Initiatives Aim to Close Digital Divide Among Low-Income Households
Two initiatives aimed at closing the digital divide, particularly among low-income Americans, were announced earlier this month.
People
Bill Borgmeyer has retired from his position as Coordinator of Technology Development for the Missouri Technology Corporation.
Maine Task Force Recommends State-Purchased Computers for Students
In a follow-up to Maine Governor Angus King’s call for every 7th grader to have a laptop computer that they would use in school and could take home, the Task Force on the Maine Learning Technology Endowment has recommended that every student and teacher in the 7th through 12th grades be provided with computers that would be wireless and portable. The computers could be used in the classroom and, pending school district permission, be taken home.
Tech Talkin' Govs IV: State of the State and Budget Addresses
Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment of excerpts from recent speeches and budget proposals demonstrating the priority governors are placing on tech-based economic development and math & science education.
MaineScience.Org Provides Portal to State's S&T Community
The Maine Science and Technology Foundation has launched http://www.mainescience.org -- a single website clearinghouse for businesses, researchers, educators, students and the public looking for information on science and technology in Maine. Under the headings of Quest, Brainpower, Happenings, and Commerce, the site:
Missouri Passes Embryonic Stem Cell Amendment
Voters in Missouri approved, 51 percent to 49 percent, an amendment to the state constitution that will prohibit state or local governments from preventing embryonic stem cell research. The amendment also defines what type of research is permitted.
Maine Ponders Mega Investments for R&D, Tech
$190 million? $200 million? $250 million? Each of these figures has been advanced in Maine to support three different approaches toward tech-based economic development. The bottom line for the 2007 legislative session is Maine’s elected leaders - from the governor and the state assembly - believe a sizable injection of public funding is required to accelerate research and technology commercialization in the Pine Tree State.
Maine Issues Guide for the Creative Economy
Maine Gov. Mark Baldacci has unveiled a new handbook intended to help communities to capitalize upon their cultural resources to spur economic growth. Maine's Creative Economy Community Handbook: Maine State Government Resources for Communities offers advice for community leaders interested in building a creative and dynamic workforce. The guidelines it gives for designing a strategic plan could benefit communities across the country interested in similar initiatives.
Index Has Maine Achieving 'Modest Progress'
Describing Maine as making "modest progress" in strengthening its capacity for innovation-driven economic growth, the Maine Science and Technology Foundation (MSTF) released on Tuesday The Maine Innovation Index 2002, a report on Maine's performance in the new economy.
People
Peggy Schaffer left Maine's Office of Innovation to become chief of staff of the Maine Senate Majority Office.
Kauffman Launches eVenturing™ Website
To help entrepreneurs start and manage businesses, the Kauffman Foundation recently launched Kauffman eVenturing™ ( www.eVenturing.org).
Election Preview: Voters to Decide on Statewide TBED Issues
While the Presidential election takes center stage on November 4, voters in several states also will cast their votes on statewide ballot issues affecting the TBED community. In addition to the 11 gubernatorial races and more than 5,800 state legislative seats up for grabs, voters across the nation will consider measures to provide funding for public education, expand investment in alternative and renewable energy, lift restrictions on stem-cell research, and eliminate income tax and state spending caps.
Several Statewide TBED Issues Win Voter Approval
The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Elected Governors Stress Importance of TBED and Economic Development
State TBED Investments Pay Benefits, According to Program Assessments
In a period of tightening budgets, it is important for stakeholders to know that the investments they are making in tech-based economic development are yielding positive economic results - and returning revenue to the state. Recent impact assessments to examine comprehensive TBED programs in three states show how smart these investments have been. More telling, different evaluation models were used in all three states and they each reached similar conclusions: strategic TBED investments can stimulate economic growth.
Massachusetts, Maine Innovation Indices Assess States' Readiness for the Economic Downturn
State governments are poised to play a vital role in the economic recovery through their use of federally-appropriated funds and through their internal policy responses to the global crisis. Several states are focusing on innovation as a means of recovery. Massachusetts and Maine both recently released the latest editions of their annual innovation indices. These annual publications have long helped to clarify trends in the innovation economy and provided assessment of their performance relative to other states.
Research Park Round Up
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.
Missouri, Ohio and Texas Governors Seek Increased Support for TBED Efforts
Not all of the news coming out of governors' offices is bad for TBED strategies. For example, just in the past week, governors in Missouri, Ohio and Texas proposed increases in state investments for job creation in emerging fields, higher education scholarships, and technology commercialization and research programs. The following overview provides highlights of their recommendations for TBED proposals in the upcoming fiscal year or biennium.
Tech Talkin' Govs, Part III
People & TBED Organizations
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.
SSTI Job Corner
Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
TBED People
- 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.
Kauffman Analyzes the Ups and Outs of Startup Job Growth and Mortality
Growth is most noticeable in dogs, cats and humans when they are puppies, kittens and infants. A new analysis by the Kauffman Foundation looking at the Census Bureau's Business Dynamics Statistics reveals the same phenomenon in businesses: growth, as measured by net employment, is most significant for younger companies compared to their more mature counterparts. Infant mortality of young firms is very high, though - nearly 20 percent of all jobs at very young startups are lost due to the businesses failing within the first year.
Incubator RoundUp: Top Performing Incubators Named in NBIA Awards
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.