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Maria Contreras-Sweet has been confirmed as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.

While bragging may not be polite, it can be quite helpful to others. That is, sharing your success with organizations working to achieve similar outcomes can inspire new ideas and provide valuable lessons for replicability. Now in its eighth year, SSTI’s Excellence in TBED awards program has recognized 38 initiatives for impactful, replicable and novel efforts that support high-growth companies and advance regional competitiveness. Please consider sharing your story as part of the 2014 awards program. Open call for applications begins April 16. More info at: http://www.sstiawards.org/. 

Rich Luank, President & CEO of Innovation Works, recently was elected to the State Science and Technology (SSTI) Board of Trustees. Lunak will assist in providing strategic guidance and oversight of SSTI’s operations as the group works to encourage economic growth through science, technology and innovation.

This week, Congress approved a $10 million appropriation for the Department of Commerce’s Regional Innovation program in the FY14 Omnibus Appropriations bill and the SSTI Digest continued its Tech Talkin’ Govs series, as governors in nine states outlined their innovation plans and achievements.

The FY14 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed yesterday and the U.S. Senate is expected to pass on Friday, contains $10 million for the Regional Innovation program in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s budget. This is the first time the grant portion of the program was directly funded.  The program was authorized in the America COMPETES Act of 2010 and establishes the program “to encourage and support the development of regional innovation strategies, including regional innovation clusters and science and research parks.”

As we plan for 2014, Dan Berglund, SSTI president & CEO, will provide us with an in-depth view of the latest trends affecting tech-based economic development (TBED), new developments in the field, opportunities for the year ahead, and the implications and issues for TBED policymakers and practitioners. This webinar will be a good opportunity to reflect on 2013 and look forward to 2014.