As in any budget there are winners and losers, but for the tech-based economic development community, there are far more winners than losers in the Obama Administration's FY11 budget proposal. Percentages referenced in this summary reflect the change from FY10 appropriations.
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Among the winners:
Charged with developing a replicable and sustainable model for coordinated federal and regional efforts that foster and use regional innovation clusters, a group of federal agencies announced its first pilot project anchored around a Department of Energy (DOE)-funded Innovation Hub. The project, called the Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative, will develop, expand, and commercialize innovative energy efficient building systems technologies, designs, and best practices for national and international distribution.
While nearly all of the economic indicators for the country were falling rapidly, the commercialization of university-generated technologies quietly continued to move into the market place at an increasing pace, according to the latest survey conducted by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). Highlights from the AUTM U.S. Licensing Activity Survey Summary: FY2008 include:
Internet search giant Google has announced that the company is planning to build and test extremely high-speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations in the U.S. Participating communities would have access to fiber-to-the-home connections similar to those that connect many research universities. Google plans to consider communities for the pilot program based on a number of factors, including the level of community support, local resources and regulatory issues and the current level of broadband services available.
Last week the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) released its strategic agenda for accelerating the growth of the state's green economy, distributing action items among four topical groupings: advanced manufacturing, energy efficiency, innovation cultivation, and wind power. A Roadmap for Advancing the Green Economy in Rhode Island was produced from a series of roundtables over the past year with 120 representatives from state government, universities, industry, labor, and other economic development nonprofit entities.
Two bills aiming to consolidate state agencies and establish incentives for job creation were introduced last week by Gov. Deval Patrick and Senate President Therese Murray. Gov. Patrick's bill would merge the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation with the Massachusetts Community Development Finance Corporation and the Economic Stabilization Trust to form a new Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation funded by a $25 million capital bond authorization and $15 million from the Emerging Technology Fund.
Development of a new graduate energy sciences and engineering program at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) that intends to create 200 faculty appointments for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers is underway following near unanimous passage of a higher education bill last month during a special legislative session. The measure was approved 32-0 in the Senate and 93-2 in the House. In support of the new program, Gov.
The National Economic Council and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) are asking for public input for a new initiative intended to address the challenges of the 21st century. The initiative, which would be similar to the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering program, would help catalyze innovations to spur economic growth, encourage multidisciplinary collaborations and improve STEM education. Responses are needed to help identify specific challenges, potential partners and models for the program.
A plan to provide loans and specialized training to foster entrepreneurship recently was announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The two-pronged, $43 million strategy consists of a loan partnership between credit unions and Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Centers with specialized training provided through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's FastTrac NewVenture Program.
Nearly all components of a comprehensive legislative package set forth by Gov. Bob McDonnell that would provide tax credits for green jobs, invest in renewable energy R&D, and support the biotechnology and life sciences industries have passed at least one chamber in the legislature at this point. The governor also introduced amendments to the 2010-12 budget proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine that would provide an additional $50 million for economic development initiatives.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently unveiled his 2010 supplemental budget recommendations, which includes new tax incentives to boost job creation and spending cuts across state agencies to help eliminate a projected $1.2 billion deficit.
Florida's efforts to boost it's biotechnology sector may not be paying off as quickly as originally hoped. A recent report finds that the $449 million invested through the Innovation Incentive Program has yet to result in industry growth in counties where the program's grantees have their facilities. The report, published by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), suggests that the state's lack of early-stage capital for biotech startups may be contributing to the sluggish pace of development.
Academic, industrial and federal R&D spending is surveyed annually by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Similar information regarding state R&D investments, however, only is captured periodically. The latest survey results, for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 were released this past December and used to create an SSTI Useful Stats table on state R&D intensity (see the Dec. 9, 2009 Digest). Is this information useful for state and local TBED practitioners and policy makers?
Being located within an incubator can provide tech startups help beyond low-rent space. Networking opportunities and direct counseling and technical assistance can play important roles toward the firms' success. Or do they? A recent study published in the journal Technovation finds the interactions incubator managers have with their tenant firms may not be as helpful as the metrics would suggest.
Increasing life science and health-related research remains a major component of many state, local and university TBED strategies. Change in federal R&D obligations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which includes the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality among other agencies, could be a good indicator of progress — or an indicator of the need to expand or amend those strategies.
Sixteen American technology companies, including Intel, Google and Microsoft, have launched a new initiative to boost the U.S. tech economy. The Invest in America Alliance is planning a two-prong approach, building a $3.5 billion national venture fund and securing commitments from U.S. companies to increase their hiring of recent college graduates. Leaders of the effort say that it will complement the federal stimulus and create a more favorable environment for American competitiveness.
A recent NSF survey found that between April 2008 and March 2009 Japanese R&D expenditures decreased by 0.8 percent to $188 billion compared to the previous year. Though this is the first decline in Japanese R&D spending in nine years, the rate of R&D investment as a percentage of GDP hit a record high of 2.78 percent. Read the full memorandum at: http://www.nsftokyo.org/rm10-02.pdf
The University of Texas at Austin recently announced the formation of a university-wide initative to support technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and innovation. Venture Labs Texas will assist new ventures at the university and broker deals with sources of capital, including venture funds, angel investors and Texas' Emerging Technology Fund. Read more about Venture Labs at the University of Texas at Austin at: http://texasventurelabs.net/
In a report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget this week, the Louisiana Innovation Council set forth an agenda to recruit world-class researchers, establish centers of excellence, and facilitate university-based technology transfer. In a tight budget year, the council recommends using some of the remaining Louisiana Recovery Authority funds and private sector money to support the initiative with a minimum $15 million total commitment over three years.
A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) survey found that 78 percent of U.S. adults are regular Internet users, but only 65 percent use broadband connections at home. Affordability, lack of knowledge of computers and the Internet and lack of interest were cited as reasons by those who said that they do not use home high-speed Internet. The results will be used by the FCC in crafting a strategy to increase broadband adoption rates and improve the cost and quality of high-speed services.
Seven new research programs encouraging collaborative research across biology, behavioral sciences, global health and clinical medicine were announced last week as part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund Programs. The programs, which are scheduled to begin in 2010, expect to yield scientific discoveries and new and better treatments by capitalizing on emerging technologies. Programs to create a national stem cell center and increase capacity for global health research are among the new scientific initiatives.
Grants made for stem cell research projects in 2008 through the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation yielded a return of nearly $3 million to state and local governments and supported more than 500 high-paying jobs, finds a recent impact report. A total $38 million was awarded to researches in 2007 and 2008 following the passage of the Maryland Stem Cell Act of 2006 and Gov. Martin O'Malley's $1.3 billion BIO 2020 Initiative in 2008, which includes $20 million per year for stem cell research.
Recognizing Ohio's metropolitan regions as key to the state's future prosperity, a new report outlines 39 policy recommendations aimed at growing Ohio's economy and transforming old strengths, such as manufacturing, into new products and opportunities aligned with federal goals. The report foresees Ohio as an export-oriented, lower carbon, innovation-led economy capable of building on assets of its metropolitan regions such as innovation, human capital, infrastructure, and quality places.