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.

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.

With less money to spend on risky endeavors, many states are taking more targeted approaches toward economic development, seeking out sectors of the economy they consider most likely to grow and be sustainable beyond current conditions. In Hawaii, for example, lawmakers established an Aerospace Advisory Committee this session seeking long-term growth in aerospace-related industries.

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.

The complete description of this opportunity and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

Lawmakers approved last week the 2010-11 biennial budget, dedicating more than $76 million for energy research projects funded by the state's share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. The University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources will receive $45 million for development of a subcommerical scale CO2 sequestration research demonstration project, $14 million for clean coal technology research, and $17.4 million for operation of the school. Three bills regulating the wind energy industry also were signed into law by Gov. Dave Freudenthal last week.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order establishing the Governor's Office of Economic Development and appointed Joel Ayala as the director of the new office.

Having the tools and resources to develop innovative concepts and products and move discoveries from the lab to the marketplace is an essential component for building tech-based economies. Research parks, a place where innovative ideas are borne, partnerships between university and industry are created, and companies grow and create new jobs, provide a foundation for the kind of economic growth necessary to compete in a global economy. Over the past few months, development plans and groundbreaking announcements from research parks across the nation have been made.

JDG Associates, Executive Search Consultants, has been retained by the suburban Maryland-based National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to recruit two key leaders:

• The Director for Innovation and Industry Services will focus on technology transfer and commercialization along with the fostering of public/private partnerships and joint ventures; and,

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Our first installment was in the Jan. 5 Digest.

Alabama then-Governor-elect Robert Bentley on January 3 named former House Speaker Seth Hammett as director of the Alabama Development Office, replacing Interim Director Linda Swann. He also appointed the president of the Birmingham-based Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, Bill Taylor, to lead efforts to grow and retain existing Alabama industries, while at the same time recruiting new businesses to the state.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, and Vermont. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 19 issues of the Digest.

Budgets recently approved in West Virginia and Wyoming will dedicate new funds for TBED initiatives in the coming year. TechConnect West Virginia is slated to receive $250,000 for its efforts to develop immediate and long-term strategies to capitalize on the state's technology strengths.

Missouri Small Business Technology Development Center invites applications for an associate state specialist (counselor). This position serves as a statewide specialist to provide leadership, expertise, and training to University faculty and staff, and private sector clients with SBIR/STTR.

Complete descriptions of these opportunities and others are available at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.

During the upcoming legislative session in Missouri, lawmakers will consider a proposal by Gov. Jay Nixon to create a funding source aimed at attracting top scientists, commercializing research, recruiting and building science infrastructure, and creating capital programs for early-stage technology companies. The Missouri Science and Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) would dedicate an annual portion of new tax revenues generated by biotechnology companies to a newly-created state fund administered by the Missouri Technology Corporation.

The third installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs’ series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Delaware, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin. The first and second installments are available in the Jan 13 Digest and Jan. 20 Digest, respectively.

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.

With input from industry leaders in life sciences and tech-based organizations, a group convened by Gov. Jay Nixon is tasked with identifying a vision and mission to transform the state's economy within five years targeting high-growth industries. By the end of the year, the group hopes to identify six to eight key initiatives most likely to impact the economy. Tech-based components will be critical to the plan, with details forthcoming.

President Obama has named Ron Bloom as the administration's senior counselor for manufacturing policy. Since, February, Bloom has been a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and he sits on the president's automotive industry task force.

Two economic development reports, one outlining strategic initiatives to transform the state's economy and the other making recommendations for reforming the state's tax programs, were delivered last week to Gov. Jay Nixon. The governor's Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, launched in May, submitted initial job-creation proposals focused in the areas of advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, bioscience, health science and service, information technology, financial and professional services and transportation and logistics.

The Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation announced its first Women in Science and Engineering Business Idea Competition to encourage female scientists and engineers to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The competition's goal is totap into the "growing pool of highly educated women who have the potential to start scalable science and engineering-related ventures".

Governors in Arkansas, Mississippi and Wyoming recently unveiled spending plans for the upcoming year or biennium. Funding for many tech-based investments would be maintained or increased under the governors' proposals. New proposals range from additional funds for energy research at the University of Wyoming to new funding mechanisms for colleges and universities in Mississippi. Funding for S&T efforts in Arkansas would remain level.

Arkansas

Outlining his budget recommendations for the 2011-12 biennium last week, Gov. Dave Freudenthal asked lawmakers to continue support for research projects funded by the state’s share of federal Abandoned Mine Land (AML) funds. Using $116.1 million available for appropriation in the coming year, the governor recommends $45 million for continuation of carbon sequestration research, $17.4 million to continue operating the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, and $14 million for the Clean Coal Technology matching grant program.