Georgia Research Alliance Seeks $40M Dedicated VC Fund
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue this month proposed a new $40 million Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Venture Capital Fund to be fueled by $10 million from the state legislature and subsequently matched with $30 million from the private sector. Of the entire suite of GRA initiatives, this will be the first program not funded entirely by the state of Georgia.
Tech Talkin’ Govs, Part IV
The fourth installment of the Tech Talkin’ Govs series includes excerpts from governors’ speeches delivered in Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Georgia – see article in this issue of the Digest.
Kentucky
Gov. Steve Beshear, State Budget Address, Jan. 29, 2008
People
Chris Engle, former vice president of Angelou Economics, has joined New Economy Strategies as chief project officer and principal.
New Jersey Appropriates $270M to Build Biomedical and Stem Cell Research Facilities
Last month, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill that will contribute $270 million to the construction of five biotechnology research facilities across the state. The funding source will be bonds backed up by cigarette tax revenue, as issued by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. Gov.
Massachusetts Innovation Index Reports Shrinking High-Tech Labor Pool in Leading Technology States
The gradual aging of the American workforce and the domestic migration of young workers may be at fault for slow economic growth in many states that have historically been successful in promoting high-tech business, according to this year’s Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.
People
The Georgia Biomedical Partnership named Charles Craig as its new president.
People & TBED Organizations
Dr. Donald Colbert is the new executive director of the Augusta BioBusiness Center and Georgia Medical Authority. Colbert replaces Lenie Roos-Gabridge, who retired in July.
People & TBED Organizations
Robert Coughlin will replace Thomas Finneran as the new head of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council by October. Coughlin is Gov. Deval Patrick's undersecretary for business development.
People & TBED Organizations
Gov. Patrick has appointed Sharon Gillett to head the newly created Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable. Gillett previously served as a principal research associate and chair of the Broadband Working Group for the industry-sponsored Communications Futures Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a member of the Boston Wireless Task Force.
People & TBED Organizations
The Georgia Biomedical Partnership has become Georgia Bio, The Life Sciences Partnership.
People
Virginia Bauer, former New Jersey commerce secretary, was sworn in as CEO and secretary of the New Jersey Commerce & Economic Growth Commission.
Innovation Economy Strong, But State Lags in High Tech Job Creation, MTC Index Finds
Massachusetts' innovation indicators may be strong, but the conversion of innovation into new high tech jobs is lagging and the state’s median household income continues to dip, according to the latest Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy.
Job Postings
Chief Executive Officer
Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology
Georgia Tech’s $5M Tennenbaum Institute to Focus on Enterprise Transformation
For most people in the business sector and economic development field, perhaps, the word "innovation" is quickly associated with tech start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses. The new Tennebaum Institute at Georgia Tech, opened last month with a $5 million donation from school alumnus Michael Tennebaum, is hoping to change that.
People
Former Massachusetts House Majority Leader Salvatore DiMasi has replaced Thomas Finneran as Speaker of the House. Finneran recently resigned to run the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.
People
Tino Mantella has been appointed president of the Technology Association of Georgia, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promotion and economic advancement of the state's technology industry.
New Jersey Commits $25M for Innovation Zones
Location-based tax incentives to encourage the clustering of technology companies in distressed areas or around research universities has grown in popularity since Michigan's smart zones were created several years ago.
People
Reports suggest New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey, resigning his office in mid-November, will be named the first director of the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey. Securing funding for the center has been a legislative priority for the Governor this year.
People
John Tesoriero has left the New Jersey Commission on Science & Technology to become Associate Director of the Center for Advanced Information Processing at Rutgers University. David Eater is Acting Executive Director for the Commission as a search is conducted for a permanent replacement.
People
C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
People
Blair Carnahan will be the first director of the new Columbus Regional Technology Center in Columbus, Ga. The new facility will house an incubator, the Columbus Georgia Tech regional office and the Columbus office of the Small Business Development Center.
Massachusetts House Announces $110M Plan to Encourage TBED
Details on a $110 million initiative to create more jobs and stimulate the Massachusetts economy were released yesterday by Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran and other state leaders. The initiative, Mass Jobs: Investment and Opportunity, is an innovation-friendly plan to streamline government functions and encourage growth in emerging technology through capital formation, regional development, and stability in regulation and taxation.
Fireworks on the Fourth for NJCS&T?
The Fourth of July might just be a paid holiday for New Jersey's tech-based economic development agency after all. Since Governor James McGreevey released his FY 2004 budget request six months ago, the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology has been living under a June 30 death sentence. Facing a deficit forecast in excess of $4 billion, the governor had called for the elimination of the $15 million program.
New Jersey Creates Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development
To help make his state a leader in research, development and innovation, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey recently signed an executive order establishing the Commission on Jobs, Growth and Economic Development. Highlighting the state's strengths but calling for it to move forward, even with a $5 billion budget shortfall looming, the governor said the commission is needed to put New Jersey in position to be more competitive.
Georgia's Rural Divide Program Threatened in Budget Battle
The FY 2004 budget passed by the Georgia Senate last week eliminates all $32 million the House approved for the OneGeorgia Authority, the state's loan and grant program targeting rural tech-based and traditional economic development. Created in 2000, the OneGeorgia Authority was anticipated to spend $1.6 billion over 25 years (one-third of the state's tobacco settlement funds) to assist the state's most economically challenged areas based on unemployment and poverty rates.