In the January 8, 1999 Issue:

Copyright State Science & Technology Institute 2002. Information in this issue of the SSTI Weekly Digest was prepared under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration. Redistribution to all others interested in tech-based economic development is strongly encouraged — please cite the State Science & Technology Institute whenever portions are reproduced or redirected. Any opinions expressed in the Digest do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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170 FIRMS INVITED TO APPLY FOR PHASE IIB FUNDING
The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has invited 170 SBIR Phase II grantees to participate in their Phase IIB program. The Phase IIB program will provide up to $100,000 in additional funds to Phase II grantees that obtain third-party funds.

One of the purposes of the program is to help bridge the gap in funding between Phase II and Phase III. It is also intended to help companies extend their current Phase II grant to meet the requirements of the third party investor and to help accelerate the Phase II project to the commercialization stage.

State or local governments may serve as the third party investor.   Other qualified third party investors include other companies, a venture capital firm, an "angel" investor, or any combination.

The third party investor must commit a minimum of $100,000.  NSF will match up to 50 percent of funds received, not to exceed $100,000.

NSF funds can be used only for advancing the research-related elements of the project. The third party investor funds could be used for research or other business related efforts that will accelerate the research to commercialization.

All NSF SBIR Phase II grantees with start dates between October 1, 1996 and April 1, 1998 are eligible to participate.  NSF anticipates making approximately 30 to 40 Phase IIB awards. Proposals are due by February 1, 1999.

States with firms eligible to apply are listed below with the number of eligible firms in parentheses: Alabama (1); Arizona (4); Arkansas (1); California (33); Colorado (6); Connecticut (8); Delaware (1); Georgia (1); Hawaii (2); Illinois (3); Indiana (1); Louisiana (1); Maryland (7); Massachusetts (29); Michigan (2); Minnesota (1); Montana (1); Nevada (1); New Hampshire (1); New Jersey (9); New Mexico (4); New York (12); North Carolina (3); Ohio (4); Oregon (3); Pennsylvania (3); South Carolina (1); South Dakota (1); Tennessee (6); Texas (3);  Utah (1); Vermont (2); Virginia (7); Washington (5); Wisconsin (1); and Wyoming (1).

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STATES END 1998 FISCALLY STRONG
State governments are reaping the benefits of the strong economy and sound fiscal leadership, according to the December, 1998 edition of Fiscal Survey of States. The semi-annual report, released last week by the National Governors’ Association (NGA) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), indicates states are maintaining healthy reserves to help manage economic uncertainties.

Year-end balances in approximately two-thirds of the states are projected to be 5 percent or more of spending in fiscal 1999.  Nineteen states anticipate balances in excess of 10 percent of 1998 spending.

According to the survey, states are holding down the rate of increase in general fund spending to 5.7 percent in fiscal 1998 and 6.3 percent in fiscal 1999, compared with a 6.5 percent average annual increase over the past twenty years. Only two states, Hawaii and Alaska, had to enforce budget cuts in 1998.

States reported that, on average, their revenues for fiscal 1998 exceeded budget estimates by 3.6 percent. States used the surplus funds in a variety of ways including bolstering "rainy day funds," investing in education, funding one-time capital construction for schools and roads, investing in technology especially for "Year 2000" computer projects, providing additional support to local governments, and supporting economic development projects.

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SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE HAS S&T TIES
Most of the press coverage on the ascension of the new Speaker of the House, Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL), has focused on his skills at building bridges among Republicans and with Democrats. Rep. Hastert’s ties to science and technology communities have not been as widely reported.

Rep. Hastert’s Illinois district includes Fermilab, a Department of Energy facility. According to the Illinois Coalition, he has been a Coalition director since 1994, received the Coalition’s "Technology Leader of the Year" award in 1996, and a proponent of a research park near Fermilab to spur high-tech growth. The Illinois Coalition is a non-profit organization working to encourage technology-based economic development in Illinois.

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NIH FY 1998 STTR AWARDS BY STATE
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released award statistics for the FY 1998 Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR).  No awards were made in FY 1998 to companies in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina or South Dakota. NIH reports awards by the location of the principal investigator’s company. Subsequently, there may be some universities or small businesses from these states that are involved in a FY 1998 NIH STTR project but are not reflected in the award statistics.

Follow this link to a table showing the STTR Phase I and Phase II results in rank order by total dollars awarded for each of 34 states in which awards were made. More information for each award may be obtained at the NIH SBIR/STTR website: http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

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