- New Economy Benchmarking Report Card Available
- NRC Sees Industry-Govt. Partnerships Critical To U.S. Economic Growth
- DOE SBIR Phase I Awards Announced
- Local Technology Benchmarking Study Released
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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New Economy Benchmarking Report Card Available
Innovation indices or "S&T report cards" have grown increasingly popular over the past few years on both state and local levels. The trend has now reached the national level with the release last week of the Progressive Policy Institute's, The State New Economy Index.An effort funded by the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology (EPSCoT) of the U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to be released this fall.
The State New Economy Index is the first collection of 17 indicators of states' relative positions in the changing economy. The indicators are classified into five categories:
- "Knowledge Jobs" -- three measures are used: office jobs; jobs held by managers, professionals and technicians; and the educational attainment of the workforce
- Globalization -- two measures are used: the export orientation of manufacturing; and foreign direct investment
- Economic dynamism and competition -- three measures are used: the number of jobs in fast-growing companies; business start-ups and failures as a percentage of all companies; and initial public offerings
- Transformation to a digital economy -- four measures are used: the percentage of adults online; the number of ".com" domain name registrations; technology in schools: and the degree to which state and local governments use information technologies to deliver services
- Technological innovation capacity -- five measures are used: number of high tech jobs; number of scientists and engineers in the workforce; number of patents issued; industry investment in R&D; and venture capital activity
Each state's performance for the five groups of indicators is aggregated, weighted and ranked. The result, an overall score for the state relative to the other states, is presented in the table accompanying this article. The total possible points is 100 if a state were to be number one in every indicator.
The State New Economy Index provides a description of each indicator, each state's score and position relative to the other states for the indicator, and an explanation of the weighting and overall scoring method. The Progressive Policy Institute's website provides state-by-state summaries of all 17 indicators.
The report also advances five broad recommendations of strategies for states to take to strengthen their economic performance in the digital economy. Each recommendation, listed below, includes several more specific suggestions to consider:
- co-invest with industry in workforce skill development;
- co-invest in an innovation infrastructure;
- promote innovation and customer-oriented govt.;
- foster the transformation to a digital economy; and,
- foster civic collaboration.
The report may be viewed and downloaded at: www.neweconomy.org/states or directly from http://207.158.225.143/states/ . Print copies are also available from the Progressive Policy Institute.
Rank
State
Score
Rank
State
Score
1
MA
82.27
26
HI
46.14
2
CA
74.25
27
KS
45.80
3
CO
72.32
28
ME
45.62
4
WA
68.99
29
RI
45.31
5
CT
64.89
30
NC
45.16
6
UT
63.98
31
TN
45.14
7
NH
62.45
32
WI
44.92
8
NJ
60.86
33
OH
44.77
9
DE
59.87
34
MI
44.59
10
AZ
59.23
35
MO
44.24
11
MD
59.16
36
NE
41.81
12
VA
58.76
37
IN
41.95
13
AL
57.70
38
SC
39.69
14
MN
56.53
39
KY
39.40
15
OR
56.10
40
OK
38.63
16
NY
54.48
41
WY
34.49
17
TX
52.31
42
IA
33.51
18
VT
51.87
43
SD
32.33
19
NM
51.43
44
AL
32.28
20
FL
50.75
45
ND
28.99
21
NV
49.03
46
MT
28.98
22
IL
48.37
47
LA
28.22
23
ID
47.93
48
WV
26.79
24
PA
46.72
49
AR
26.22
25
GA
46.61
50
MS
22.63
US Average
48.07
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NRC Sees Industry-Govt. Partnerships Critical To U.S. Economic Growth
Serious deficiencies in pre-college education and wavering support for basic research may erode the nation's ability to convert science and technology into new products, jobs, and profits and decrease the prospects of better lives for U.S. citizens, according to a new book from the National Research Council (NRC).Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National & Regional Priorities identifies goals and actions to guide the science and engineering community and government policy-makers in meeting the nation's future economic needs. The book presents the findings, recommendations and papers of the National Forum on Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future and an NRC committee co-chaired by former governor and SSTI Board chairman Dick Thornburgh and William Spencer, CEO of Sematech.
The goals and recommendations outlined by the committee include:
Achieve a level of productivity growth that will allow a rising standard of living and non-inflationary economic expansion. The committee endorses bipartisan efforts to boost federal research funding. It also recommends using tax credits and other incentives to increase industry's support of research conducted at universities from 7 percent to 20 percent over the next 10 years. In addition, federal, state, and local governments should set up matching grant programs to promote more research partnerships with industry and universities.
Increase the number of people prepared for scientific and engineering careers, focusing on under-represented groups. The committee recommends significant improvements in science education at the pre-college level as well as greater efforts to attract minorities and women to the engineering work force. Scientists and engineers should continue to work with states and communities to set K-12 education standards, promote best practices for teaching and learning, and increase science and technology literacy. The committee also said that companies and people who have benefitted from the high-technology boom should invest their time and money into programs to improve teaching in urban and rural schools.
Improve the domestic and international market environment for U.S. innovation so the nation can prosper in a global economy. The committee felt national standards to limit frivolous lawsuits in product liability and securities fraud should be adopted. It also recommends that policy-makers continue their focus on trade, antitrust, and intellectual property policies that can open global markets for U.S. products and services.
The Carnegie Corp. of New York funded the report. It conveys the findings of the second forum in a series supported jointly by the Kellogg Endowment Fund of the National Research Council and the Carnegie Corp.
Copies of Harnessing Science and Technology for America's Economic Future: National & Regional Priorities are available from the National Academy Press for $29.00 (prepaid) plus shipping charges tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242. The report may be viewed online at the National Academies website: http://www.national-academies.org/
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DOE SBIR Phase I Awards Announced
The Department of Energy has announced the selection of 204 Phase I awards under the 1999 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The grants were made to companies in the 31 states listed in the accompanying table. More detailed information for each award can be found on the newly redesigned DOE SBIR website: http://www.sbir.er.doe.gov/sbir
State
Awards
State
Awards
CA
44
GA
3
MA
43
AZ
2
CO
17
DE
2
NY
11
MN
2
CT
10
UT
2
NM
8
AL
1
NJ
7
AR
1
TX
7
HI
1
IL
6
IN
1
VA
6
KS
1
FL
4
MI
1
MD
4
MT
1
OH
4
OK
1
PA
4
OR
1
TN
4
WY
1
WA
4
TOTAL
204
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Local Technology Benchmarking Study Released
Preparation of S&T indicators on a local or regional level continues to increase. The Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Sciences, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, has released Cincinnati's Technology Benchmarking Study. The report compares the technology assets and performance of 24 urban areas across the U.S. using 17 indicators, then makes recommendations for strengthening Cincinnati's technology base. The report is on the Internet at www.iams.orgReturn to the top of this page
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