In the June 2, 2000 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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Kansas Releases New Technology Cluster Assessment and Strategic Plan
Using a new, proprietary methodology, the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) has conducted a cluster assessment, determining KTEC should focus its commercialization efforts on those specific technology areas where opportunity is high and where the elements are in place to delivery those benefits to the state’s economy. The results, published in Kansas Strategic Technology Cluster Assessment and a Plan for the 21st Century, form a unique blend of cluster analysis, indicator assessment, and strategic planning.

The Opportunity-Capacity Model©, developed by KTEC in partnership with Topeka-based Acumen Strategies, Inc., was used to evaluate the contribution of four sets of partners toward Kansas’ economic and science and technology performance in each of the 27 technologies areas identified by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as “Critical Technologies” for U.S. economic prosperity and national security. The four sets of technology partners include the federal government, state government, private sector, and the state’s research universities.

The model has five components:

For further clarification, the first appendix of the report includes tables presenting each indicator, the assigned weights, rationale, and scoring system.

The report's discussion of the strategic technology cluster assessment precedes a strategic plan that outlines several recommendations within four selected technology areas: information technology, aviation, human biosciences, and agricultural biotechnology. Each section of the plan was prepared by a different lead research institution.

The assessment provided the basis for KTEC's $19 million supplemental annual budget request of the state legislature to support the recommendations of the strategic plan.

For more information or to download a copy of the 200+ page Kansas Strategic Technology Cluster Assessment and a Plan for the 21st Century, visit http://www.ktec.com

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Bills Introduced to Strengthen Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology Education
Three bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-Michigan) to help reform science, math, engineering, and technology education in grades K-12. These bills, known as the National Science Education Acts of 2000, are designed to re-focus interest and training for those in grades K-12 in all fields of science and technology.

The National Science Education Act (NSEA), the largest of the three bills, focuses on the improvement and expansion of National Science Foundation (NSF) activities. The bill would provide grants for schools to:

In addition, NSEA would provide plans to create working groups to identify effective science and math curriculum throughout the nation, study technology use in the classroom, link members of the private sector technology community to the education community, and focus on technology curriculum development in rural and disadvantaged areas.

The National Science Education Enhancement Act (NSEEA) focuses on expansion of the Department of Education’s math and science programs and activities. It calls for experienced mentors to guide new teachers and peer-reviewed professional development institutes to assist with technology and curriculum training. It also encourages after-school science day care programs to encourage student interest in math and science.

The National Science Education Incentive Act (NSEIA) would allow for tax benefits to encourage activities relevant to science, math, engineering, and technology education. This bill provides a 10 percent tax credit up to $1,000 per year for 10 years of total college tuition bills. Teachers graduating from math and science programs would be eligible. In addition, NSEIA provides for externships to allow teachers to participate in their fields of expertise. NSEIA would extend tax credits to private sector companies that donate technology equipment to schools, contribute instructors and/or curriculum to math and science classes, and include teachers in professional development programs.

With the support of 30 co-sponsors as of May 15, 2000, the bills are awaiting hearings in committee. Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas has introduced companion legislation in the Senate. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers International (ASME) has endorsed all three bills and is working toward their passage. More information and the complete bills can be viewed at : http://www.house.gov/ehlers/issues/science/

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Ohio Completes Assessment of E-Com Readiness
According to a new report by a public-private collaborative project called Ecom-Ohio, Ohio lags many others in the “Net” Economy. The group draws attention to the state’s digital divide among certain population groups and laments slow Internet adoption in small and medium-sized businesses and a lack of public incentives and investment to help correct the situation.

The Statewide Report on Ohio’s Readiness for Global Electronic Commerce uses 22 key indicators to measure the state’s performance and preparedness for an information economy against a set of national benchmarks established by the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) in 1998. CSPP is a coalition of 11 CEOs for some of the nation’s largest information technology companies. The benchmarks and CSPP assessment process helps a locality or region determine at which of four possible stages the community currently resides and what specific steps are necessary to move to the next, higher stage of e-commerce readiness. Ecom-Ohio is believed to be the first statewide application of the CSPP benchmarks.

Ecom-Ohio found the overall infrastructure or backbone made the state one of the most connected in the country, yet 90 percent of the dialup connections were not robust enough to support high bandwidth applications. The group recommends the development of market-led incentives such as aggregating public demand or developing private sector buying cooperatives. Examples of each method have been presented in earlier issues of the SSTI Weekly Digest (see our web site at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/2000/headlines00.htm for archived articles on Virginia in 1/7/00 and Berkshire Connection in 2/25/00).

Other recommendations from the report include:

Ecom-Ohio is chaired by the Ohio Board of Regents and NCR Corporation. Staff support was provided by the Technology Policy Group of the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Pari Sabety, director of the group and author of the report, led a popular workshop covering the topic at SSTI’s annual conference last year in Indianapolis. More information, including several regional reports and graphs on Ohio’s readiness for global electronic commerce, can be viewed at: http://www.ecom-ohio.org/ More information on the 22 CSPP benchmarks can be found at: http://www.cspp.org

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Federal R&D Funding Opportunities

Commerce
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory program seeks proposals in the field of neutron scattering research and spectroscopy. Eligible applicants include the nation’s colleges and universities. One cooperative agreement of up to $2,000,000 per year will be awarded Projects can range from one to five years in length. Proposals are due on or before June 26, 2000. For more information, contact Denise Sullivan at (301) 975-5831.

Education
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services invites applications for new rehabilitative research training centers. These centers conduct research in rehabilitation targeted toward improving methodology and service delivery, alleviating and stabilizing disabling conditions, and promoting social and economic independence of disabled individuals. Eligible applicants include public and private agencies, institutions of higher education, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Three awards will be given with the maximum total funding estimated at $1,550,00. The deadline for proposals is July 17, 2000. The solicitation can  be viewed at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/

Health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces the availability of funds for a grant to conduct mind and body research. The purpose of the program is to study the effects of relaxation and stress reduction on physical and mental health. Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit organizations, government and Indian tribal government agencies, and academic institutions. Approximately $862,000 will be available to fund one award. The deadline for proposals is July 14, 2000. The solicitation is available on the web at: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also requests cooperative agreement proposals for the development and testing of new medications for emerging infectious diseases. Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit organizations, government and Indian tribal government agencies, and academic institutions. One award in the amount of $1,500,000 is anticipated. The deadline for proposals is July 1, 2000. The solicitation will be available at: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grantmain.htm

The Office of Public Health and Science seeks cooperative agreements for the National Community Centers of Excellence (CCOE) in Women’s Health Program. The purpose is to provide recognition and funding to community-based programs that unite promising approaches in women’s health. The focus is not to develop new programs but to strengthen the existing ones. Eligible applicants include public and private non-profit community-based hospitals, community health centers, and community-based organizations serving underprivileged women. Three awards for $150,000 each are anticipated. Applications must be received on or before June 30, 2000. More information is available at http://www.4woman.gov/owh/fund/index.htm

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Useful Stats: Gross Metropolitan Product Statistics
Last week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties released a report documenting the 1999 Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) for the nation’s 319 largest metro areas. The 44-page report indicates that 95 percent of high tech job creation between 1992 and 1999 took place in metro areas.

The report ranks metro areas relative to each other, and, states and national economies around the world. For example, 48 of the world’s largest 100 economies are US metro areas. The GMP of the ten largest metro areas exceeds the combined output of 31 states. Twenty pages of tables provide statistics and rankings for each metro area.

The report can be downloaded from http://www.usmayors.org/citiesdrivetheeconomy/

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