On October 13, SSTI will offer four exciting options as pre-conference activities: three day-long sessions on topics that will help you prepare for tomorrow's challenges and a tour of one of the world's foremost science parks. The sessions are:
SSTI annual conferences don't come in a box. We don't publish proceedings or post conference materials. Each year's event is designed as an intensive learning experience; it's about the question and answer, the give and take, the push and pull, the dialogue as much as the individual presentations. You have to be present to win, if learning and growing is winning. We think it is.
Need yet another reason why this conference fits your training needs? SSTI’s 8th Annual Conference is recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as a professional development event that counts toward the recertification of Certified Economic Developers (CEcDs).
Seattle 2003 Sold Out. Register Early to Ensure a Seat in Philadelphia
We heard from some of you last year about your disappointment and disbelief that you couldn't attend our annual conference in Seattle because it was sold out. It happens with SSTI conferences because our first concern is the quality of the event for our participants.
In the coming weeks, many Digest readers will receive the 24-page full color brochure in the mail. If you can't wait until then or want to make sure you get a copy, a PDF version is available for download on our conference website: http://www.ssti.org/conference04.htm [expired]
Slate of 30 breakout sessions SSTI's largest offering yet
The agenda is packed. Packed with great breakout session topics and engaging presenters. With as many as 30 breakout sessions, this year's conference offers something for everyone. The session titles are provided below. Brief descriptions of each topic are presented in the brochure and will be available our conference website:
The larger conference structure allows us to experiment with some of the sessions, adding elements to improve the event's value for most participants.
Economic development in Oregon recently has been given new life, thanks to the approval of $222 million in bills by Governor John Kitzhaber. The legislation, including $72 million for high-tech infrastructure and research over the next two years, is expected to increase public investment in biotechnology, engineering and other research.
The Greater Cincinnati Regional Technology Initiative has released revving up the tech engine, a strategic plan with more than 30 recommendations to improve Cincinnati's position in a tech-based economy. Giving themselves just 100 days to complete the plan when they started in Spring, the project was developed through six "Accelerator Teams" involving more than 200 volunteers from the three-state metro area.
The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) bridges the gap between the research lab and the marketplace, stimulating prosperity through innovation. Through partnerships with the private sector, ATP's early stage investment is accelerating the development of innovative technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs. ATP exhibits four primary strengths:
No matter which source one uses, venture capital investments continued their decline during the second quarter of 2001. The Moneytree™ survey, released this week by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Venture One, Inc., found a 21 percent decline from the previous quarter. Second quarter investments fell to $8.2 billion from $10.4 billion in the first three months of the year. Only 669 companies received funding, down 11 percent from the 752 firms funded during the first quarter.
What are you doing to protect your state or local economy from technological advances that will completely overturn an industry 10, 20, 30 years from now?
With the prospect of someday losing 27,000 high-paying tech jobs at 15 automotive engine and powertrain plants, Michigan has unveiled a plan to position the state as a leader when automotive applications of fuel cell technology make the internal combustion engine obsolete.
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey Data (C2SS), compiled from 700,000 test households prior to the full census. C2SS provides a preliminary look at data similar to those that will be available next year from the Census 2000 long form.
Is the current concentration of effort toward the identification and licensing of intellectual property (IP) the best method to stimulate innovation? In a period seeing increased pressures on public research universities to identify alternate sources of funding, IP opponents may find economic considerations obfuscating the innovation argument:
The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking the laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. More than 700 major federal laboratories and centers and their parent departments and agencies are FLC members.
It seems discussion on Capital Hill of the burgeoning federal deficit is loudest when the House, Senate or Administration considers the VA, HUD and Independent Agencies appropriations bill. Perhaps the bill always serves as the fall guy because alphabetically it is the last of the 13 appropriations bills Congress considers, then ignores and then hurriedly mushes together with the other unpassed funding bills several months into the new fiscal year.
In an appropriations bill where cuts are viewed as good news -- compared to the President's request for program termination, that is -- the small Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund could consider itself very lucky after Friday's full House Appropriations Committee mark-up of the VA-HUD and Independent Agencies bill.
July has been a tech-friendly month for Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. On July 14, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) named her "BIO Governor of the Year," recognizing her contributions toward growing the state's biotechnology industry, one of the strongest concentrations in the country. Further attesting to her grasp of biotech issues, Gov. Minner also serves as a co-chair of the National Governors Association Biotechnology Partnership.
Earlier this month, a Science Committee bill that would reauthorize the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program and create a more robust manufacturing sector cleared the U.S. House of Representatives.
Gov. Mike Rounds announced last week the creation of four new specialized research centers at the state's public universities. The $2.8 million in awards mark South Dakota's first foray into using university-based research investments as a tool to grow the state's economy, the governor said.
The four 2010 Research Centers are:
Encouraging entrepreneurship has been a predominant focus since the recession and jobless recover, but a recent report from one of the country's leading colleges for entrepreneurial education cautions the current wave of new business starts will not cure many job woes.
The general fiscal condition of state budgets is growing weaker, indicates a preliminary report released August 1 by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). State Budget & Tax Actions 2001 provides information on 46 states included in NCSL's annual survey. The remaining states – Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin – had budgets that were either not passed or awaiting the governor's approval.
The toll a lackluster economy is taking on Wall Street, manufacturing orders, and tech firm profits are well-known facts at this point. Tightening state and local tax revenues are also apparent. For households, less cash usually translates to changes in vacation travel plans and fewer purchases of luxury items, like bigger cars, expensive jewelry and – Internet access?
Ohio businesses experienced a 15 percent increase in overall Internet and website usage between 1999 and 2000, according to the 2001 report released by ECom-Ohio — a public-private collaborative project to increase Ohio's readiness for global electronic commerce.
The National Science Foundation has published Federal Funds for Research and Development: Detailed Historical Tables: Fiscal Years 1951-2001. The five-volume report includes seven tables (55-61) that present the data by state for the period 1970-1999. Federal R&D obligations are characterized by industrial, university, nonprofit, FFRDC and intramural performers.