A recent Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) report ranks the U.S. last among 40 countries in progress toward creating an innovation-based economy over the past decade. The findings contradict several other studies that continue to depict the U.S. as the global leader in economic competitiveness. E-government, broadband, trade balance and corporate R&D were particularly weak areas for U.S. progress relative to other countries. ITIF warns that the U.S.

Savannah's Creative Coast Alliance (TCCa) and the Savannah Economic Development Authority recently announced that they would provide up to one year of free rent for game designers to take up residence at the region's new Game Development and Digital Media Center.

The following overview is a synopsis of select recent announcements from research parks across the nation, including groundbreakings and development plans to support vibrant regional economies based on science, technology and innovation. 

Lonnie Emard has been named interim director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a recently formed collaboration of business, academic and economic development organizations intended to build information technology (IT) opportunities in South Carolina.

As governors across the nation seek to fill record deficits, many new and longstanding TBED initiatives are facing challenging cuts or elimination. At the same time, governors are shoring up support for critical, targeted investments in the economy that they say are needed now more than ever.

President Bush announced he will nominate Assistant Secretary of Commerce Sandy Baruah to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

The Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce has created the Economic Development Partnership to help businesses relocate to or expand in the county.

Our German isn't what it should be and online translators weren't as helpful as we'd expected, but we wanted to make readers aware of the size of the investment Berlin is making over the next four years to recruit star faculty to its four research universities and the four local, private research institutions of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Helmholtzgemeinschaft, Leibniz Community, and the Max Planck Society.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation recently announced that the U.S. had completed its contribution to the international Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Project on budget and ahead of schedule. By the end of the year, the LHC at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) laboratory near Geneva will generate its first particle collisions and research output. Total U.S. contribution to the project is about $531 million of the $5.89 billion cost of the project. Although the U.S.

Steve Bazinet has been hired as executive director of the Maine Center for Enterprise Development.

Rahindra Bose is Ohio University's new vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the graduate college.

The following overview is a synopsis of select recent announcements from research parks across the world, including groundbreakings and development plans to support vibrant regional economies based on science, technology and innovation. 
 

The Alberta Center for Advanced Microsystems and Nanotechnology Products (ACAMP), funded with $8 million from the provincial Alberta government and $3.5 million from the Canadian government, recently commenced operations in the Edmonton Research Park. The new program will be structured around three central components to assist commercialization in this area: packaging and assembly, product development, and marketing.
 

• Tony Armstrong, Indiana University executive director for engagement, has been chosen as the Indiana University Research and Technology Corporations new president and CEO.
• Jeff Costantine will retire this fiscal year as president of the Nashville Technology Council. The board of directors has begun the search for a new president.

Cluster strategies show proximity is seen as an important requirement for tacit knowledge flows and the resulting economic development benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship.

While there is no question that the economic recession has taken a toll on states' fiscal conditions, the degree by which states are affected can vary widely from one state to another, as evidenced most recently in Arkansas and Georgia. In Arkansas, legislators wrapped up their 2009 session with a plan to distribute a $300 million surplus, while the budget agreement made in Georgia would cut spending by $1.6 billion in the coming year.

Green stimulus investments have the potential to yield a greater number of jobs and greater long-term prosperity than traditional stimulus investments, according to a new study presented at the recent G20 summit. The report examines the stimulus packages passed in the G20 countries, particularly their relative emphasis on spending related to sustainability.

The role of a technology incubator or accelerator for supporting nascent firms generally is regarded with the utmost importance by the tech-based economic development community. Tech incubators provide essential resources for startup companies to develop and commercialize new technologies, leading to the creation of high-quality jobs.

J. Mike Books is leaving his post with the Indiana Health Industry Forum to become the first economic development director for the city of Columbia, Missouri. He also will serve as president of the Regional Economic Development Inc. Brooks will assume his new responsibilities on July 15.

New evidence suggests that venture capitalists increasingly view international investment as the future of the industry. The 2009 Global Venture Capital Survey, conducted by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and Deloitte, finds that 52 percent of venture capitalists around the world are currently investing outside their home country. Most investors also believe that their involvement with international partners will increase in the near future.

President Obama nominated Francis Collins, a physician and scientist who helped guide the Human Genome Project to completion, as the next director of the National Institutes of Health.

Historically viewed as an important contributor to job creation in emerging fields and a revenue generator for cities and states, science and technology parks serve an essential role in driving high-tech economies.

Sweden replaced Denmark as the world's most networked economy and the U.S. fell two spots to fifth place in the Global Information Technology Report 2009-10 rankings. The report, released last week by the World Economic Forum, finds that the U.S. boasts a very conducive information and communication technologies (ICT) environment because of intensive competition, excellent infrastructure and top-notch education. Aspects of the U.S. performance which show margins for improvement include high tax rates, excessive red tape, and a poor general regulatory framework.

Bryan Allinson has joined Ohio University as director of technology transfer.

Jeff Blodgett, Vice President of Research, at the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. is retiring.

The University of Virginia has named W. Mark Crowell, vice president for business development at The Scripps Research Institute, to the newly created position of executive director and associate vice president for innovation partnerships and commercialization.

Lawmakers in Georgia and Kansas recently approved scaled-back funding for their states' respective tech-based economic development (TBED) programs in the coming fiscal year. Although many states are struggling to fill large deficits in the aftermath of a national economic downturn, funding for TBED initiatives, even at reduced levels, continues to be a priority for most states as a means to grow and diversify the economy.

Georgia