Many areas of the country are experiencing a brain drain, an outmigration of recent college graduates leading to a decline in the available labor pool of entry level workers, young entrepreneurs and future civic leaders. A new initiative, however, hopes to reverse that trend in Northeastern Pennsylvania by strengthening the social, networking and professional relationships among young skilled workers in the Wilkes-Barre region.
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for the past five-and-a-half years, Sam McCullough is resigning effective October 25.
Greater Philadelphia First (GPF) and the Science Center, a consortium of 34 regional academic and scientific institutions, have established a major new joint initiative designed to make it easier for science and technology entrepreneurs to start, grow and expand their businesses. Modeled on UCSD CONNECT in San Diego, CONNECT Greater Philadelphia will assist entrepreneurs by linking them with needed business, academic and other resources.
Congratulations to Steve Zylstra, his staff and the 1,500-plus members of the Pittsburgh Technology Council as they celebrate the organization's 20th anniversary.
Dr. Donald Smith has been named interim chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.
Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive officer for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, is Governor Ed Rendell's pick to serve as Secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council recently issued its annual State of the Industry Report, which reveals that in spite of an extended national recession that began in 2000, the region’s technology industries have held their own, at least through the mid-point of the current economic downturn. The report covers the 13-county southwestern Pennsylvania region and presents industry statistics for 2001, the last year for which complete data is available from government and other sources.
Convincing politicians to make a multi-year investment in a state's economic future is challenging, particularly when commitments made in one budget cycle or administration can be forgotten or ignored so easily in the next legislative session. The FY 2003-04 funding struggle for Michigan's $50 million-per-year-for-20-years life science initiative provides ample evidence: $50 million dropped to $45 million and eroded to $32.5 million because of budget problems.
Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell recently unveiled an economic stimulus program that will invest nearly $2 billion in bonds and loan guarantees. The stimulus program is intended to leverage at least $5 billion in private investment in economic development projects, creating jobs in Pennsylvania's small and mid-size cities and towns.
Key provisions of Plan for a New Pennsylvania include:
The Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania promoted Stephen Brawley to serve as president and CEO.
Alan Brown was named executive director of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, a newly formed economic development initiative.
Jeanne B. Berdik has announced her retirement as Vice President of Workforce Education and Development at the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection. See next article for job posting.
SSTI Affiliate, the Pittsburgh Technology Council (PTC) seeks candidates to become the organization's Vice President for Workforce Education and Development. The senior-level position is responsible for the management of all Catalyst Connection and Pittsburgh Technology Council education programs and services and IT workforce development and recruitment strategies.
Barbara Schilberg and Gary Kurtzman have been named co-managing directors of the Biotechnology Greenhouse Corp. in Philadelphia. The organization is one of three "greenhouses" established as part of Pennsylvania's $100 million biotech initiative.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker officially launched Pennsylvania's Life Sciences Greenhouse, an historic initiative to be spread among three regions of the state — Southeast, Southwest and Central Pennsylvania.
To shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the region's biotechnology cluster, Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Economic Development (CED) has published A Biotechnology Action Plan for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The CED report says the Pittsburgh biotechnology cluster largely depends on the amount of available venture capital and the development of new technologies and that total funding levels must be increased to continue biotech development.
Don Smith has been appointed Vice President for Economic Development at the new Mellon Pitt Carnegie Corporation. MPC, a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, is intended to coordinate the economic development and tech commercialization activities of both schools.
Telecommunications entrepreneur R. Chadwick Paul Jr. has been hired as chief executive officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The Lehigh Valley Technology Network was launched mid-April in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Organizing efforts were led by the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. One of the Network's potential roles, according to The Morning Call, may be to serve as a liaison between high-tech entrepreneurs and a new angel capital group, the Northeast Pennsylvania Angel Network.
To further accommodate and cater to fledgling biotechnology, high-tech and start-up companies, the University of Pennsylvania Science Center in Philadelphia recently announced plans to add 1.85 million sq. ft. through the construction of six new buildings with retail and parking components.
Breaking new technologies into traditional markets can be challenging, particularly in the energy field it seems. To help overcome that hurdle, the State of Pennsylvania has undertaken a $5 million initiative to help finance the implementation of clean and renewable energy technologies such as biomass and wind power.
Innovation Philadelphia, a public-private partnership, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the city of Philadelphia have developed a road map that identifies the future drivers of the Greater Philadelphia economy and provides a framework for developing these drivers.
Over the last several months, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced millions of dollars in grants to support tech-based economic development efforts in communities across the country (see recent Digest articles from August 18 and September 8).
Since the beginning of July, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced almost $7.3 million in grants to support advanced manufacturing and support workforce development efforts in communities impacted by the decline coal industry. In Florida and Washington, the EDA announced funding to support the facilities that can house local manufacturing firms and provide the space and equipment necessary for them to create jobs.
Opportunities for successful workforce development partnerships exist across a variety of industries and geographies, according to a recently released report from the Community Development Department at the Cleveland Fed. The report, Addressing Employment Needs through Sector Partnerships, includes five case studies from throughout the Federal Reserve’s Fourth District, which contains Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Kentucky, the panhandle of West Virginia and all of Ohio. Although sector-based initiatives have been around for quite some time, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, whose final regulations became publicly available in June 2016, places a strong emphasis on aligning education and job training with employer needs, according to the report’s authors Kyle Fee, Matt Klesta, and Lisa Nelson.