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In a study released by the Council on Competiveness, the researchers try to answer the complicated question: Why are some regions more successful than others in global competition? The traditional paradigm of regional development focuses the endowment of innovation assets (i.e. people institutions, capital and infrastructure). Regions abundant in these assets were built to succeed in the global knowledge economy. In contrast, less successful regions fail due to a lack of innovation assets.

The NY-BEST Board of Directors released a solicitation to acquire an Executive Director for NY-BEST and an organization to provide operational support.

Andre Pettigrew, the director of the Denver Office of Economic Development, will become the first executive director of Climate Prosperity Inc., a Washington, D.C., climate-change think tank. LaCharles Keesee, the city's deputy chief financial officer, will assume an interim role as head of the city's economic development department until a final replacement is named.

Over the past few months, several states have announced efforts aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on oil. While the importance and urgency of such efforts is perhaps magnified in the wake of one of the worst U.S. environmental disasters, the shift to a renewable energy-focused economy also brings with it the expectation of job creation, new product development, and increased revenue for states struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The $68.2 million FY 11 budget approved last week for the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), allows the foundation to continue to provide 10 percent matching funds for research institutions and businesses in order to attract federal, private and industry funds. The budget allocates $29.5 million in FY11 for a matching grants program started with ARRA stimulus funding and $5.2 million for the state's six Centers of Excellence.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn recently signed legislation approving a new tax credit to encourage angel investment and extending the state's R&D tax credit one more year. The Innovation Development and Economy Act (SB 2093) allows eligible angel and early-stage institutional investors to take a 25 percent tax credit on investments in small, technology firms. Up to $2 million may be claimed on an individual investment for a $500,000 tax credit. The program is capped at $10 million and will be effective on Jan 1, 2011.

Touted as a tool to help the state attract and retain jobs, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford last week signed into law H. 4478, the Economic Development Competitiveness Act. The new law directs one-third of the state's endowed chairs money be administered by the Coordinating Council on Economic Development — a reform measure that the governor says will help shift its focus to job creation and allow private sector investment to lead public sector investment. Funding previously was administered by an academic panel.

In an effort to improve the percentage of city residents with college degrees, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter announced his administration will be opening an office within City Hall to help potential students considering higher education. The “PhillyGoes2College” office will direct residents to assistance with filling out financial aid forms and applications, preparing for standardized admission tests, and writing college essays.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) has released the second and final component of its strategy advocating the need to advance a tech-based economy throughout Louisiana. The white paper focuses on the topics of entrepreneurship, workforce development, risk capital, and coordinating TBED efforts at the state level. For example, BRAC calls for all returns from state funds invested in venture capital firms to be reinvested, for regional angel networks to be supported, and for the state’s angel investor tax credit to be reinstated.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation has approved what is being called the region's first consensus strategic plan for economic development. The plan includes support for local research and commercialization activities, sector-based worker training and placement programs and provides assistance to entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.lacountystrategicplan.com.

President Obama announced five new public-private partnerships to train more than 10,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade. The partnerships, part of the White House's "Educate to Innovate", represent a $250 million investment in STEM education.

Providing strong evidence for how public investments in research and TBED pay off even on a short time horizon, a recent impact analysis calculated the total impact from the first $19.9 million North Dakota spent over the past four years for the establishment of 20 Centers of Excellence across the state. The analysts from North Dakota State University reported a combined cumulative impact of $329.5 million for the 30 months ending June 2009. The total includes both direct reported results and estimates for indirect impacts.

Since the start of the recession, the strongest performing metropolitan areas are located in the southern midsection of the U.S., especially in Texas, and around upstate New York and the Missouri River Valley, according to the most recent edition of the Brookings Institution’s MetroMonitor series. The brief examines each of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. using 3Q 2009 data gauging changes in employment levels, unemployment rates, gross metro products, and housing prices.

U.S. venture capital fundraising and venture-backed exits improved marginally in the fourth quarter of 2009, despite having a very slow year overall, according to the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). Venture fundraising increased to $3.8 billion in the last quarter, an 82.6 percent increase over the previous quarter but still far short of fundraising levels in recent years. While investors expect activity to grow in 2010, most predict that the industry will remain smaller than its scale in the 1990s and 2000s, with fewer firms and increasing focus on late-stage deals.

Give a star academic researcher a full year to reflect on what the world understands so far about regional innovation and city-region dynamics and to offer suggestions to guide future economic development initiatives to encourage growth and the results are valuable for both his homeland of Canada and its southern neighbor, the U.S. The Conference Board of Canada named University of Toronto professor David A. Wolfe its 2009 CIBC Scholar in Residence in May of 2008.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Oklahoma. The first three installments are available in the Jan 13, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 Digests.

Replenishing the Innovation Incentive Fund and investing in space industry, public research, and green energy technologies are among Gov. Charlie Crist's FY11 budget recommendations to grow the state's innovation economy and establish Florida as a pre-eminent global hub. The governor's budget includes $100 million for the Innovation Incentive Fund, which was established in 2006 to attract R&D companies and create high-wage jobs. The fund was depleted in 2008 (see the May 7, 2008 issue of the Digest).

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) is among a list of 16 state agencies slated for consolidation in Gov. Brad Henry's budget proposal, which he says will result in cost savings of $5.3 million. Under the proposal, OCAST would be moved to the Department of Commerce, along with Aeronautics, Indian Affairs and the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority. Funding for OCAST would be reduced by 3 percent, for a total $19.8 million in FY11. OCAST provides funding and resources to help businesses develop and commercialize technologies.

Gov. Jodi Rell last week unveiled her FY11 midterm budget adjustments, eliminating or reducing funding for several TBED initiatives in the second year of the biennium. At the same time, the governor proposed an economic recovery package that includes a lending program for small businesses, a student loan forgiveness program to retain green collar workers, and a sales tax exemption for green energy industries.

International patent filings fell by 4.5 percent in 2009 with sharper than average declines experienced by some industrialized countries and growth in a number of East Asian countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. With 45,790 applications, the U.S. filing rate dropped 11.4 percent in 2009, but maintained its top ranking by filing just under a third of all international applications.

Despite the depth of the economic recession, preliminary estimates by the National Science Foundation indicate that U.S. R&D expenditures totaled $397.6 billion in 2008, up from $372.5 billion in 2007. This increase in overall national R&D performance represented growth in 2008 of 6.7 percent over the 2007 level. It also substantially exceeded the pace of growth in U.S. gross domestic product over the same year, which was 3.3 percent.

On the heels of his State of the Union announcement that the administration would push aggressively to drive clean energy innovation, President Barack Obama unveiled a three-part action plan to accelerate the development of biofuels and clean coal technology. The plan includes new rules concerning the national renewable fuel standard, incentives for biomass production and the creation of an interagency group to devise a federal strategy on carbon capture and storage.

Arden Bement, head of the National Science Foundation since his appointment as acting director in early 2004 and permanent director in November of that year, will become director of the new Global Policy Research Institute at Purdue University, effective June 1. Bement served as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 2001 to 2004.

NSF directorships are Presidential appointments with six-year terms. Bement's term would have expired in November, 2010. The White House has yet to name Bement's successor.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking qualified applicants for the director of the Technology Innovation Program (TIP). The director will serve as the executive responsible for managing and leading this critical program for NIST. The TIP was established as part of the America COMPETES Act (P.L.

Sandy Baruah has been selected to become the president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, effective March 15.

John Collar, the chief executive officer and president of the Colorado BioScience Association, resigned this week to pursue other business opportunities. Denise Brown has been selected serve as the organization's interim executive director while a search is conducted for Collar's replacement.