- Strategic Plans Focus on Science and Technology
- New Mexico
- Washington State
- Guide to Federal Tech Programs Available
- Benefits of Industry-University Centers Examined
- DOEd SBIR Awards Announced
- Foundation Funding Opportunities
- S&T Job Opportunities Offered
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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Strategic Plans Focus on Science and Technology
Several state and regional economic development strategies have been released this summer. All recognize the important role of research, science and technology in building tech-based economies. Two states are highlighted this week.New Mexico
The New Mexico Economic Development Department has rolled out a new strategic vision for the state's economy that they believe gives a clear picture of New Mexico's ultimate destination and offers a detailed map of how to get there. The strategic vision document, Quality for Life, is built on six strategies. Those pertaining directly to science and technology include:
- Invest in infrastructure for innovation by strengthening existing programs at the national labs, federal research institutions, universities, and private research and development centers. Specifically, the strategic vision calls for linking the public and private institutions through collaborative efforts, especially encouraging the universities and the private sector to make more use of the resources offered by the national labs. It also calls for research and development tax credits.
- Commercialize innovation by making sure that technologies developed in New Mexico wind up being marketed by facilities that are established in New Mexico. To that end, the strategic vision calls for tax incentives to attract venture capital, increased funding for incubators and other business development programs, and an across-the-board reduction in the tax burden on businesses.
- Invest in workforce development through education and training. The strategic vision calls for higher academic standards in the state, the establishment of charter schools or programs in the fields of science and math, strategies to link educational curriculum and training programs to the needs of the workplace, a statewide effort to integrate and coordinate workforce training programs, and a new emphasis on technical training as an alternative to traditional programs.
- Invest in quality physical infrastructure. Targeted goals include enacting policies to increase telecommunications competition, granting permission for rural communities to aggregate local demand to make it easier for companies to supply telecommunications services, maximizing the use of existing infrastructure such as the state's microwave network, and establishing a telecommunications council.
The entire vision document is available at http://www.NewMexicoDevelopment.com
Washington State
With plans to address the increased adoption of technology, the inequalities of growth in rural and urban areas, and the shortage of a technically skilled workforce, the Washington State Office of Trade & Economic Development (OTED) has completed its strategic plan for the FY 2001-2003 biennium.The plan provides direction for the new agency since Governor Gary Locke split the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development into two offices, OTED and the Office of Community Development. OTED objectives for the biennium include:
- expanding the New Economy to all parts of the state
- defining the state’s value added role in the technology sector
- promoting the expansion of the state’s telecommunications infrastructure
- identifying and working with industry clusters to leverage economic development activities and resources
- supporting entrepreneurship, particularly as a result of the National Governors’ Association Entrepreneurial Academy
- meeting the skills gap need of the state’s workforce
- developing policies to promote investment in clean and renewable energies
- building a stronger research and analysis capacity within OTED
The full plan can be obtained from: Jill Nishi, Deputy Director for the Washington State Office of Trade & Economic Development, at (360) 586-4244 or jilln@cted.wa.gov
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Guide to Federal Tech Programs Available
The Los Angeles Regional Technology Alliance (larta) has released its 2001 Federal Technology Funding Guide which profiles 89 regularly scheduled federal programs that support technology development and deployment. Each profile includes descriptions, contact information, timelines, and examples. Targeted to technology companies, the guide presents only programs with eligibility requirements open to for-profit businesses.The free, 152-page Guide is downloadable from: http://www.larta.org/ecommerce/FTFG2001.htm
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Benefits of Industry-University Centers Examined
Research collaboration between companies and academia has grown tremendously over the past two decades and is recognized as one of the key elements of building tech-based economies (see the National Governors' Association, Using Research and Development to Grow State Economies, 2000 or the Milken Institute, Blueprint for a High-Tech Cluster, 2000). Many states' science and technology programs have dedicated significant financial resources to encouraging the growth of these research partnerships. The National Science Foundation funds several programs to foster industry-university cooperative research, including among others, the Science and Technology Centers and the Engineering Research Centers.Surprisingly, little has been written on the impact of these initiatives from the perspective of the industrial client, customer, or constituent. Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRCs), written by James Adams, Eric Chiang, and Katara Starkey, presents one of the first independent econometric analyses of the effects of university-industry centers on industrial R&D laboratories. All three authors are with the Department of Economics at the University of Florida.
The authors define IUCRCs broadly to include any small academic center dependent on industrial financial support and designed to foster technology transfer between universities and firms.
The working paper reports:
- Industrial research and development labs with membership in any industry-university cooperative research center were likely to generate 4 percent more patents than companies that were not involved in collaborative research programs. Those firms participating in the NSF-funded Science and Technology
Centers or Engineering Research Centers increased patent activities by 5 percent on average.- IUCRCs attract the country's larger industrial R&D labs -- averaging 257 scientists and engineers on staff versus 93 scientists and engineers in non-member firms sampled and annual R&D budgets of $22.7 million versus $8.4 million for non-members.
- Companies cited the following benefits from joining IUCRCs (in descending order of statistical significance): university faculty consulting, joint authorship with university scientists, access to engineering graduates, contract research, and access to science graduates.
- Those benefits that were not statistically significant were: personnel movements from universty to lab, flows of university research ideas to industry, and licensing of university patents.
The results may warrant further exploration given the potential policy implications for local and state efforts to build tech-based economies. For instance, public policy makers may wish to consider efforts to attract or engage smaller firms in university-industry R&D, given the current propensity of IUCRCs to attract larger
industrial R&D labs. Policy makers also may wish to examine if IUCRCs are the best vehicle by which to encourage the transfer of technology from universities.The abstract of the National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper, Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers, can be found at http://papers.nber.org/papers/W7843 The full paper can be purchased from
NBER for $5.Return to the top of this page
DOEd SBIR Awards Announced
The Department of Education has posted its selections under its FY 2000 Phase I and Phase II solicitations in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. There are 50 new Phase I awards, for a total of nearly $2.5 million, and 14 new Phase II awards, for a total of more than $3.4 million. Specific information concerning each awardee is available on the ED SBIR website: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/SBIR/The distribution of proposals and awards by state are presented in the following table: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/082500t.htm
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Foundation Funding Opportunities
Toshiba America Foundation to Award Grants for K-6 Science and Math Education
The Toshiba America Foundation's goal is to contribute to the quality of science and mathematics education in U.S. communities by investing in projects designed by and with classroom teachers to improve science and science-related education for students in schools. Proposals for its small grants program for K-6 math and science education to encourage hands-on science and math education are due October 2. Approximately 75 awards of up to $1,000 will be made through the competition. More information is available at: http://www.toshiba.com/about/taf.htmlReturn to the top of this page
Pharmacological Research Grants Available from Burroughs Wellcome Fund
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund supports the career development of biomedical scientists and on advancing areas in the basic medical sciences that are underfunded or that have a shortage of qualified researchers. Currently the Foundation is seeking applications from U.S. and Canadian academic institutions on behalf of individual researchers in the areas of pharmacological and/or toxicological sciences. Approximately 10 three-year awards of $210,000 ($70,000/year) are anticipated to be made. The deadline for applications is November 1. More information is available from http://www.bwfund.orgReturn to the top of this page
Texaco Foundation Touches Science
The Texaco Touch Science: Hands-on Learning for Kids and Communities program supports scientific exploration and discovery programs for K-2 school children through educational partnerships with science museums, aquariums, nature centers and other related institutions. There is no set deadline for proposals. Communities with key Texaco operations have a strong edge on securing funds. Visit the foundation's web site for more information: http://www.texaco.com/support/index.htmlReturn to the top of this page
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation Offers Research Grants
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation is providing funds for scientific and medical research and for the education and training of scientists and physicians who have selected pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, bioinformatics or pharmacoeconomics as a career choice. October 1 is the deadline for several foundation grant programs including faculty development, fellowship and medical student research grants in clinical pharmacology and undegraduate and postdoctoral research in pharmaceutics. More information can be found at: http://www.phrmafoundation.org/overview.topic.htmlReturn to the top of this page
S&T Job Opportunities Offered
The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education is currently embarking on a new and challenging agenda designed to enhance the quality and usefulness of educational research for improved teaching and learning. To help shape and lead this effort, the agency is seeking exceptionally qualified individuals to direct four of its five National Research Institutes. The positions fall within the classification of Supervisory, Education Research Analyst (GS 15) with an annual compensation range of $84,638 to $110,028. Each Institute Director reports directly to the Assistant Secretary of Educational Research and Improvement. More information can be found at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/dirvacancies.htmlReturn to the top of this page
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