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.

Over the past few months, several states have enacted spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year and passed legislation to support renewable energy initiatives and tax credits for R&D. While some TBED programs will face dramatic cuts in FY10, others are slated for slight decreases or will receive level funding. The following synopsis provides an overview of the 2009 legislative sessions across the following states:

Silicon Valley, a region often looked to for trends in the technology field, is expected to see a rise in the number of new high-tech incubators and the expansion of existing incubators in the coming months. A recent Wall Street Journal article points to these openings as a sign of revival for technology startup companies amid a relatively slow period last year as startup investment plunged during the recession.

At the close of the Utah legislative session on March 11, lawmakers followed Gov. Gary Herbert's recommendation to reduce the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) FY10 budget by $5.1 million, from $31.9 million to $26.8 million. For FY11, USTAR is budgeted to spend $34.3 million. This represents a combination of state and ARRA funding. USTAR invests in world-class innovation teams and research facilities at the University of Utah and Utah State University with a long-term goal of strengthening the state's knowledge economy.

Over the past few months, several states have announced efforts aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on oil. While the importance and urgency of such efforts is perhaps magnified in the wake of one of the worst U.S. environmental disasters, the shift to a renewable energy-focused economy also brings with it the expectation of job creation, new product development, and increased revenue for states struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The fifth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The first four installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 issues of the Digest.

The FY12 Business, Economic Development and Labor budget approved by lawmakers includes $25.7 million for USTAR, the state-funded initiative to grow a knowledge-based economy. This is the same amount recommended by Gov. Gary Herbert, but down from FY11 projected spending of $35.4 million. That amount included some ARRA funding from previous years, however. Research Teams will receive $23 million and $1.9 million is slated for Technology Outreach.

The seventh installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The first six installments are available in the Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19, Jan.

Kathy Collins has been appointed as the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) regional director in Madison. Previously, Collins worked as the technology and financial development manager in the Commerce Division of Business Development.

Ron Cox has been appointed as the assistant dean for economic development in the engineering college at Iowa State University. He retains his current position as director of CIRAS, the Center for Industrial Research and Service.

Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled last month an $11.3 billion spending plan for FY11 that maintains level funding for higher education and slightly reduces funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR). The governor's FY11 budget plan addresses a $693 million shortfall, which is spread across FY10-11 and anticipates $34 million in state revenue growth during the next year.  Read more ...

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.

Last week the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) released its strategic agenda for accelerating the growth of the state's green economy, distributing action items among four topical groupings: advanced manufacturing, energy efficiency, innovation cultivation, and wind power. A Roadmap for Advancing the Green Economy in Rhode Island was produced from a series of roundtables over the past year with 120 representatives from state government, universities, industry, labor, and other economic development nonprofit entities.

On June 11, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri signed the Job Creation Guaranty Program. Sponsored by House Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino and Senate Finance Chairman Daniel Da Ponte, the legislation establishes a $125 million dollar loan-guarantee program for the knowledge and technology-based sectors. Under this program, the state will not directly issue any loans. Instead, it will provide state backing to facilitate private loans. The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) will administer the program.

Often credited with contributing significant revenue to states' economies, research parks also house facilities for workforce training and provide resources for tech-based industries, which is especially important as the nation's employment begins to pick up steam. In West Virginia, officials are building a $15 million advanced technology-training center at the state-owned research and technology park, and in Utah, officials recently broke ground on a building that will house engineers and analysts working on the nation's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program.

Building on the state's seven economic clusters identified to grow the economy through targeted investments in emerging industries, Gov. Gary Herbert is asking lawmakers to provide $500,000 in FY12 to plan and identify for additional projects. The Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership (UCAP) is a collaboration of leaders from industry, state government, higher education, and workforce charged with developing strategies to develop industry-driven education and training services, leverage resources from higher education to accelerate industry clusters, and identify best practices.

Gov. Donald Carcieri signed legislation last week expanding the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (EDC) board and allowing the state to offer the incoming EDC director a three-year contract that extends past the governor’s term, which ends next January. The changes are expected to boost the agency’s effectiveness and attract better candidates for the state’s top economic development position.

Envision Utah appointed Alan Matheson as executive director of the Coalition for Utah's Future, the sponsor of Envision Utah.

Using the state’s regional advantage, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) wants to create high-wage jobs in targeted industry sectors and establish new equity and financing programs that provide growth capital to sustain the ventures, the agency announced last week.

 

It's no wonder SSTI's Annual Conference presents such a broad range of perspectives and approaches to TBED each year, when our organization draws in active membership from organizations from all across the continent! For example, with the involvement of the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership, SSTI now has active members in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.

Chris Roybal announced he is stepping down as senior economic development advisor of the Utah Governor's Office to become president and chief operating officer of the Northwest Research Corp., effective Feb. 2.