In the July 14, 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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NGA Announces Ten States for Entrepreneurship Academy
The National Governors’ Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, with support from the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (KCEL), will convene an 18-month policy academy this fall to help officials from ten states to develop strategies governors can use to support entrepreneurship. Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, Washington and Wyoming were selected to participate in the policy academy project.

"The policy academy will involve a high level commitment by the states to achieve demonstrable results," said incoming Center Board Chair, Michigan Governor John Engler. "Governors will appoint teams of eight to ten senior staff, cabinet officials and entrepreneurs who will work together as a state team, led by a Governor’s policy advisor. Each team will share information and gain perspective from similar teams representing other states."

Academy teams will participate in two intensive three-day sessions. Teams will hold in-state planning meetings throughout the course of the project and technical assistance will be available. The Center will develop a Web page and produce publications to raise awareness of issues identified throughout the policy academy process and to provide examples of state best practices relevant to increasing entrepreneurship. With the support of KCEL, the Center will convene a national forum on entrepreneurship at the conclusion of the project, uniting governors and their policy advisors, legislators, and entrepreneurs to engage in a national dialogue about the importance of building entrepreneurial capacity in the states.

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SBIR News

DoD 2000 SBIR Phase I Awards Announced
The Department of Defense has posted the Phase I selections for the 00.1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program solicitation. Out of the 4,829 proposals received, DoD awarded 856 SBIR Phase I grants, which equates to a 
17.73 percent success rate.

The accompanying table presents both the distribution of awards and the number 
of proposals submitted by state and by agency (# of awards received/# of proposals submitted). The state ranking corresponds to the number of awards received.

Abstracts for each Phase I award can be found on the agency's SBIR-STTR website: http://www.sbirsttr.com

DOE SBIR Commercialization Assistance RFP Released
The Department of Energy, Office of Science, has released a notice inviting applications for the Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP). CAP is to lead to the successful commercialization of products, services, and technology developed through the DOE SBIR program. Applicants are to provide individualized assistance directly to DOE SBIR Phase II award winners. The deadline for applications is August 8, 2000. DOE estimates $750,0000 will be available over a three-year period beginning FY 2001. Multiple awards may be made. The CAP solicitation, for which eligibility is restricted to small business applicants, can be downloaded at: www.ch.doe.gov/business/acq.htm under “Current Solicitations.”

Chris Busch Retires from Wyoming
Chris Busch, widely respected for his successful contributions to improving small business performance in SBIR, has retired from the University of Wyoming Research Office effective this August. Mr. Busch has been a leading advocate for strong state-federal cooperation in SBIR outreach and assistance, helping to design the $50 million Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) program included in the SBIR Reauthorization bill. His contributions to technology-based economic development policy and small business growth while serving as the Director of the Wyoming SBIR initiative will be missed.

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San Diego’s High Tech Success Highlighted by SBA’s Office of Advocacy
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as big defense contractors closed their doors and unemployment climbed, San Diego looked as if it might not recover. Between 1990-1993 alone, nearly 60,000 high-paying jobs were lost to defense and aerospace cutbacks. Although the region had some of the ingredients to be successful (defense technologies, a strong university, medical and bioscience institutes, and a desirable climate), the players did not come together to face their economic woes. It took losing two major bids for federal R&D facilities to spur community leaders to action.

Developing High-Technology Communities: San Diego, prepared by Innovation Associates for the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, tells the San Diego story with supporting statistics of how the region turned things around through technology-based economic development. With all of the elements in place, small technology businesses emerged to become the number one job creating mechanism for the San Diego area. By 1998, San Diego had 100,000 more jobs than it had in 1990, despite the defense cutbacks just a few years earlier.

The report uses San Diego as a case study to explain to other communities, universities, and the private sector how to develop a high-technology economy. Sixteen lessons are identified from San Diego’s experience, including:

Chapters in the report are dedicated to discussing university-industry cooperation, the role of community-based organizations, and public policy initiatives to support small, technology businesses.

To download the full 100+ page report, go to the Office of Advocacy’s web site http://www.sba.gov/advo/research and scroll through the list of studies under the heading “Science, Technology and Innovation.”

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Health Research Funding Opportunities
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requests cooperative agreement proposals to support an intervention epidemiologic research study of HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the program is to evaluate how different levels of antiretroviral therapy affect HIV-1 infection. Eligible applicants include public and private nonprofit organizations, governments, universities, research institutions, hospitals, and Indian tribal organizations. A total of $400,000 is anticipated to fund two awards. Proposals are due by August 17, 2000. To view the complete RFP, visit: http://www.cdc.gov and click on “funding.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also seeks proposals for Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs) to advance the prevention, treatment and control of injuries through multidisciplinary approaches. Funding will be provided to applicants in regions that do not currently have ICRCs as well as applicants in regions with centers that must re-compete for funding. Eligible applicants include nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including hospitals, universities, research institutions, health departments, and small, minority or women-owned businesses in specific geographic regions of the country. Four awards will be funded with the average award totaling $905,000. Applications are due November 1, 2000. For more information, visit: http://www.cdc.gov and click on “funding.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces the availability of funds for food safety research. The specific areas of focus are: produce safety; egg safety; development of extraction procedures of foodborne viruses from foods to enhance detection; and food service, transportation, and consumer practices. Approximately $600,000 will be available to fund up to four cooperative agreements. Eligible applicants include public and private nonprofit organizations as well as for-profit entities. Proposals are due August 24, 2000. The complete solicitation is available in the July 10, 2000 issue of the Federal Register.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) seeks proposals to establish American Indian/ Alaska Native research centers in fiscal year 2001. The centers are designed to encourage research into diseases and conditions that affect Native Americans and to help develop a qualified pool of Native American scientists. Eligible applicants include federally recognized tribes, tribal consortia, and area/national nonprofit Indian health organizations that are sanctioned by tribal governments. Up to $1.5 million will be awarded to a maximum of five proposals. The program announcement and application guidelines are scheduled for release later this month. Applications are due December 12, 2000. For more information, contact William Freeman at (301) 443-0578.

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Useful Stats I: University R&D Payoffs
The July-August issue of Technology Review, MIT's Magazine of Innovation, includes a special report on university research. The TR University Research Scorecard, written by TR associate editor Rebecca Zacks, ranks the top U.S. universities for their performance in patent quality (called "technological strength") and licensing revenues.

The results demonstrate number of patents issued does not necessarily equate to financial return to the universities. While the University of California and MIT dominate the patent quantity side of the equation, other institutions are earning more in licensing income. "Columbia, for example, ranks second in licensing income and makes nearly a quarter of its $260 million research investment back in royalties and fees, even though the school garnered only 34 patents per year on average from 1994 to 1998. Third-place Florida State University, meanwhile, rakes in an astounding 42 percent of its $112 million annual research budget through a mere 10 licenses or options deals," according to the article. 

The complete article and tables can be viewed at: http://www.techreview.com/articles/july00/zacks.htm

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Useful Stats II: 64 Most-Wired Metro Markets Identified
According to a study by Scarborough Research, a market research firm, Salt Lake City leads the country with 73 percent of households owning a PC. San Francisco and Washington DC follow closely behind with 72 and 71 percent respectively. The average home PC penetration across the 64 metropolitan markets measured is 59 percent. The survey, which has been done since 1997, found even the lowest ranked cities were nearing 50 percent; computers are in the homes of 46 percent of 64th-ranked Charleston, West Virginia.

The increasing importance of computers and the Internet also is evident. Two-thirds of all households with computers have Internet access. San Francisco, at the top of the list, has 75 percent of its homes with computers connected to the Net.

The standings could change fast, however, with 19 percent of all households currently without computers planning to purchase one in the next year.

The statistics and rankings for all 64 metro areas included in the study can be found at: http://www.scarborough.com/scarb2000/press/pr_hhpc_data.htm

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