In the May 14, 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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Community Technology Centers to be Funded
The U.S. Department of Education has issued a notice inviting applications to establish as many as 60 community technology centers around the country. The purpose of the centers will be to increase access to technology and to promote the use of technology in adult and children's education. The Department has $9.25 million available for the program. Proposals must be submitted by June 14.

The program is attempting to address the inequity to accessing technology identified in the 1998 Department of Commerce report, Falling through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide. Although more Americans are purchasing computers each year, minority, rural and low-income households are still far less likely to have computers or online access to the Internet than the rest of the country. The Community Technology Centers program will provide grants for the development of model programs that demonstrate the educational effectiveness of technology in urban and rural areas and economically distressed communities.

Examples of activities to be supported in the centers may include: career development and job preparation, small business skill development and electronic commerce, adult education and family literacy, after-school activities for children, and home access to technology.

Eligible applicants include public and private nonprofit or for-profit organizations, state agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education or collaborative efforts by eligible entities. Partnerships are encouraged but not required for consideration. Preference will be given to those proposals which demonstrate substantial community support and/or establish centers within designated Empowerment Zones or Enterprise Communities.

Proposals may be funded for up to 36 months. The Department of Education's contributions to selected projects are estimated to range between $75,000 to $300,000, with an average annual award of $180,000. Federal funding must be matched on an increasing scale over the life of the project. Non-federal contributions during the first year of awards must be at least 30 percent of the total project costs, 40 percent in the second year of the grant, and 50 percent during the final year.

The complete notice of invitation for applications and information is available from the Federal Register (Vol. 64, No. 81, April 28, 1999, pages 22954-22979) or from the DOEd website: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg/announce.htm

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Michigan Unveils Tech Incentives & Programs
The new Michigan Economic Development Corporation has released its strategic plan to increase the growth of technology-related jobs in the state. The report, State Smart: Michigan, outlines more than $6 million in new initiatives and several tax incentives to encourage technology-based growth in three key industry sectors: life sciences, information technology and advanced manufacturing.

The plan's initiatives are divided among three categories:

Some of the specific "Smart Ideas" initiatives include: establishing a $2-million-per-year university research matching fund to help academic researchers leverage federal and private funding in information technology, electronics and emerging sectors; hiring marketing specialists and business development staff within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation for the three key industry sectors; and, establishing roundtables, clusters or councils in each sector to develop, promote and lead the state's efforts in the sectors.

Initiatives in the "Smart People" category include: establishing a Michigan Technology Center to provide small and medium-sized manufacturers with quality training and other technical services "similar to the current Manufacturing Extension Partnership;" funding Michigan Technical Education Centers to provide short-term tailored courses; revamping the state's job training programs so that at least 30 percent of training is provided via distance learning through the Michigan Virtual University; and, marketing local job opportunities to Michigan's recent technology graduates and out-of-state alumni.

The "Smart Capital" initiatives include $1 million annually for an Emerging Technologies Matching Fund to support university-industry partnerships' efforts to test new product applications. The funds will be available in exchange for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation taking an equity position in the ventures.

A state commercialization office will be created to provide matching funds to pay for additional technology transfer staff within each of the state's four research universities. The commercialization office also will establish a development fund linked to a privately financed seed fund to offset the R&D costs of promising projects. The seed fund would then take these ventures to market. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation estimates the annual cost of the new office and associated programs to be approximately $3 million.

Additional "Smart Capital" proposals include: establishing five technology research parks; targeting business recruitment efforts toward technology firms; and, implementing a series of tax reforms permitting technology-based businesses to take advantage of credits and incentives already in place for manufacturers.

The tax package also would allow all jurisdictions in the state to grant personal property tax abatements to technology firms. Previously, only economically distressed communities were able to offer this inducement to attract companies.

Smart State: Michigan can be downloaded at: http://medc.michigan.org/

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Senate Science Committee Moves Legislation Forward
Last week, in contrast to the mid-April House and Senate approval of a budget resolution that is projected to result in a double digit decline in federal R&D spending by 2004, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved the Federal Research Investment Act, which would double federal basic research funding over an eleven-year period. S. 296 establishes a long-term plan for federal funding of fundamental, scientific, and pre-competitive engineering.

Also last week, the Committee approved the NASA reauthorization bill for fiscal years (FY) 2000 through 2002. S. 342 would authorize $13.4 billion for FY 2000, $13.8 billion in FY 2001, and $13.9 billion in FY 2002. Senators Conrad Burns (R-MT) and John D. Rockefeller (D-WV) offered an amendment to provide three-year funding for the NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). The adopted funding authorizations include $10 million in FY 2000, $15 million in FY 2001 and $20 million in FY 2003.

Text of both S. 296 and S. 342 can be found on the Committee's web site: http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/

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People

Cheryl Lyman, policy analyst with the State Science and Technology Institute, will be leaving SSTI today to accept a position with the Ohio Department of Commerce as its fiscal officer. Cheryl has worked with SSTI since its opening in 1996. We wish her well in her new position!

Robert Templin, president of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), has resigned. Wolfgang Tolle, managing director, has been named acting president. Patsy Brown, CIT's director of public affairs, also has left CIT.

Steve Jarvis resigned as the director of California Trade and Commerce's Office of Strategic Technology. Jeff Newman has been named as acting director.

Marty Grueber has left the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council (RIEPC) to join Battelle Memorial Institute and the Environmental Technology Commercialization Center. Beth Ashman Collins has been named director of research at RIEPC.

John Dougherty resigned his position with the Illinois Coalition to accept a job in the private sector.

Kate Latta Hoffher, senior public affairs specialist with the National Science Foundation's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, is on detail to NSF's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) until the end of July.

Terri Adams is serving as Chief of the Science, Technology and Energy Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Martha McInnis resigned from ADECA in January.

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