Two independent surveys of venture capital investments made during the fourth quarter of FY 2001 suggest an end to downward trends in the flow of money and number of VC placements.
MoneyTree™ Survey
Whether it is explicitly stated or implicitly understood, one of the distinctions between technology-based economic development (TBED) and more traditional economic development functions is TBED's goal of encouraging the creation of high-skill, high-wage jobs to raise the standard of living for the state or region's residents. An area's income levels and its positive change over time could be considered measures of success toward that goal.
It may not be getting much attention from the White House or Congress, but encouraging innovation and technology-based economic development through coordinated national strategies and initiatives is very much on the legislative agenda of many other countries around the world. Recent highlights from the past few weeks include (all dollar figures are for U.S. equivalencies):
Friday's issue of the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter brought to our attention two announcements from the SBA regarding the SBIR Program. Proposed changes for the program were included in the Dec. 3 online issue of the Federal Register. We reprint an extended excerpt of the text from the Idaho SBIR Competition Newsletter verbatim below, with our great appreciation for the work of Dr.
Even with record participation from 165 U.S. universities and 32 research hospitals, the 13th annual licensing survey conducted by the Association of University of Technology Managers (AUTM) reveals a 6.7 percent drop in the number of start-up companies created with technology licensed from the responding schools.
For many university tech transfer operations, the need to generate revenues to support the office and attempt to meet the often pie-in-the-sky expectations of school administrators can force licensing efforts toward only the biggest deals. Thanks to a large donation to serve as an endowment, the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering will be able to count on $1 million in interest income to support its technology transfer activities.
On the heels of a report from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) urging reform for interdisciplinary research, Congress gave its final approval of a bill designed to effectively promote collaborative research among universities and the public and private sectors.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA), formerly known as the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, may have cut the amount of research funding it is required to award small tech companies, but the Department of Defense still must meet its full 2.5 percent set-aside obligations, points out Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and Christopher "Kit" Bond of Missouri in a strongly worded, bipartisan letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
With the goal of supporting partnerships that unite the efforts of local school districts with science, mathematics, engineering and education faculties of colleges and universities, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the first request for proposals (RFP) for the $160 million Math & Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Involvement of additional stakeholders, especially states, is highly encouraged, according to the RFP.
The first-ever Mississippi Innovation Index was released Wednesday by the Mississippi Technology Alliance.
Targeting technology-based economic development in Mississippi, the Index groups baseline data into eight categories and establishes a data collection process for 24 science- and technology-related indicators. Initial analyses suggest:
Kansas, Inc., a nonpartisan public-private organization, recently released the findings and recommendations of its team of economic development consultants and more than 1,100 Kansans as a comprehensive update to Kansas' economic development strategic plan.
Again, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State addresses.
Utah
Michael Leavitt, State of the State, January 28, 2002
http://www.utah.gov/governor/stateofstate.html
Rick Kovar, executive director of the Rhode Island Technology Council for the past two years, resigned from his position. The 242-member Council is beginning the search for a new director.
To give environmental technology entrepreneurs the chance to have their business plans analyzed by experts and win money for it, the National Environmental Technology (NET) Incubator in Wilberforce, Ohio, is hosting the first annual National Business Plan Competition.
With more than 110 great titles to aid the policy, practice and study of tech-based economic development, the SSTI Publication Catalog, Resources for Building Tech-based Economies officially is online.
Total R&D expenditures in the U.S. are expected to increase about 3.5 percent to $285.6 billion in 2002, according to the annual Battelle-R&D Magazine research and development forecast.
In his fourth State of the State Address, Governor Jeb Bush outlined a new $100 million university-based initiative focused on nanotechnology and biotechnology.
The following item was prepared by Bill Noxon of the National Science Foundation.
Yesterday's Providence Journal-Bulletin reports the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) has reduced by merger the number of Slater Centers. With the goal of increasing the impact of the state's annual $3 million investment, the restructuring from six to four centers is intended to reduce overhead and administrative costs, allowing more of each resulting center's funding to flow into emerging businesses.
Tennessee's Sullivan County took a big step toward reducing the presence of a brain drain when it approved a scholarship program for its high school graduates.
The third part in a series, "Tech-talkin Govs" highlights programs, policies and issues in tech-based economic development that were considered in the following governors' State of the State and Budget addresses.
California
Gray Davis, 2002-2003 Budget proposal, January 2002
http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/Budget02-03/00_toc.htm
Last week, Texas Governor Rick Perry announced the formation of the Governor's Council on Science and Biotechnology Development. The Council will strive to create a seamless system of innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace in rapidly developing areas of biotechnology — such as biopharmaceutical development, bioinformatics, genomics and nanotechnology.
Lincoln, Nebraska
Two of SSTI's sponsoring organizations, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp (KTEC) and Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, are looking for strong candidates to fill two critical positions. A brief description of each opportunity is provided below. More detailed information is available on SSTI's website at: http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm
The omnibus appropriations bill approved by Congress over the weekend provides $109 million in fiscal year 2005 funds to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program, according to the American Small Manufacturers Coalition (ASMC). Of the total, $3 million is directed to help small and rural states advance outreach to manufacturers, ASMC states in its most recent legislative update.