors' Wind Energy Coalition, a group of 29 U.S. governors, recently released a list of recommendations for Congressional action to spur the development of the wind energy industry. Recommendations include a renewable electricity standard, funding for an interstate electric transmission system and an expansion of the Department of Energy's support for state programs. The group notes that these goals line up closely with the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which passed in the House of Representatives last year and is now under review in the Senate.

A group of inventors, academics and researchers presented an aspirational list of inventors' rights at the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Annual Meeting held last week. The Academic Inventors' Bill of Rights includes protections for researchers and students to prevent onerous university intellectual property policies and lack of transparency from preventing successful commercialization. The full document will be available later this week at:  http://www.ipadvocate.org/

SSTI, a growing nonprofit organization serving the nation's tech-based economic development (TBED) community, seeks an entry-level policy analyst to research and prepare reports, articles and papers on TBED and assist with SSTI events. Excellent research abilities, strong writing and verbal skills and solid understanding of government are required. Candidates must have the ability to work independently or as part of a committed team and be dedicated to creating a quality product.

$11.4 Million in Grants Available for Sustainable Software Communities
The National Science Foundation invites proposals for a new program, Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation. The goal is to transform innovations in research and education into sustained software resources that are an integral part of the cyberinfrastructure.
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