In the July 28, 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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Washington DC Considers Tech Legislation 
The “New E-Conomy Transformation Act of 2000," legislation introduced in the District of Columbia (DC) Council, contains eleven incentives designed to help transform the DC economy. Councilmember David A Catania and the New E-conomy Advisory Group comprised of seven business leaders, developed the incentives targeted at companies engaged in e-commerce, Internet-based businesses, information technology, and other sectors of the New Economy. The Advisory Group identified barriers to locating in the District such as workforce development, affordable facilities and then crafted incentives designed to help businesses overcome them. 

A brief summary of each incentive is listed below: 

Workforce Development

Affordable Facilities 

Targeted Financial Incentives 

High technology companies are those involved in any of the following: advanced materials and processing; engineering, production, and defense technologies; electronic and photonic devices and components; and information and communication technologies. 

The legislation was introduced by six of the thirteen council members in June; a first hearing was held July 14, 2000. Additional action on the initiatives is not likely until September. For more background on the legislation and the Advisory Group, visit http://www.dcneweconomy.com 

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Recent Reports & Studies 

Academic Indirect Cost Rates 
Paying for University Research Facilities and Administration, a report released this week by the RAND Science & Technology Policy Institute, finds universities are already paying a significant share of the costs associated with their research partnership with the federal government. Pressures to increase that cost-sharing could lead to a slowdown in investment on research and research infrastructure and, potentially, to a decline in the partnership's contributions to health, education, defense, science and other vital research areas, according to the report's authors, Charles A. Goldman and T. Williams, with David M. Adamson and Kathy Rosenblatt. 

Federal spending for scientific research at U.S. academic institutions amounts to approximately $15 billion each year. Roughly one-fourth of the total, around $3.75 billion, is for indirect costs or facilities and administration (F&A). Using two different calculation methods, the study's authors estimate that universities have been recovering between 70 and 90 percent of their federal project F&A costs during the past decade. 

While cautioning that data was limited, the authors also report the available evidence indicates that universities have lower F&A costs than federal laboratories and industrial research laboratories. The report was prepared in response to a 1998 Congressional request. RAND runs the Science & Technology Policy Institute for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. The full report is available on the Web: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1135.1 

E-commerce and Sales Taxes 
Predicting the impact of e-commerce, globalization, and Internet purchases on state sales and use tax revenues is a tricky business, according to the General Accounting Office, but several different scenarios presented in a new GAO report forecast revenue losses for state and local governments ranging between one and eight percent by as soon as 2003. Internet sales will account for an increasing share of remote sales and may account for as much as 60 percent of the lost revenues in the GAO's most dire scenario in Sales Taxes: Electronic Commerce Growth Presents Challenges; Revenue Losses are Uncertain. Studies by other independent groups, the GAO points out, have also produced a wide variance in the results, predicting sales tax revenue losses for 2003 ranging from $3.5 billion to $10.8 billion. 

While several states do not levy any sales taxes, six states -- Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington -- obtain more than 50 percent of their revenues from general sales taxes. Localities that levy sales taxes are likely to be effected, too. On average, sales taxes account for 33 percent of state and 11 percent of local tax revenues. 

The June report includes several tables presenting estimates for sales tax revenues and losses for each state in 1998 and along several scenarios through 2003. The full report can be downloaded from: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/g600165.pdf 

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Defense Research Funding Opportunities 
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Sensors Directorate, Electromagnetics Technology Division (AFRL/SNH) at Hanscom AFB is soliciting proposals for basic research to advance the state-of-the-art and scientific knowledge in electromagnetics technology. The Technical Areas are: (a) Antenna Technology, (b) Electromagnetic Scattering from Targets and Terrain, (c) Optronics Components and Algorithms, (d) Image Exploitation of Infrared Cameras; and (e) Intrusion Detection. Proposals may be submitted any time through September 30, 2001. For detailed descriptions of these areas, email: zachary.white@hanscom.af.mil  Additional research and business opportunities with the Electronic Systems Command can be found at: http://www.herbb.hanscom.af.mil/rfp.asp 

The deadline has been extended to September 30, 2000 for interested parties to submit proposals in response to the Broad Agency Announcement for the Navy's Smart Base Project Office initiatives . The Navy's Smart Base Project is tasked to identify and test innovative, commercially available technology and better business practices to increase shore installation efficiency and reduce infrastructure costs. Selected cost-saving ideas will be demonstrated on a trial basis in real-world situations. Traditional contracting methods may be used, but the program is also interested in collaborative efforts between the government and industry. Collaboration of representatives from various segments of industry, academia and/or commerce is encouraged to provide more integrated solutions where possible. More information is available at: http://www.n4.hq.navy.mil/smartbase/ 

The US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM-Warren) has released a draft statement of work for an upcoming solicitation to support research to develop efficient computational tools for non-linear analysis of smart composites structural systems with embedded smart layers. The project is designed to develop analytical and finite element analysis procedures for the stress and vibration response of laminated composite plate structures accounting for the linear and non-linear response. TACOM plans to issue a three-year (base plus two option years) firm fixed price level of effort term contract for a total price of approximately $75,000. The estimated release date is September 15. More information on this and other TACOM opportunities are available at: http://contracting.tacom.army.mil/ssn 

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Science Education Support Available 
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and its sponsors have more than $1 million available through several programs to support and recognize science students and teachers. Applications are currently available for the following programs: 

Visit the NSTA web site program descriptions, deadlines, and application instructions: http://www.nsta.org/programs/ 

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 People 

Norman Y. Mineta has been confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Gary Bachula has joined Internet2 as Vice President for External Relations where he will focus on strengthening and enhancing relationships with government and not-for-profit organizations working to advance Internet technology. 

Joel Bauman, Senior Policy Analyst with the Southern Technology Council, is leaving to attend the University of Texas - Austin. Joel has been a great resource for SSTI over the past few years and we wish him success in business school. 

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Digest Publication Schedule Changes 
While many state legislatures are in recess, the federal fiscal year draws to a close (resulting in few new R&D funding opportunities to report), and SSTI staff focus more activities on our 4th Annual conference -- Beyond the Hype: Tools for Building Tech-based Economies, the SSTI Weekly Digest will go to a biweekly schedule during the month of August. As a result, the next two issues will be released on August 11 and August 25. We apologize for any inconvenience this may present. Weekly publication will resume in September. 

More information on Beyond the Hype, including a registration form, can be found on our web site: http://www.ssti.org/Conf00/conf--00.htm 

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